Members of the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance heard praise for the Nolichucky River’s water quality Wednesday, and learned that an endangered catfish species has been found locally.

The group had a guest speaker, Dr. Ed Scott, a TVA fisheries biologist with 25 years of experience. He said that many years ago when he was a student, his professor once mentioned that the class would not study the Nolichucky because it was “a beat-up river” that did not have enough aquatic species left to merit study.

“So many good things have happened to the river over the last 30 to 40 years,” Scott said, that now the river is “something to be proud of.”

He said that the Crockett Lake reservoir is a negative exception, because “it’s all full of sand.”

Samples of aquatic life immediately behind the dam came out “poor,” he said, but in several other places, both above and below Crockett Lake, samples were “borderline excellent.”

‘A Wonderful River Now’

Scott said that, based on the study now being completed, “It is a wonderful river now.”

Scott also said he was surprised to learn recently, at a two-day meeting held in Knoxville on imperiled aquatic species, that a team from the University of Alabama has located a small population of the endangered “Chucky Mad Tom,” a small black and white catfish, in Little Chucky Creek.

Little Chucky Creek is a very clean stream, according to the most recent 2000 state study. The creek has its source near Hal Henard Road and flows into the Nolichucky River near Warrensburg, passing under the historic Bible Covered Bridge and paralleling the Warrensburg Road along part of its route.

Scott showed the group a video prepared by the Missouri Department of Conservation that dealt with federal assistance available to farmers whose land has a creek or stream in which an endangered species is found to be living.

In the video, several farmers, including a dairy producer, said they were at first apprehensive when they learned that an endangered species was in water on their land.

But in each case, the farmers said that the extra assistance available because of the endangered species had helped them make improvements to protect or improve water quality that also improved their farm operation.

Sally Causey, director of Rural Resources, said she was aware of some U.S. Fish & Wildlife assistance that Mike McElroy, district conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, has already obtained for farmers along Little Chucky Creek.

Steve Henegar, of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, said he was also aware that McElroy was working with farmers along Little Chucky Creek to make water-quality related farm improvements.

McElroy was not present, but said this morning in an interview that federal assistance is in the works for four farmers along Little Chucky Creek, and that the threatened species was part of the reason the money was available.

McElroy said he was initially approached by U.S. Fish & Wildlife officers seeking to protect the creek because of the catfish, which he said “is only about two inches long, full grown.” He said the Chuckey Mad Tom is not on the U.S. endangered species list, but is on a similar list for Tennessee.

McElroy said contracts are being written now, and at least one, and possibly two, farmers will participate. He said the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will bear 100 percent of the cost, and the farmer will provide labor.