Watson 1

Alissa Watson

Professor Jones

Environmental Rhetoric and Composition Ⅱ

10 September 2019

Cumberland Monkeyface

Water is one of, if not the most, core element needed to survive. Without clean, healthy

water, we can not have healthy life nor healthy living conditions. Considering some species live

in this water, they really can not survive in these conditions. With pollution and debris flowing

through these waters, it strongly affects the living conditions of these species. One of the species

that is heavily affected by this issue in the Tennessee River Watershed is the Cumberland

Monkeyface (Watson, Alissa)

Pollution is negatively affecting the Tennessee River Watershed, and some kind of act

needs to be taken as soon as possible. It would obviously be great if someone could completely

solve this problem, but that is basically impossible. At the very least, something needs to be done

to lessen the problem. This pollution is endangering many species of aquatic life that reside in

the Tennessee River Watershed. This pollution is killing many organisms, and causing a lot of

species that live in the Tennessee River Watershed to become endangered or threatened.

Scientists and the Nature Conservancy are using different factors to determine the condition of

the environment of the Tennessee River Watershed. There are also quite a few invasive species

living in the Tennessee River Watershed. One endangered species in the watershed is the
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Cumberland Monkeyface. The Cumberland Monkeyface is a mussel, along with many others,

that has become endangered due to the excess amount of pollution that is having an effect on the

Tennessee River Watershed.

“The Tennessee River system alone is home to about 230 species of fish and 100 species

of mussels, many of which are endemic to the watershed. The Tennessee River is currently the

most important source of commercial mussels in the world. It also harbors the highest number of

imperiled species of any large basin in North America with 57 fish species and 47 mussel species

considered to be ‘at-risk’. (Tennessee Riverkeeper) Because of this, the polluting of the

Tennessee River Watershed has to stop. So many different species call this environment their

home, and if the polluting continues at the rate it is currently at, many organisms will be harmed.

Then, the state or Nature Conservancy would more than likely have to declare even more

species as endangered, threatened, or even put them under federal protection.

The Cumberland Monkeyface is a mussel that inhabits the Tennessee River Watershed.

This species has many unique qualities. “It is a pearly-mussel with a shell that is medium in size,

triangular to quadrangular in outline, and marked with numerous tubercles or knobs”. The life of

mussels is complex, and reproduction often depends upon a stable habitat—unaltered stream

conditions, clean water, and an undisturbed stream bottom. The cycle also depends upon the

abundance of suitable fish hosts to complete the mussel's larval development. It’s endangered

due to impoundments, siltation, and pollution. Additionally, the “​Tennessee Valley Authority

(TVA) has constructed 36 dams in the Tennessee River basin. These dams and reservoirs have

inundated mussel shoals upstream, disrupted stream flow, and altered downstream habitat with

sporadic cold-water discharges. Siltation caused by strip-mining and poor agricultural practices
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often covers the substrates of gravel and sand and smothers mussel beds. Because mussels must

siphon gallons of water each day to feed, the effects of water pollutants such as herbicides and

pesticides are intensified.”(Monkeyface.”2019)

The Cumberland Monkeyface is also an indicator species for the Tennessee River

Watershed. “An indicator species is an organism whose presence, absence or abundance reflects

a specific environmental condition. These are a useful management tool, and can help us

delineate an ecoregion, indicate the status of an environmental condition, find a disease outbreak,

or monitor pollution or climate change” (McDonough, Jaffe, Watzin, & McGinley). These

indicator species help scientists and conservationists determine the condition of the Tennessee

River Watershed, and many other bodies of water around the world. If this species, who is

simply just a mussel who requires a stable habitat are endangered, what does that say about the

environment as a whole? It shows that if these small species who ultimately just mind their own

business are endangered or threatened then the rest of the environment is more than likely in

danger, as well.

Along with pollution, the creation of dams is also lessening the population of the

Cumberland Monkeyface. According to the Tennessee Riverkeeper, if the Columbia Dam had

been completed, most of the Cumberland Monkeyface's habitat in the Duck River would have

been lost. The dam project was stalled by controversy”. (2019) This dam was never completed

due to the TVA pushing for the demolition of it to save the Cumberland Monkeyface. This

happens to so many other species in different watersheds around the world. Without the TVA

and other conservancy associations, so many species would become extinct. In order for the

Tennessee River Watershed to remain the most “biologically diverse river system for aquatic
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organisms in the United States”, (Tennessee Riverkeeper) it has to be well taken care of and that

cannot happen if society continues to pollute it.

Studies of the Pollution of the Tennessee River System i​ s a book by GR Scott that

discusses a study done on pollution in the Tennessee River systems. Although the book was

written, and the experiment was performed approximately 40 years ago, it is still prevalent

information. The reason being that the United States is still facing the same problem, and is still

trying to find a solution to it. This book could be used to try to find a potential solution for the

pollution problem, or even just simply be studied to find out the effects of pollution on certain

rivers and their environments.The reader could also just find out about the different types of

pollution in different areas and what causes it, according to the study. The Earth is still basically

the same as it was 40 years ago. It still requires to be well taken care of just like the organisms

that inhabit it. Also, if these organisms want to continue living on it, then the pollution issue has

to be controlled.

