In 2023, the Little River Watershed Association celebrated 25 years of being in existence, and the Daily Times wrote a great piece on us and some of our projects and our history. Click the link below to read the full article!
Common Mergansers in the Little River!
One of the most interesting stories in the modern day world of Ornithology is playing out in our own backyard in the Little River Watershed! Commonly known as “saw-bills”, females of this very large duck species (Mergus merganser) have been observed with broods of ducklings along the Little River between Townsend and Walland since 2017 when local bird watchers first photographed a female with eight young from the old bridge near Walland. The attached photo was taken by Randy Winstead, an avid bird watcher and citizen scientist, who also resides on the Little River downstream of Coulters Bridge. Since 2017, Winstead has compiled over 142 eBird reports on Common Mergansers in Blount County! In 2020 it is believed that there were at least six successful broods raised on Little River which included at least two broods from the Metcalf Bottoms area in Sevier County. In June of 2022 Winstead observed a female with seven young on a rock in the river in front of his house which represents the farthest downstream successful breeding known to date. In addition to the Little River observations, Keith Watson from Pittman Center has observed a similar trend with breeding numbers on the Middle Prong of the Pigeon River in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mr. Watson has documented his extensive findings in THE MIGRANT, which is published by the Tennessee Ornithological Society.
The documented breeding of Common Mergansers in these watershed areas is the first known from Tennessee since 1899! There is much speculation among those in the ornithological world about why this population expansion, or possible re-expansion is happening now. Is it associated with climate change? Or is it a response to the regrowth of forested riparian zones that were heavily logged for timber during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s which resulted in the severe degradation of these cold water stream habitats? As mentioned earlier, these are big ducks that are 25 inches long with a wingspan of 34 inches. They are known to be primarily cavity nesters similar to wood ducks. So have the riparian trees in these watersheds regrown to the size that can create a cavity large enough for these nesting females? Or have the streams' water quality and aquatic habitats improved to the point where they can support enough fish and other aquatic organisms that these birds depend on for food? And now for the biggest current mystery-no one to date has found an actual nest site yet! So while you are paddling or fishing the Little River early next spring be on the lookout for a female Common merganser sticking her head out of a tree cavity or possibly nesting on a rock bluff overhang or even on the ground adjacent to the River. You may actually help answer some questions about this ongoing Ornithological “mystery” right here in the Little River Watershed!
Many thanks to Wes James, a Little River Watershed Association board member and retired TVA Biologist for the write up!
All images are courtesy of Randy Winstead, a resident of Blount County and avid bird watcher.
2020 Wrap-up!
The LRWA is a proud Community Shares member!
Community Shares is a federation of Tennessee based non-profits who have joined together to raise money cooperatively. Giving back to Community Shares helps give back to a multitude of TN based nonprofits, please consider workplace giving if that’s available to you, or touch base to try and set this up at your job! Check out this short video to find out more information about workplace campiagns with Community Shares!
LRWA 2019 Wrap up and Review!
We've had such an exciting year as an organization! With help from other local organizations, we've helped clean up over 60 bags of trash, 20 car tires and one bike tire from our watershed and help remove several pounds of invasive plant material from the stream banks of the Little River at the Townsend Riverwalk and Arboretum.
We also continued our educational programs by having several Stream School for kids programs, which allowed several dozens of kids to have a STEM based experience on and in the Little River while learning about what a watershed actually is.
Finally, in collaboration with Keep Blount Beautiful, we put on an inaugural community event and fundraiser, the Little River Run 5K, which was a huge success, and a fun event for both our organizations to put on. We are beyond grateful for the community support and especially thankful to all of our sponsors that helped allow us to put on the event
LRWA board President Andrew Gunnoe and his two daughters with several of our volunteers for the Pistol Creek cleanup
Runners taking off at the start of the very first Little River Run 5K!
We are excited for a new year and decade and hope to see you in 2020!
Little River Run 5K
LRWA 2017 Wrap Up
LRWA 2017 Wrap up
First, all of us at LRWA want to thanks everyone for the contributions and support throughout 2017. Although we may have been a bit less active than in previous years, this last year the organization focused on some administrative and structural transitions that will lead on into an even bigger and better 2018! As we enter the New Year we would like to debut our new and updated website, which will feature updates, news, and upcoming events.
Among our favorite accomplishments from 2017 were the completion of four very successful Stream School for our local youth. Attendance was so great that all sessions were full and we were even able to have a special day for Blount County Homeschoolers group. The Stream Schools are among our favorite events and we at LRWA hope anyone who participated enjoyed the experience as much as we did. A very special thank you goes out to everyone that donated their time and effort to make these events happen!
This year we also held a presence at the Blue Ribbon County Fair at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage center. This was one of our first steps to reviving our role an active and informative presence within the community. In addition to providing information on the Little River and handing out free Little River Blueways maps, we also had interactive family activities and a watershed scientist on hand to answer questions. These are among a number of education and outreach activities that will continue and expand in 2018. And to top it off, we enjoyed all of the wonderful information we learned about Appalachian heritage and, of course, watching events such as the greased pig chase and cast iron skillet toss. Thank you Blue Ribbon County Fair for the fun!
In terms of fundraising in 2017, we would like to send a very special thank you to the Little River Trading Company who hosted a ‘Pints for a Purpose’ for LRWA. The event was a hit and over $300 from raffles sales was raised to support the LRWA’s efforts. We also thank all who came out that night and we hope some of you went home with some awesome prizes. We are looking forward to having another LRWA Pints for a Purpose night in 2018 and will announce the official date soon!
Now, with 2017 behind us, we are making the big plans for 2018! A full calendar of events for 2018 will be posted on the website by February, but in the meantime here are a few highlights of what’s coming up. First, LRWA is planning a Spring River Clean Up event to celebrate the Earth Day weekend. We be increasing our outreach efforts this year so look for a LRWA booth more local festivals and Farmers Markets. Come by, say hi, check out our new shirts and swag, and play some fun games with the kiddos! Of course, 2018 wouldn’t be complete without the return of Stream School in the Summer. So watch for the first announcements and sign up period in the Spring because it always fills up fast! And last but not least, we are planning a big fun filled event with Conservation Fisheries Inc. in late July. This event will be a day of paddling, music, food and FUN! But even more it will be a great opportunity to get out, enjoy, and support the Little River we adore so much. Details coming in the Spring! As you can see, 2018 is shaping up to be a great year filled with lots of fun and activities.
With that, we appreciate all of the support for the Little River Watershed Association during the past year and we are looking forward to having a bigger and better 2018!