4.5 River Basins
4.5.10 Little Tennessee River Basin 4.5.10.1 River Basin Description
Te Little Tennessee River Basin drains part of southwestern North Carolina in Graham, Macon, Swain, Jackson, and Clay counties in the Mountain ecoregion. Te headwaters of the Little Tennessee River are in northeastern Georgia, where it fows for seven miles before entering North Carolina. Te mainstem Little Tennessee River fows 125 miles through North Carolina before entering Tennessee where it joins the Tennessee River. It is part of the Tennessee/Ohio/Mississippi river system. Te basin covers 1,797 square miles in North Carolina and has 2,565 stream miles and 21,158 acres of impoundments. Major tributaries include the Cullasaja, Nantahala, Tuckasegee, Oconaluftee, and Cheoah rivers. Impoundments include Fontana, Nantahala, Calderwood, Cheoah, Santeetlah, Glenville, Bear Creek, Cedar Clif, Wolf Creek, Tanasee Creek, Ela, Emory, and Sequoyah. Land use in the basin is about 90% forested, 5% urban or developed, 3% agricultural, and less than 1% each of grassland and wetland (MRLC 2011; Jin et al. 2013) . Land ownership in the basin is more than 50% publicly owned, with much of that lying within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Nantahala National Forest. Te Needmore Game Land (about 4,600 acres) is a recently acquired tract along the Little Tennessee River in Macon and Swain counties and is managed by the NCWRC. Te Qualla Boundary Cherokee Indian Reservation covers portions of the Oconaluftee and Tuckasegee watersheds. Much of the higher elevations are within the National Forest and National Park; however, development on private holdings in higher elevations has increased in recent years. Development is presently greatest in the valleys and along the major waterways. Te Little Tennessee River Basin encompasses all or portions of six counties and nine municipalities. Sizeable municipalities in this basin include Bryson City, Franklin, Highlands, and Sylva (Figure 4.19). 4.5.10.2 Aquatic Resource Conditions Tere are more than 3,200 miles of freshwater streams in the basin that have been classi- fed by NCDWR for best uses (NCDWQ 2012c) . Water quality is generally good for areas where data are available; however, there are problems in parts of the basin (described below), and the lack of data for nearly half the basin provides an unclear assessment of overall water quality. It is important to note that all waters in the state are rated as impaired based on a state-wide fsh consumption advisory for mercury contamination. In addition to the best-use classifcations, NCDWR also monitors waters of the state to determine if they are
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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