Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation
Saving Tennessee's natural treasures
from the Mighty Mississippi to the Great Smoky Mountains and beyond . . .
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Last updated Tuesday December 01, 2009 |
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Tennessee Parks and Greenways |
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We must act now to preserve Tennessee's land and water. So much is at risk! |
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Tennessee is a beautiful green garden, with mile-high mountains in the East, the grand Mississippi River in the West, and 19,000 miles of sparkling rivers in between. It is dotted with bountiful farms, crisscrossed with scenic back roads and blessed with rolling hills and abundant wildlife. Across our state, Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation is wrapping a gift . . . for future generations . . . and tying it in beautiful green, and sometimes blue, ribbons . . . called greenways. Tennessee parks and greenways will help celebrate and preserve the splendid character of our state. For generations, Tennessee’s rich natural heritage remained relatively undaunted. Yet, it is the inherent beauty of this land that has, in recent years, attracted an increasing number of new businesses and residents to the state. Tennessee's population increased from 3.9 million in 1970 to 5 million in 1990; it is expected to increase to 6 million by the year 2010. A larger population will need more recreation opportunity. And more residents will accelerate the fragmentation of our landscape into smaller individually-owned parcels. The concern over the impact this “Urban Sprawl” would have on our natural areas and wildlife is part of what spurred the creation of The Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s 1997 Inventory, more than 80,000 acres of Tennessee’s beautiful countryside are being developed annually, placing Tennessee seventh in loss of acreage in the United States. Our rivers are among the richest in the world. The “Rivers of Life” study by the Nature Conservancy named the Tennessee Cumberland River Basin as one of the top two most biologically diverse regions of the U.S. and the world. Yet, Tennessee has rivers that are among the most important in the world in need of protection. Tennessee is rich with native plant and animal life, with more than 4,000 species. We are one of the top ten richest states in America for biological diversity; yet, we are ranked among the most threatened in the nation due to loss of natural areas. Already, in Tennessee, 100 known species are extinct and 600 plant and 250 animal species are rare or endangered. (1995 report, Endangered Ecosystems of the United States: A Preliminary Assessment of Loss and Degradation by the National Biological Service) We have more freshwater fish and crayfish species than any other state in the U.S. and our rivers are the global center of freshwater mussel diversity. Yet, The Nature Conservancy has identified Tennessee as one of four states with the highest percentage of imperiled aquatic species. Twenty-one species of mussels have been permanently lost to extinction and half of those that remain are rare or endangered. Land conservation along rivers and streams is critical to protecting water quality and preventing flood damage. Streamside vegetation and wetlands filter pollutants before they enter our streams. Runoff and non-point source pollution are the No. 1 source of water pollution in Tennessee. Streamside vegetation can reduce the ravages of flooding rivers by slowing the flow of storm waters. Sixty percent of our wetlands have been lost and many of our streams and rivers have been channelized or impounded. Tennessee has more tree species than in all of Europe. Yet we know that where there were once 21 million acres of bottomland hardwood forest along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, now less than 20 percent remain. Trees are our lungs on the land and cleanse our air. Forestry and forest products contribute $15.5 billion per year to our state’s economy, employing more than 60,000 people. Land conservation will protect private forests and timber production and other forest resources from conversion to subdivisions and other development that fragment our forests. Parks are good for our state’s economy. Tourism is the second largest industry in Tennessee, employing 139,000 Tennesseans and contributing $8 billion to our economy and $600 million in local and state tax revenues. The top tourist attractions in Tennessee are parks. Tennessee attracts visitors because of its natural beauty. Parks and open space create a high quality of life that attracts tax-paying businesses and residents to communities. For example, in Chattanooga, where once there was rusting factories and a blighted downtown area, investments in downtown parks and greenways have spurred new businesses and increased property values. The number of businesses downtown has doubled in 8 years. Assessed property values have increased over $11 million, an increase of 127.5%, and the property tax revenues have gone up over $592,000, an increase of 99%. Parks and open space are vital to quality of life that fuels economic health. When 2000 people were asked about elements necessary for a good quality of life, low crime, safe streets, and access to greenery and open space were the major elements cited. Land conservation along rivers and streams is critical to protecting water quality and preventing flood damage. Streamside vegetation and wetlands filter pollutants before they enter our streams. Runoff and non-point source pollution are the number one sources of water pollution in Tennessee. Streamside vegetation can reduce the ravages of flooding rivers by slowing the flow of storm waters. Trees are our lungs on the land and cleanse our air. Forestry and forest products contribute $15.5 billion per year to our state’s economy, employing more than 60,000 people. Land conservation will also protect private forests and timber production and other forest resources from conversion to subdivisions and other development that fragments our forests. Parks and open space create a high quality of life that attracts tax-paying businesses and residents to communities. For example, in Chattanooga, where once there was rusting factories and a blighted downtown area, investments in downtown parks and greenways have spurred new businesses and increased property values. The number of businesses downtown have doubled in 8 years. Assessed property values have increased over $11 million, an increase of 127.5%, and the property tax revenues have gone up over $592,000, an increase of 99%. Farmland loss in Tennessee is escalating and it hurts our way of life, our economy and our tourism. More than 40 studies from 11 states have found that farms can save communities money by contributing more in taxes than they demand in tax-supported services. Farmland protection also helps safeguard the tourist economy by preserving vistas and open landscapes tourists love. Our mission is to protect Tennessee's natural treasures. We should help preserve parks, wildlife areas, waterfalls, farms and forests, natural areas, create greenways, and help landowners protect their land through conservation easements. Every conservation project, no matter how small, saves a little piece of this land that would have been lost forever. Every success story brings us that much more visibility, that much more understanding by the public about the importance of conservation. We should act now to identify and protect the most scenic, the most ecologically rich, the most historically significant places remaining in Tennessee. We should decide now what our green infrastructure needs will be for future generations, and build private and public support for that vision. Large tracts of land will never be more available than they are today. That is why the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation is working now, against great odds and limited funding opportunities, to protect the scenic beauty of Tennessee's "garden."
Won't you please support our work? Your donation will help protect and conserve Tennessee’s land and waters, its woodlands, rivers, mountains and wildlife. It’s a great gift for future generations. Click here to help. |
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