A Blue Trail is a dedicated stretch of river that enjoys special clean 10 Simple Ways You Can Help Keep the Tuck Healthy enton water safeguards and is a destination for fishing, boating, and other B MacKaye ¤£441 1. Plant a rain garden to clean stormwater and provide butterflyHaywood Count y recreation. Just as hiking trails are designed to help people explore 1. Deep Creek and pollinator habitat. the land, Blue Trails help people discover rivers. Blue Trails provide a Located in the 2. Stop soil erosion. Sedimentation from erosion is a major National Park, Deep Creek is known for fun, exciting way to get kids outdoors, connect communities to Raven impact to them Tuck. Build smart with erosion control and cover 3. Kituwah ! treasured landscapes, benefit local businesses and contribute to a waterfalls, trails, swimming, tubing, and fly Fork exposed soil with thick mulchMaggie or vegetation.Valley Recognized as the place of origin for the high quality of life. fishing. Deep Creek also supplies drinking !m 4 4. OconalufteeVisitors Center 3. Volunteer!m at a local river cleanup. www.AmericanRivers.org/ People, this site was established water to the town of Bryson City. Rivers and In 2001, elk were reintroduced to the Great Cleanup!m about 10,000 years ago. £276 The Tuckasegee River Blue Trail meanders for nearly 60-miles from streams like this one provide almost two- Smoky Mountains National Park for the 4. Reduce water waste and install water efficient fixtures. ¤ thirds of the drinking water in the United k the headwaters in Panthertown Valley through Cullowhee, Dillsboro, ee first time since the late 1700’s when they Ha y wo5. Keep o d our trout water cool with Shade Your Stream. States. Clean rivers equal healthy r C o u n t y and Bryson City ultimately joining the Little . The Great Smoky C Qualla were extirpated from over-hunting and www.ShadeYourStream.org communities. Tuckasegee River, often called “the Tuck,” offers serene flatwater Mountains r Boundary habitat loss. The Oconaluftee Visitors Blue Ridge 6. Fertilize yards responsibly. Use only as much as your plants National Park e Cherokee Parkway Waynesville and exciting whitewater sections, and multiple well-maintained p Center is a hotspot to see the elk roam need and avoid applying before a big rain event. k oo 7. Own an outdated, unwanted dam? Financial and technical boat launches make access easy. Riverside picnic areas at some e C once again. e e Riv ¤£19 resources to help willing landowners remove dams are available access areas offer places where families and other groups can r te er

