This is a study of TVA management of Tellico Dam. Part of the ambitious New Deal project to bring modernity to Appalachia, TVA planning was far-reaching, often far-sighted, but also controversial, involving mass migration of people from their ancestral homes and threats to species, like the snail darter.
DIVEven today, thirty years after the legal battles to save the endangered snail darter, the little fish that blocked completion of a TVA dam is still invoked as an icon of leftist extremism and governmental foolishness. In this eye-opening book, the lawyer who with his students fought and won the Supreme Court case—known officially as Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill—tells the hidden story behind one of the nation’s most significant environmental law battles. /divDIV The realities of the darter’s case, Plater asserts, have been consistently mischaracterized in politics and the media. This book offers a detailed account of the six-year crusade against a pork-barrel project that made no economic sense and was flawed from the start. In reality TVA’s project was designed for recreation and real estate development. And at the heart of the little group fighting the project in the courts and Congress were family farmers trying to save their homes and farms, most of which were to be resold in a corporate land development scheme. Plater’s gripping tale of citizens navigating the tangled corridors of national power stimulates important questions about our nation’s governance, and at last sets the snail darter’s record straight. /div
Since its inception in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority has played a dual role as federal agency and steward of the Tennessee River Valley. While known to most people today as an energy provider, the agency is also charged with managing and protecting the nation's fifth-largest river system, the Tennessee River, and vast tracts of land and resources encompassing Tennessee and portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia. Included in TVA's mandate is the preservation of the archaeological record of the valley's prehistoric peoples-a record that would have been forever lost beneath floodwaters had TVA not demonstrated a commitment to minimize its impact on the valley and sought to protect its archaeological resources. In TVA Archaeology, fourteen contributors who have worked with TVA in its conservation effort discuss prehistoric excavations conducted at Tellico, Normandy, Jonathan's Creek, and many other sites. They explore TVA's role in the excavations and how the agency facilitated prehistoric investigations along proposed dam sites. They also delve into the history of TVA as it grew from a New Deal program to a federal corporation and reveal how, during the agency's formative years, the TVA board responded to prodding from archaeologists David DeJarnette and William Webb and molded TVA into the steward of a region it is today. TVA remains a mainstay of progress and conservation within an important region of the United States, and its safeguarding of the valley's prehistory cements its legacy as more than just an energy supplier. Students and researchers interested in prehistoric archaeology, the Tennessee Valley, and the history of TVA will find this volume an invaluable contribution to the study of the region. Erin E. Pritchard is an archaeologist with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Her work includes multiple archaeological site investigations, most notably Dust Cave in northern Alabama, and she has authored and coauthored numerous site reports for TVA.
The book Dam Greed reveals the second effort to save the Little T by lawyers who saw unique beauty in the river and alternative ways to bring industry and money to the area without flooding. The lawyers, scientists, and archaeologists tried to prevent the destruction of the land, water, farming businesses, recreation areas, and historical sites. They reveal the politics that disregarded the environment, free enterprise, and the Endangered Species Act. The book may be purchased over the Internet at http://www.xlibris.com or locally at Sloan’s Center in Madisonville or Vonore, Susan Morris Art Gallery in Sweetwater, John Hall Museum in Tellico Plains, and McKenzie Books in Athens. The cover was made by Julie Jack, a professor of art at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee. Water, the sky, a map of the area, and the Rose Island holly are shown with Robert and Bruce Dorward, the husband and the son of the author. Ms. Jack’s work is available at Athens Art and Frame Shop. Her Web site is http://www.juliejack.com, and she is available as a visiting artist and instructor at conferences and workshops.
This third edition of Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South includes a new preface and a valuable new chapter covering the period from the death of Cas Walker to the end of the administration of Madeline Rogero, Knoxville's first female mayor. Wheeler argues that, until very recently, like Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby (1925), Knoxvillians had fabricated for themselves a false history, portraying themselves and their city as the almost impotent victims of historical forces that they could neither alter nor control. The result of this myth has been a collective mentality of near-helplessness against the powerful forces of isolation, poverty, and even change itself. But Knoxville's past is far more complicated than that, for the city contained abundant material goods and human talent that could have been used to propel Knoxville into the ranks of the premier cities of the New South--if those assets had not slipped through the fingers of both the leaders and the populace. In all, Knoxville's history is the story of colliding forces--country and city, North and South, the poor and the elites as well as the story of colorful figures, including Perez Dickenson, Edward Sanford, George Dempster, Carlene Malone, Bill Haslam, and Madeline Rogero, among many, many more. While challenges related to public health, income inequality, racism, and the environment remain, Wheeler detects the possibility that the myth Knoxvillians have clung to may finally be fading. Downtown development by vibrant local entrepreneurs, a government more responsive than ever before, and an economy that endured a severe economic downturn only to turn out brighter than expected are all symptoms of a Knoxville that may be ready to take its place in the rising urbanism of twenty-first-century America.
The darters are a fascinating group of colorful and diminutive freshwater fish whose beauty rivals that of the tropical reef fishes. Native only to North America, the darters occur widely, especially in the United States, but are little known to the general public, largely because of their small size—few exceed six inches and some measure a mere one inch at maturity. This book is the first comprehensive guide to the darters, covering all named and several undescribed forms—140 species in all. Each species account includes a synoptic description to aid in separation of similar species and subspecies, a range map, and discussion of the species' distribution, natural heritage, abundance, and scientific name. An illustrated key and glossary will further assist scientists, students, fishermen, and aquarium specialists in identifying darter species. Central to this volume is the series of 144 handsome color photographs illustrating nearly all known darter species and several subspecies. Most of the specimens shown were caught by the authors at sites throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and photographed by them on site using a recently developed technique that captures the full brilliance of the living fish. Because of their importance as indicators of environmental quality, the darters are receiving increasing attention today from scientists and naturalists. Public interest was focused recently on the plight of the snail darter, but many other darter species are either threatened or endangered, and others face an uncertain future as human activities continue to degrade our waterways. All those with an interest in preserving the natural heritage of our rivers and streams will find this comprehensive guide to the darters an invaluable tool.
"Coldhearted River explores the river's past, invoking the ghosts of the Shawnee and Cherokee, Daniel Boone and the French fur trappers who arrived before him, early settlers of Kentucky and Tennessee, such as James Robertson and John Donelson, and a binge-drinking ex-farmer named Ulysses Grant, who won his first significant battle at Fort Donelson, early in the Civil War."--Jacket.