The Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance voted Wednesday to seek to identify one or two local streams where its members can work for improvements.

Fred Kaufmann, the group’s president, said he favors this approach because the Alliance’s major project last year continues to be stalled.

The Alliance has been trying to work with the Greene County Fishing & Hunting Club, which has an agreement with the county government to maintain the county-owned wetlands near the Wal-Mart Regional Distribution Center.

That project has been stalled for about a year because of a lack of permanent, legal access to the wetlands, Kaufmann said. Lack of access is itself stalling at least two grants that the Alliance had lined up to enhance the artificially created wetlands by adding more of the types of natural vegetation that state experts say would be found there if it were natural.

The 40-acre artificial wetlands was created in 1996 by the county government to offset or “mitigate” the effects of the destruction of about 10 acres of natural wetlands when the Distribution Center was built.

Kaufmann said he had spoken with science teachers at Tusculum College, and with Mike McElroy, district conservationist with the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), about selecting a specific stream for improvement.

McElroy pointed out that Greene County has a fairly high number of streams that are on the state Department of Environment & Conservation’s listing of state streams that are considered “impaired” in some way.

Kaufmann said it might be possible that a biology class at Tusculum College would assist with efforts to monitor stream water quality, once one or two streams have been chosen.

He also said the NRCS is already working with several local farmers who are interested in reducing the amount of pollution that gets into local streams from various agricultural operations.

Kaufmann said McElroy was optimistic about what the Alliance might be able to do regarding improving streams “one or two at a time.” He said McElroy, who has worked with the Alliance since its creation two years ago, has agreed to be the “primary advisor” on this project.

One of the first steps might be for the group to visit a stream bank reclamation project already in progress on Sinking Creek.

In other action, the group decided that any future requests for funding will need to be made in writing, during the month before the monthly meeting at which they are discussed.

The group said it was pleased to learn that Greene County’s government has again appropriated $1,000 toward the Alliance’s work.

In addition, treasurer Mark Benko reported that a $50 check from the Greeneville Junior Woman's Club had arrived, unsolicited, to help with the group’s efforts.

Kaufmann said that receiving money that had not been sought was “kind of neat,” and an indicator of public support of what the group is trying to do.