LRL: Green River Lake and the Nature Conservancy Sustainable Rivers Project

(left to right) Neil Myers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Dr. Richie Kessler with The Nature Conservancy accept a 2003 Earth Day Award from EQC Commissioner Lindell Ormsbee.

Lake: Green River Lake, KY

Partners: USACE; The Nature Conservancy

Partnership Type: MOU

Corps POC: Neil Myers, Park Manager

Story: On July 9, The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced a collaborative effort to improve the management of dams on various rivers across the country. Under the new partnership, entitled the Sustainable Rivers Project, the two organizations will work together to improve dam operations, helping to restore and protect the health of rivers and surrounding natural areas while continuing to meet human needs for services such as flood control and power generation. The partnership is one that both organizations expect will improve the quality of America's waterways. Thirty-five of the Green River’s aquatic species are considered imperiled. Worsening water quality caused by development, agriculture, and logging runoff are the main reasons for the decline. The Nature Conservancy is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to alter their operation of the Green River Dam, located at the river’s critical headwaters, and restore natural flow regimes to benefit wildlife.

URL: http://www.nature.org/initiatives/freshwater/work/greenriver.html