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The Etowah River

Etowah River
Etowah River
© The Nature Conservancy
 

Geography
The Etowah River watershed is located in central north Georgia, about an hour north of Atlanta. The Nature Conservancy is working in the upper portion of the Etowah basin above Lake Allatoona where the aquatic biological diversity is mostly intact. The Etowah River ultimately joins the Oostanaula River in Rome, Ga., to form the Coosa River which then flows west into Alabama.

Wildlife
It is estimated that the Etowah River has more imperiled species (17 fish species and 16 invertebrate species) than any other river system of its size in the southeastern United States. Of particular concern in the Etowah River watershed are a number of fish and mussel species, including the amber and Etowah darters (listed as federally endangered), the Cherokee darter (federally threatened), and the federally endangered upland comb shell and the southern and ovate clubshells. Endangered plants include the large-flowered skullcap and Tennessee yellow-eyed grass; the federally-threatened small whorled pogonia is also found here.

Etowah darter
Etowah darter
© Candace Stoughton/TNC




  

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing
The Nature Conservancy works closely with local organizations, business leaders, and landowners to protect the globally significant aquatic biodiversity of the Etowah watershed. The greatest threat to the river system is sprawling urban growth. The Nature Conservancy is working with local communities to develop sustainable land use planning practices that would protect ecologically sensitive areas.

Etowah River Project Manager Candace Stoughton has been publishing regular columns in area newspapers about efforts to protect the vast biological diversity of this watershed. Click on the articles below to learn more about the ecological workings of this great river and what the Conservancy and its partners are doing to protect it for future generations.

Download
To learn more about the Conservancy's on-going efforts to protect the Etowah River watershed, download a copy of the Upper Etowah River Watershed fact sheet.or download conservation-related articles written by project staff and published in local community newspapers.

• Designing with Greenroofs to Protect Our Water (.pdf, 202 kb)
• The Dawson Forest: A Precious Jewel in the Etowah Watershed (.pdf, 160 kb)
• Rain Gardens (.pdf, 143 kb)
• How Does the Fish Cross Under the Road (.pdf, 144 kb)
• New Professor Enthralled by Darters (.pdf, 152 kb)
• The Land and Water Connection (.pdf, 133 kb)
• History of Our Streams - II (.pdf, 147 kb)
• Transfer of Development Rights (.pdf, 191 kb)
• History of Our Streams - I (.pdf, 138 kb)
• Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining(.pdf, 105 kb)
• Habitat Conservation Plan (.pdf, 147kb)
• Our Tiniest Streams (.pdf, 209 kb)
• The Frecklebelly Madtom (.pdf, 158 kb)
• Darting Around the Etowah (.pdf, 145 kb)
• The Etowah River Basin (.pdf, 419 kb)