Section 319
              NONPOINT SOURCF  PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
 Exclusion Fencing Reduces Cattle s Impact and Restores Creek
Waterbodv Improved   A9ricultural Practices and land development along Cherokee
        ' """"">     '"    -   •   Creek contributed to increasing  stream siltation, prompting
 the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to add a 20.8-mile
 long segment of the creek to Tennessee's Clean Water Act section 303(d) list of impaired
 waters. Project partners implemented agricultural best management practices (BMPs) that
 reduced siltation and improved water quality. TDEC removed  Cherokee Creek from the
 state's 303(d) list in 2008.
 Problem
Project Highlights
 Cherokee Creek is in eastern Tennessee's rural
 Washington County. In 2000 TDEC performed a
 biological reconnaissance (biorecon) survey for the
 creek at mile 2.1 near Highway 81. Biorecon is one
 tool used to recognize stream impairment as judged
 by species richness measures, emphasizing the
 presence or absence of indicator organisms without
 regard to relative abundance. The biorecon survey
 documented poor scores, prompting
 TDEC to place a 20.8-mile segment
 of upper Cherokee Creek (from its
 headwaters to a point near Cherokee
 Road) on Tennessee's section 303(d)
 list in 2002. TDEC identified grazing
 practices and land development as
 the primary sources of sediment pol-
 lution that caused a loss of biological
 integrity. TDEC completed a total
 maximum daily load (TMDL) for
 siltation and habitat alteration for the
 Nolichucky River watershed, which
 includes Cherokee Creek. The U.S.
 Environmental Protection Agency
 approved the TMDL on February 26,
 2008.
Project partners installed agricultural BMPs along
the impaired segment of Cherokee Creek in 2006 to
reduce erosion. They built fences to exclude cattle
from the creek and installed a pipeline to carry
water to a new alternative watering tank (Figure 1).
Funding from Tennessee's Agricultural Resources
Conservation Fund helped pay for the BMPs.
                              Figure 1. Example of an alternative watering tank.

-------
Results
Implementing agricultural BMPs had reduced silt-
ation and improved habitat, allowing macroinverte-
brate populations to rise. In 2005 TDEC established
Semi-Quantitative Single Habitat Assessment
(SQSH) stations at mile 1.0 (Taylor Bridge Road)
and at mile 2.5 (Charlie Parker Road). Similar to the
biorecon, the SQSH assessment is a tool used to
recognize stream impairment as judged  by species
richness measures, emphasizing the presence or
absence of indicator organisms without  regard to
relative abundance. The principal metrics used are
the total macroinvertebrate families (or genera)
and the number of families of mayflies, stone-
flies and caddisflies (EPT). At mile 1.0, the SQSH
documented 9 EPT genera and 31 total genera.
The SQSH scored 38 out of 42 on the Tennessee
Macroinvertebrate  Index. At mile 2.5, the SQSH
documented 9 EPT genera and 23 total genera for
a score of 36 out of 42. On the basis of the SQHS
data, TDEC removed the 20.8-mile  segment of
Cherokee Creek from Tennessee's  2008  Clean
Water Act section 303(d) list for siltation (Figure  2).
Partners and Funding
Staff from Washington County Soil Conservation
District worked closely with landowners to iden-
tify and implement BMPs. This project received
cost-share funds from Tennessee Agricultural
Resources Conservation Fund. From 2003 to 2008,
the Tennessee Agricultural Resources Conservation
Fund provided $1,980 with an additional match of
$661 from local landowners.
                                                           BMPs installed along Cherokee Creek in Washington County, Tennessee
                                                                         TN06010108536-2000
                                                                 Legend

                                                                 A  BMPs along Cherokee Creek
                                                                 	 Cherokee


                                                                 Q^ Cherokee Creek WS
                                                                 L17J Tennessee Counties
ID NRCSCode
1 614
2 516
Practice
Watering Facility
Pipeline
Size of Project
1 Tank
600 feet
County
Washington
Washington
HUC8
6010108
6010108
Streamname
Cherokee Creek
Cherokee Creek
                                                                  TN Dept of Agricultui
                                                                                           Cherokee Creek segments
                                                                                           are delisted for Pasture Graz
                                                                                           and Land Development, 20.S
                                                  Figure 2. Map showing the previously impaired portion of Cherokee
                                                  Creek and the locations of BMPs installed.
I
55
•     U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"fc   Office of Water
 g   Washington, DC
     EPA841-F-09-001K
     June 2009
                                                    For additional information contact:
                                                    Sam Marshall
                                                    Tennessee Department of Agriculture
                                                    Sam.Marshall@tn.gov
                                                    615-837-5306

-------