TN Coldwater Summit

Please join us for our annual Coldwater Summit on February 1, 2025

The meeting will start at 9:00am eastern time and will be held at the Concord Yacht Club on Fort Loudoun Lake (11600 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37922).  All Tennessee TU members are invited to attend.

A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.  PLEASE REGISTER by January 24th to ensure that we have enough food.

An agenda will be sent out at a later date, but here are the items that we expect to hear about.

The 2025 Coldwater Summit Theme to be something like: "Coldwater Ecosystems and Intense Precipitation Events in Appalachia: Stewardship Challenges and Opportunities".  Each speaker at our upcoming meeting to provide a formal, twenty-minute viewchart presentation addressing this topic.  The twenty-minute presentation will be followed by a ten-minute Q&A session with the audience.

Each speaker address five specific questions in their presentation:

1. What do we already know about the impact of intense precipitation events on our coldwater systems?
2. What have we learned, and what CAN we learn going forward from the Helene Event about the impact of such events on our coldwater ecosystems and fisheries ?  Post-event damage assessments? Effects on the river and stream morphology and related issues?  Effects on the rivers's web-of-life and its coldwater fisheries?  Effects on river/stream civil infrastructure (culverts, bridges, access/parking areas, etc.)?
3. How can we better prepare for future events (which climate specialists tell us will happen more frequently in our region).
4. Do such disasters present opportunities that would not otherwise exist?  How can post-event cleanup activities be leveraged for the long-term good of the river and ecosystem?  Here I'm thinking of a question posed by Mark - should we haul away all the downed wood on the riverbank, or should we strategically save some of it for later placement back in the river)
5. How should increased frequency of intense precipitation events affect our conservation/stewardship investment priorities and strategies?

We hope to see you there,
Ryan Turgeon - TN Council Chair