Ela Dam
Provide support for the Ela Dam project being run by Mainspring Conservation Trust who is taking on legal ownership and liability of the dam and the associated properties.
The supporting stakeholders in this project include the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Southern Environmental Law Center representing American Rivers, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, American Whitewater, U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
The opportunities for ecological and cultural restoration projects on the property are huge, as it represents 131.6 acres along the Oconaluftee River in Swain County, with all parcels save the dam site taking the form of long, skinny tracts that border 1.5 miles of the river upstream of the dam.
That stretch of river abuts the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Qualla Boundary and is home to the federally endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel (Alasmidonta raveneliana) and to the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), a rare giant salamander that is listed as a species of special concern in North Carolina.
It’s also vital habitat for the sicklefin redhorse (moxostoma ugidatli), a fish that is on the state’s endangered species list and has special cultural significance for the EBCI.
More information coming soon
The supporting stakeholders in this project include the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Southern Environmental Law Center representing American Rivers, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, American Whitewater, U.S. Forest Service National Forests in North Carolina, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
The opportunities for ecological and cultural restoration projects on the property are huge, as it represents 131.6 acres along the Oconaluftee River in Swain County, with all parcels save the dam site taking the form of long, skinny tracts that border 1.5 miles of the river upstream of the dam.
That stretch of river abuts the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Qualla Boundary and is home to the federally endangered Appalachian elktoe mussel (Alasmidonta raveneliana) and to the eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), a rare giant salamander that is listed as a species of special concern in North Carolina.
It’s also vital habitat for the sicklefin redhorse (moxostoma ugidatli), a fish that is on the state’s endangered species list and has special cultural significance for the EBCI.
More information coming soon