Tennessee

2021 Guy Bradley Award 
Federal Winner (TN)
Retired Special Agent in Charge Timothy Santel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the federal level recipient of the 2021 Guy Bradley Award. The Nashville Zoo is the beneficiary organization of his $2,500 award.
$2,500

Canaan Valley Institute
Coordinating Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture Strategies and Goals (multiple states)
Continue the activities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture in the historic range of the species. Project will refine the strategic objectives and key conservation priorities of the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture using the results of the recently completed status assessment of wild brook trout at the catchment scale.
$74,999

Cumberland River Compact
Implementing Low-Cost Stream and Riparian Buffer Restoration on Private Lands (KY, TN)
Engage landowners in hands-on stream bank repair of headwater streams and restoration of the riparian buffers within priority watersheds in the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky and Tennessee. Project will train landowners and students from historically black colleges and universities on stream restoration techniques and plant 14,000 trees along 4 miles of stream, benefiting fish, freshwater mussels and other species.
$149,999

Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council
Water Quality Conservation in the Conasauga River Watershed (GA, TN)
Build on previous project efforts to work with local agricultural and business landowners to improve water quality in the Conasauga River watershed. Project will create partnerships and conduct outreach in order to implement water quality best management practices and bolster conservation efforts in support of published recovery plans for 10 of the listed fish and mussel species in the basin.
$256,304

Mississippi River Trust
Forested Wetland Restoration in the Lower Mississippi River Floodplain – II (multiple states)
Reforest and protect frequently flooded, marginal cropland on private lands through the adoption of USDA Wetland Reserve Easements in the active floodplain of the Lower Mississippi River. Project will establish 10,285 acres of bottomland hardwood forest to expand and enhance habitat and improve water quality, benefiting the Louisiana black bear, swamp rabbit, forest birds, waterfowl and freshwater fish.
$780,000

North Carolina State University
Expanding Prescribed Fire Delivery to Restore Southeast Forests (multiple states)
Expand and accelerate the implementation of prescribed fire to restore and enhance longleaf pine habitat and other fire dependent forest and grassland communities within the Southeast. Project will engage landowners, including underserved landowners and fire practitioners through technical assistance, training and outreach to increase the use of prescribed fire.
$180,000

Ruffed Grouse Society
Restoring Forest Habitat for Wildlife in the Cumberland Plateau (KY, TN)
Improve forest health through forest restoration and management to benefit at-risk wildlife species on private and public lands in the Cumberland Plateau region of Kentucky and Tennessee. Project will work with public land managers and private landowners to restore and enhance more than 12,000 acres of shortleaf pine and oak forest habitat to improve populations of golden-winged warbler, ruffed grouse and other woodland and savanna-dependent species.
$199,807

Tennessee Aquarium
Monitoring Status of Bridled Darters and Assessing Threats to Blue Shiners (AL, GA, TN)
Monitor abundance and genetic health of the bridled darter and assess threats to federally threatened blue shiners in the Coosa River drainage. Project will utilize snorkeling, eDNA surveys and DNA analysis from tissues to monitor bridled darters and will utilize geographic information systems, fish passage assessments, eDNA surveys and habitat comparisons to other watersheds to assess threats to blue shiners.
$113,097

TennGreen Land Conservancy
Soak Creek Farm Grassland and Shortleaf Pine Restoration (TN)
Restore grassland and shortleaf pine habitats, treat native hemlocks for the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid along creeks flowing to the Soak Creek State Scenic River and engage young conservationists and landowners through educational events in Bledsoe and Rhea counties in Tennessee. Project will burn 338 acres of early successional habitat, plant 60,000 shortleaf pine seedlings and treat 48 acres of hemlock, benefiting prairie warbler and other grassland birds, as well as aquatic species.
$215,000

The Nature Conservancy
Conserving the Cumberland Forest in Tennessee
Conserve at least 15,000 acres in Tennessee for public recreation, sustainable forestry and wildlife habitat management in the Central Appalachians. Project will ensure the protection of habitat for multiple, high priority aquatic and terrestrial species; provide critical habitat linkage of over 280,000 acres between Tennessee and Kentucky; generate revenues for the local economy via sustainable forestry; and support outdoor recreation.
$620,000

Trout Unlimited
Restoring Connectivity to Native Brook Trout Habitat in the French Broad Watershed (TN)
Reconnect native Southern Appalachian brook trout habitat on two tributaries to the French Broad River by replacing culverts blocking aquatic organism passage with fully passable structures. Project will reconnect 4 miles of native brook trout habitat and 29 miles of small stream network, allowing genetically distinct, endemic populations of brook trout better access to breeding habitat and thermal refuge.
$70,871

Wolf River Conservancy
Wolf River Greenway Restoration VI (TN)
Remove 25 acres of invasives, plant 1,500 trees and clean up trash and debris from key locations along the Wolf River in urbanized sections of the City of Memphis, Tennessee. Project will engage 800 residents to protect and restore the watershed features and hydrological functions of sites currently impacted by invasive plant species, stormwater runoff, erosion, pollution and illegal dumping, especially along the urban sections of the Wolf River.
$38,837