INTERAGENCY MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

Among
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE,
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY,
TENNESSEE WILDLIFE RESOURCES AGENCY, and
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
TO SEEK A PERMANENT SOURCE OF FUNDING AND/OR OTHER ALTERNATIVE
MEASURE(S) TO SUPPORT TROUT PRODUCTION AND STOCKING FOR THE
STATES OF TENNESSEE AND GEORGIA MAKING BENEFICIAL USE OF AQUATIC
HABITATS MODIFIED BY WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OWNED AND
OPERATED BY THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
The MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) is hereby entered into by and among the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior (USFWS),
the Tennessee Valley Authority, an agency and instrumentality of the United States (TVA), the
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, an agency of the State of Tennessee (TWRA), and
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a department of the State of Georgia
(GADNR) (collectively, the Agencies or Parties) to cooperate in seeking a permanent source
of funding and/or other alternative measure(s) to support trout production and stocking for the
States of Tennessee and Georgia into modified habitats resulting from water development
projects owned and operated by TVA.
The following statutes provide the Parties to the MOA with authority to enter into this agreement:
USFWS: Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act (16 U.S.C. 661-666c, as amended)
TVA: TVA Act of 1933, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 831-831ee (2006 & Supp. V. 2011)
TWRA: Tennessee Code Annotated 70-1-302 (a) (7) Duties and functions.
GADNR: Official Code of Georgia Annotated 27-1-6(3)
WHEREAS, each of the Agencies has as part of its mission the conservation of natural
resources which affect and/or include fishery resources;
WHEREAS, USFWS works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish and other
aquatic resources, including operation of National Fish Hatcheries to address fish and other
aquatic resources affected by habitat modification resulting from federal water development
projects;

WHEREAS, TVA manages and operates the Tennessee River reservoir system and,
under the TVA Act, has been charged with the wise use and conservation of the natural
resources, including fisheries resources, of the Tennessee River drainage basin and adjoining
territory for the general purpose of fostering the orderly and proper physical, economic, and
social development of the Tennessee Valley region;
WHEREAS, TWRA manages, protects, and enhances fish and wildlife resources
throughout the State of Tennessee and conducts programs annually to stock fish in the streams,
rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the State;
WHEREAS, GADNR manages, protects, and enhances fish and wildlife resources
throughout the State of Georgia, including a portion of the Tennessee Valley, and conducts
programs annually to stock fish in the streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the State; and
RECOGNIZING, that Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and others have
directed USFWS to obtain reimbursement for fish production and stocking into modified habitats
from entities that operate water development projects such as dams and reservoirs and
therefore can no longer provide funding to support such activities;
RECOGNIZING, that trout stocking associated with federal water development projects
has always been provided by federal hatcheries and has never been a state obligation;
RECOGNIZING, that TWRA and GADNR rely on USFWS hatcheries to meet trout
production needs for these federal water development projects and that both agencies have a
limited funding base derived from sportsmen who already pay for management activities
associated with these fisheries;
RECOGNIZING that TWRA and GADNR have maximized hatchery production at all of
their trout hatcheries and continued production at USFWS hatcheries is required to meet current
stocking needs;
RECOGNIZING, that TVA has limited resources derived solely from Valley electric ratepayer revenues that can be directed to pay for natural resource stewardship activities and seeks
to assist in the development of a sustainable trout stocking program for Tennessee and Georgia
that is supported by all beneficiaries of these economically important programs;
RECOGNIZING, that the trout production and stocking provides important recreational
opportunities and economic benefits to the states and local communities, the Agencies have
indicated an interest in working together in a cooperative manner to seek a permanent funding
source and/or other alternative measure(s) for the trout production and stocking programs, and
to evaluate different fisheries management and/or stocking approaches.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Agencies agree as follows:
I. Agencies shall work cooperatively to address the fisheries resource needs of the
Tennessee Valley, particularly for coldwater fisheries. This shall include convening a working
group consisting of the cooperating Agencies as well as other beneficiaries of the trout
production and stocking. The Agencies will select individuals to participate in the working group.
Individuals offered an invitation to participate will be selected based upon consensus agreement
of the Agencies. The tasks of the working group shall include, but shall not be limited to: working
collaboratively to identify all sources of permanent funding and/or other business models for
supporting these activities, identifying potential efficiencies in management of fishery resources

and fish production assets, and re-evaluating each Agencys activities in the area in light of
declining budgets.
II. TVA understands that the recreational anglers and associated commercial entities of
Tennessee and Georgia are the primary beneficiaries of the stocked-trout resources in their
respective states and that they will need support as USFWS has been directed to seek
reimbursement for its production and stocking programs that provide for beneficial use of
aquatic habitats modified by water development projects owned and operated by TVA. To that
end, TVA, upon execution of this MOA by the Agencies, hereby voluntarily agrees to provide
transitional funding to the USFWS for a finite period of three years for the production and
stocking of trout in the States of Tennessee and Georgia at TVA water development projects
sites currently stocked that provide coldwater habitats necessary to support trout. The terms
and conditions of the reimbursable agreement between TVA and USFWS are contained in a
separate agreement.
III. During the 3-year transitional funding period, the Agencies agree to commit the
necessary time and resources to support the working group described above with the primary
objective being the cooperative development of a joint plan for the long-term permanent funding
of the current trout stocking program based on a sustainable business model. This model
should explore all options and may include, but not be limited to, a recreational user-pay
arrangement or other viable financial arrangement that will provide for the continuation of this
important program in Tennessee and Georgia for the benefit of current and future recreational
anglers and associated commercial entities in these states. This plan will be developed, in
conceptual form at a minimum, within the first year of the 3-year transition period (by April 1,
2014) to allow for phased implementation of the plan by, or before, the end of the transition
period. Meetings shall be held at a mutually agreeable location and, preferably, at an Agency
facility. TVA shall agree to facilitate the working group, and the Agency (physical location) at
which the meeting is held, shall be responsible for providing administrative support for the
meeting. The first such meeting shall be scheduled within 60 days of the execution of this MOA
at a mutually agreed time and place. Each Agency shall identify to the other Agencies a primary
point of contact for activities under the MOA within 30 days of the effective date of the MOA.
IV. In support of planning activities, each Agency individually agrees to reassess current
TVA project-related trout stocking programs to identify opportunities and efficiencies for
reducing costs including, but not limited to: i) evaluation of current stocking sites, stocking rates,
sizes stocked, stocking frequency and, related practices to identify potential program
improvements; ii) evaluation of current state-owned trout hatchery facilities to identify potential
for capacity/production improvements; and iii) evaluation of the Dale Hollow, Erwin and
Chattahoochee Forest National Fish Hatcheries to identify potential streamlining/cost reduction
measures.
V. The Agencies recognize that TVAs obligation to provide funding to USFWS shall
terminate after the third and final payment of the transition period, and that in the absence of a
long-term sustainable solution, USFWS will terminate all trout production and stocking
associated with TVAs water development projects.
VI. The Agencies agree to coordinate any communications to the public with regard to all
aspects of this MOA such that messaging is consistent and conveys the mutual interests of the
Parties. To that end, the Agencies agree to prepare joint communications and/or share draft
agency-specific news releases and related public communications with the MOA parties seeking