The Etowah River flows across central-north Georgia, eventually joining the Oostanaula River in Rome to form the Coosa River, which flows west into Alabama. The Conservancy works in the upper Etowah basin above Lake Allatoona, where natural diversity is relatively intact. The watershed of the upper Etowah River includes over 100 tributaries and covers over 400,000 acres of hardwood forests, floodplains, and wetlands. It also supplies fresh drinking water to local communities and metropolitan Atlanta.

The Etowah River is home to many imperiled species, including 17 fishes and 16 invertebrates. Four of the fish species are found solely in the Etowah basin: the Etowah darter, Cherokee darter, and two species of holiday darter. Freshwater mussels are also of particular concern, including the upland comb shell, southern clubshell, and ovate clubshell. Several imperiled plants grow in the basin like the large-flowered skullcap, which is found in several Conservancy sites in Georgia, small whorled pogonia, and Tennessee yellow-eyed grass.

Once heavily polluted by gold mining techniques, 15 of the river’s 91 fish species and almost all of the original mussel species have disappeared. Now the main threat to the watershed is urban sprawl. The Nature Conservancy works with local organizations, business leaders, and landowners to develop sustainable land use planning practices and to protect particularly sensitive areas. So far, the Conservancy has helped protect 4,754 acres of the Etowah watershed.

Nature picture credits (left to right): Etowah river bank © Mark Godfrey/TNC; Photo © Mark Godfrey/TNC.