Tennessee River tow transiting Wilson Lock.

This “Pic of the Valley” was taken while exiting the Main Lock chamber of the Wheeler Dam onto the beautiful Wilson Lake.  The Wheeler Dam is one of TVA’s nine mainstream dams on the Tennessee River.  TVA multipurpose dams provide numerous benefits to the entire Tennessee Valley region that include flood damage reduction, municipal and industrial water supply, low-cost hydropower, commercial navigation, recreation, and ecosystem preservation.

The history of the Tennessee River is one of commerce.  Before the completion of the Wilson Dam in 1924, the river was divided by a series of shoals near the Muscle Shoals area where the Tennessee fell over 100′ in approximately 30 miles.  Between 1830 and 1890, adjacent to the river and around the shoals, a series of canals and locks were built and improved upon to provide for commercial navigation.  This map dated 1885, was to be used in a speech by General Joseph Wheeler who was serving in the U.S. Congress at the time.

In addition to the tremendous economic benefits realized by Commercial Navigation, Recreational Boating makes significant contributions to the economy and Quality of Life in the Tennessee Valley.  Built primarily to enhance commerce, Tennessee River navigation locks are used extensively by recreational craft to “lock through” from one section of the river to another, just as the towboats and barges do.  On average, over 20,000 recreational craft of all shapes and sizes transit locks on the Tennessee River each year.  TVA estimates that recreational boating alone pumps more than $25 Million into the valley economy annually, and overall water-based recreation generates over $2 Billion in annual revenues throughout the Tennessee Valley Region.

This “Pic of the Valley” serves as an example of the relationship between navigation and recreation on the Tennessee River.  Produced by Valley Farmers, a worker oversees the loading of farm products for shipment to market onto a barge with a capacity in excess of 1,500 tons.  Along side of the 195 feet x 35 feet covered jumbo hopper barge, recreational boaters enjoy fishing the calm waters of the Tennessee that support an abundance and variety of life.  In addition to the tremendous economic impact produced by commercial navigation, TVA estimates that water-related recreation alone generates $2 Billion in revenues annually in the Tennessee Valley Region.

This “Pic of the Valley” is an example of the abundance and diversity of wildlife that is thriving throughout the Tennessee and Cumberland River Valleys. The availability of natural resources, not limited to the waters of our region’s lakes, streams and rivers, provide an environment that contributes to successful habitats for countless species of birds, fish and land dwelling animals. Rarely seen together, these two jakes and a doe share a wooded area near the shores of the Tennessee River in north Alabama that is home to a variety of life not seen in other regions of the United States. This “Pic of the Valley” serves as an example of the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers’ contributions to navigation, recreation and the environment that enhance the quality of life for all who reside in or visit this exceptionally diverse region.

Members of the Coalition of Alabama Waterway Associations present Colonel Byron Jorns with print “The First USS Alabama” during the Mobile District Corps of Engineers Change of Command in May 2010. From left: Mike Tagert Tenn-Tom, Col. Jorns USACE, Jerry Sailors CARIA, Billy Houston Tri-Rivers, Wynn Fuller USACE, Larry Merrihew Warrior-Tom, and Cline Jones TRVA.

This ‘Pic of the Valley’ is of the 110′x800′ Cheatham Lock on the Cumberland River during normal water conditions. The historic flooding that occurred at the beginning of May 2010 inundated the lock, including the elevated control rooms that can be seen in photo, damaging critical equipment that left the lock that provides navigation to the Nashville area and beyond inoperable. Cheatham Lock returned to restricted/limited service on Monday 24, 2010 at 6:00AM, with the first lockage in three weeks dedicated to providing the U.S. Coast Guard an opportunity to replace navigation aids, many of which were deposited in adjacent corn fields by the flood waters, to the Cumberland River between the Cheatham Lock and Gallatin, TN. The Coast Guard has successfully replaced the navigation aids between Cheatham and the Ohio River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is aggressively working to return Cheatham to regular service using every electrician from every lock in the Nashville District in an effort that will replace every electrical wire in the system. Normal operations will not likely return before the 18th of June, dependent on equipment delivery and installation, when all of the critical components of the system can be tested and verified as fully functional.

This ‘Pic of the Valley’ is of a Bald Eagle on a tributary of the Tennessee River in Lawrence County Alabama. In recent years the Eagle population has seen a tremendous rebound throughout the Tennessee Valley, a testament to the abundance and quality of the waters of the Tennessee. In January and February the Lake Guntersville State Park near Guntersville, Alabama conducts Eagle viewing tours through the State Park Lodge.