Partnerships

Valuing water resources takes more than good data and sound policy. Citizens within a watershed must understand and participate in the protection and restoration efforts in order for water resources to truly be protected. The Coalition works closely with local agency personnel of the Natural Resources Conservation Service in both North Carolina and Georgia, as well as the NC Division of Soil & Water Conservation. These professionals have already established good relationships with local landowners. By getting their buy-in on projects, the Coalition makes strong headway more quickly when an area is targeted for restoration. The Coalition is also currently in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority for water quality modeling of Chatuge and Nottely reservoirs and facilitates a partnership between TVA and the NC Division of Water Quality to reduce duplication of sampling effort throughout the watershed.

HRWC is helping facilitate the development of an outdoor environmental education area in Cherokee County, NC. L-R: Mary Jo Deck, Rep. Roger West, Col. Howard Lovingood, Robin Moore (NCSU), Nicole Kelley (HRWC).

In June 2002, HRWC partnered with TVA and the NC Division of Water Quality to sample fish and benthic macroinvertebrates at three sites on the Valley River and 23 sites on tributaries. As partnerships become stronger and more local landowners understand and participate in the restoration and protection of their watershed, the more successful the Coalition becomes at improving and maintaining water quality.

Federal Partners

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Tennessee Valley Authority

U.S. Forest Service

State Partners

NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund

NC Dept. of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR):

* Division of Soil & Water Conservation

* Division of Water Quality

NC Wildlife Resources Commission

NCSU Cooperative Extension Service

UGA Cooperative Extension Service