C f gather. The Tuck is a destination for fishing and home to the native u through American Rivers. Contact us today! m p l ! e a 8. Pick up pet waste. Pet waste washing into streams causes Southern Appalachian brook trout, as well as other wildlife. n !m e Oco !m unsafe-for-swimming water. Additionally, the Tuck and its tributaries provide drinking water for !mD the town of Sylva, Bryson City, and Western Carolina University. This 1 !m 9. No dumping. Storm drains go directly into our rivers. Dispose river supports life for people and nature and is a priority for 3 T of oil, chemicals, or hazardous materials at hazardous waste u ¤£441 conservation so all its outstanding values can be enjoyed for ck collection sites. a 7. Pinnacle Park !m 2 s 7 10. Take a child fishing. You only protect what you love, so take generations to come. View our online Blue Trail map and learn e Formerly Sylva’s water supply, this site is g how you can protect the Tuck and other rivers by visiting: m e now a 1,000-acre permanently protected someone fishing, boating, or exploring along the river’s edge so Bryson City ! e ¤£74 www.AmericanRivers.org/Tuckasegee ¤£74 !m !m they connect with a river! m 2. Swain County Storm Water Wetland !m R town park that includes a stunning 3.4-mile !m !!m When it rains, pollutants often get washed !m iv hike to the Pinnacle. The trail follows an old ¤£19 e This map was generously funded by The Community Foundation of over paved surfaces into our waterways r logging road for most of its length, through Western . The map is free for educational purposes through storm drains. Green infrastructure a grass¤£74 ridge and then up a short rocky trail S c o t t C re e k and is not for sale. solutions address this problem by capturing !m to the Pinnacle where panoramic views of and filtering water. Examples include rain Sylva and Scott’s Creek valley await. gardens, green roofs, and downspout !m disconnection. These nature-based ¤£74 ¤£23 Swai n Count y 6 approaches reduce runoff and pollution, Sylva decrease flooding, and keep our water 5. Dillsboro Drop Dillsboro !m clean. Swain County’s stormwater wetland Now known as the “Dillsboro Drop”, this 5 is a great example of a solution to pollution. site is where the Dillsboro Dam was removed to restore the Tuck to its natural 6. Monteith Farmstead & 8 10. Give Rivers Room to Move !m Webster reek ¤£19 free-flowing state in 2010. The Dillsboro Community Park Floodplains are an integral part of healthy !m st C dam once produced hydropower for the The Watershed Association of the 441 u rivers and floods are a natural occurrence ¤£ c ¤£116 o Map Created by the Interdisciplinary Geospatial Technology Lab-University of Tennessee ¤£74 Needmore local community, but like many other dams Tuckasegee River created the Discovery L on rivers. Small floods are very important to Chattanooga. 2018. Data sources: Mainspring Conservation Trust, NC OneMap, American Game Rivers, USGS, Esri Living Atlas. on our waterways, the dam became Trails at Monteith Farmstead Park along the health of a river and the land around it Land outdated and was no longer needed. The Scott’s Creek, a tributary to the Tuckasegee because they nourish life in and around benefits of the dam removal include and feature interpretive signs to showcase rivers. The fish, wildlife and plants that live ¤£28 improved public safety, enhanced life in and along the river. in or along a river, or floodplain, often need m ork recreation, and expanded habitat for ! F floods to survive and reproduce. During big Tuckasegee aquatic life. After the dam was removed, an Cullowhee y floods, healthy floodplains benefit L Jackson County e itt endangered freshwater mussel, the n communities by slowing and spreading le Forest Hills a Te , expanded into the C dangerous flood waters that would nn Savannah es newly free-flowing otherwise flood riverside communities, se Creek River e habitat. Removing 10 R harming people and property. Healthy Wesser Bald iv er the outdated floodplains are nature’s flood protection. Dillsboro Tuckasegee Giving rivers room to move is our best dam made the 9 protection against floods and is a great way A ¤£23 Blue Trail p Tuckasegee River to help keep rivers healthy. p VU281 al better for people 9. Trout Fishing a r

The Tuckasegee River, home to the first Fly e

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r a opportunities for trout fishing both along Forests gee i Cedar l the mainstem and in its tributaries and e Macon Count y s Cliff features several special designations a k Lake including delayed harvest and wild trout c waters. Bryson City, Sylva, Webster, and Tu rk !m Lake Dillsboro are designated as Mountain Fo Emory t Heritage Trout Water Cities by the NC s Nantahala

8. Fish Weirs e National Wildlife Resources Commission and several W m Forests ! Visible at low water in the Tuck, historic V- sites in Jackson and Swain !m shaped rock structures remind us of the rich Counties offer loaner rods to Bartram Trail culture and heritage connected to our make fishing more accessible rivers. These Cherokee structures were built for those without their own 11. Panthertown Valley Franklin Thorpe to herd fish like sicklefin redhorse to the Here, the Tuckasegee River begins at the 11 ¤£28 equipment. More information Reservoir Glenville center of the V and into a waiting trap for and a free waterproof map of of Greenland and Panthertown collection. Today, the Eastern Band of creeks. Panthertown is over 10,000 acres of ¤£23 the WNC Fly Fishing Trail® Cherokee Indians work with the!m local can be found online at protected public land within the Nantahala community to reenact the usage of these www.flyfishingtrail.com. photo: JCTDA National Forest and these protected fish weirs so people can learn about !m headwaters are critical to Tuckasegee National Park Service Conservation POI Stream Cherokee traditions and support efforts to River’s health. Known for hiking, bring back native fish. Panthertown has many stunning trails, U.S. Forest Service Water Intakes Hiking Trail !m granite domes and waterfalls to explore, ¤£64m !m Water Outtakes but!m be sure to bring a map and!m !compass to ¤£64 avoid getting lost on the many unmarked Other Protected Lands County trails. Never climbCashiers in or around waterfalls as they can be dangerous. Maps are available Miles at www.panthertownmap.com 0 5 10 !m

photo: JCTDA Esri, Airbus,USGS,NGA,NASA,CGIAR,NCEAS,NLS,OS,NMA,Geodatastyrelsen,GSA,GSI and the GIS User Community

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