by Scott Banbury, Tennessee Chapter Conservation Program Coordinator
One of the State Chapter’s most critical concerns this fall is the destructive clearcutting of nearly 2000 acres of mature hardwood forest in the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wildlife Management Area adjacent to Virgin Falls. We are partnering with hunters, hikers, paddlers and other natural area lovers in White County and across Tennessee to make sure these land use decisions are right.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) says the project is meant to create habitat for the Northern Bobwhite Quail. While creating habitat for this beleaguered bird is important, TWRA has chosen to clear mature hardwoods rather than reclaim surrounding lands that had been previously converted to monocultural pine plantations. This project threatens the popular viewscape of Welch’s Point and numerous trails, and many are concerned that erosion could threaten the Caney Fork River.
The loud outcry against this misguided project resulted in public listening sessions in October and will undoubtedly lead to legislative action this fall. For more information, visit savethehardwoods.com, and let your state representatives and senators know how you feel about this project.
In many rural communities in Tennessee, rapid growth is pitting local governments against developers as subdivisions are proposed that require more sewer, stormwater, and drinking water resources than local communities can provide, or our streams can support. Sierra Club is currently working with local governments and concerned citizens in rural communities across the state to understand and use Tennessee’s laws and regulations to protect our natural resources and quality of life.
We are also working with several local governments around state preemption of local zoning laws regarding the creation or expansion of landfills, including landfills in Rutherford and Davidson Counties. Also, the state is threatening to take local zoning control back from local bodies regarding the landfilling of abandoned quarries, including one in Bellevue. Nashville’s Metropolitan Planning Commission is currently considering the zoning of the property on McCrory Lane in Bellevue. SC supports local initiatives that would bar developers from using the quarry as a landfill.
In Memphis/Shelby County we are pursuing local ordinances that would establish a 1,500-foot setback from homes, churches or schools for crude oil pipeline infrastructure. This has already passed the Shelby County Commission and awaits ratification by the Memphis City Council. Another measure would establish a wellhead protection area, currently pending in both bodies. For the latest, visit: https://www.protectouraquifer.org/now
Reports from around the State November 2021
October 31, 2021