Another thing that is causing this pollution is soil bourne pollutants. “These factors that

affect human and aquatic life or daily activities have become a major concern, but government

regulations, such as the Clean Water Act, have helped with this problem a little bit. They have

come up with a method known as BMPs (best management practices)- structural, vegetative, or

cultural methods by which NPS pollution is eliminated or reduced sufficiently to meet water

quality criteria”. (Novotny and Olem, 1994) These BMPs could improve the pollution problem if

we were to implement them in the Tennessee River Watershed. They could even use some

indicator species to determine the things each environment is in need of, and then figure out a

BMP that would best benefit the Tennessee River Watershed. “ The NPS pollutant fitness score
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allows for evaluation of multiple pollutants, based on prioritization of each pollutant. The

economic component considers farm level public and private costs, cost distribution, and land

area requirements. Development of a sediment transport function, used with the Universal Soil

Loss Equation, allows the optimization procedure to run within a reasonable timeframe. The

procedure identifies multiple near optimal solutions, providing an indication of which fields have

a more critical impact on overall cost effectiveness and flexibility in the final solution selected

for implementation”. (Veith, Tamie, Wolfe, Conrad D) These BMPs also assure that they find

the most cost-effective practices, which is very important because saving money is one of the

most important things in the government’s eyes. The United States of America is millions and

millions of dollars in debt, so saving money is very important to them. As a country they care

about saving money more than the condition that our Earth is in, and that needs to be changed

somehow.

A different cause of pollution in the Tennessee River Watershed is the uses of herbicides

for controlling unwanted plants in land and water. “These herbicides have increased

tremendously over the past few decades in both developing and developed countries” (Wang et

al., 2012; Stone et al., 2014; Souza et al., 2017). As an example, “a 20 year dataset (1992–2011)

showed that more than a billion pounds of herbicides were used annually between 1992 and 2011

in the United States of America (USA), and the levels of herbicides exceeded aquatic-life

benchmarks in multiple streams in the USA, which drains agricultural and urban land” (Stone et

al., 2014). Farmers use these herbicides to keep unwanted plants away. Then, these herbicides

are running into rivers and other bodies of water when it rains and they kill the aquatic life
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residing in these bodies of water nearby. Farmers do not want to stop using these herbicides,

because they do not have to worry about weeds, or unwanted plants, growing with their crops.

“Area residents should readily appreciate the nature of such currently protected streams.

The Cumberland Plateau, as residents of Signal Mountain, Walden's Ridge and Lookout

Mountain are well aware, is full of such streams. Each of the three major streams (Shoal, Short

and Bee creeks) that run through Signal Mountain, for example, fall straight off Walden's Ridge

and flow directly into the Tennessee River. They also often run dry in late summer, and they now

carry E. coli bacteria from failed septic and sewer lines straight into the Tennessee River. They

clearly are critical waterways and sensibly merit full protection and pollution control from the

state's Department of Environment and Conservation. What happens to these streams and the

pollution put in their waters and dry stream beds has direct and substantial impact on the

Tennessee River. That's why TDEC has imposed a moratorium on development in Signal

Mountain until sewer and septic tank pollution is eliminated.” (Lawmakers for Water Pollution)

This generation is so careless and selfish. No one cares about anyone but themselves. This

generation is also very entitled. They think they deserve everything. For example, people of

leadership, such as teachers or law enforcement, should be automatically be given your respect.

They do not have to do anything to gain it, but this generation thinks that even these people of

authority in their lives need to earn their trust. No one cares about the environment, and they

really should. They think that someone will just clean up their mess, and a lot of times that is not

the case. The reason being that this is their home, and it will be for the rest of their lives. It will

also be the home of all of their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great

grandchildren, and so on, unless this continues or even something worse happens, and their
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future generations cannot reside here. The Earth and all of it’s ecosystems need to be well taken

care of. If society keeps being careless like they are now, then at some point the Earth could

possibly end up becoming uninhabitable.

In conclusion, there has to be a solution found for the pollution that is affecting the

Tennessee River Watershed and basically all bodies of water in the United States. There are so

many different causes of this pollution, but they are all doing the same thing. The pollution is

killing many species that reside in these bodies of water. The Cumberland Monkeyface being

one of them. The causes of the decline in their population are impoundments, siltation, and

pollution, but the main cause would most likely be pollution. The pollution harms these

organisms and has caused them to become endangered. Also, the Cumberland Monkeyface is not

the only species affected by this pollution. Many other species that reside in the Tennessee River

Watershed are becoming endangered as well because of this pollution. Additionally, even

non-aquatic species are becoming endangered because of this pollution issue. There are a few

conservancys and associations that are concerned about this and that are doing something about

it, such as the Nature Conservancy and the TVA, but they cannot find a solution to this problem

on their own. The United States as a country is going to have to do something if they want

anything to change. So many things are causing species to become endangered and pollution is

on a lot of lists of “reasons why species are becoming endangered”. (Watson, Alissa)
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Works Cited
Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for

Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth December

18, 2009; Last revised Date June 11, 2012; Retrieved September 28, 2012

<​http://www.eoearth.org/article/Indicator_species?topic=58074​>

“Cumberland Monkeyface.” ​Encyclopedia.com,​ Encyclopedia.com, 2019,

​https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/science-magazines/cumberland-monkeyface​.

"Lawmakers for Water Pollution."​ Chattanooga Times Free Press,​ Mar 23, 2009​. ProQuest​,

https://proxy.lib.utc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.utc.edu/docview

/371511138?accountid=14767.

McDonough, Caitlin, Jaffe, David (Lead Author); Watzin ,Mary (Contributing Author);

McGinley, Mark (Topic Editor) "Indicator species". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds.

Cutler J.

Pandey, Pramod, et al. "Assessing Glyphosate and Fluridone Concentrations in Water Column

and Sediment Leachate."​ Frontiers in Environmental Science​, 2019​. ProQuest​,

https://proxy.lib.utc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.utc.edu/docview

/2283962714?accountid=14767,

doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.utc.edu/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00022.

Scott, Guy Robert. ​Studies of the Pollution of the Tennessee River System G.R. Scott.​ Arno,

1970.

Veith, Tamie L., Mary L. Wolfe, and Conrad D. Heatwole. "OPTIMIZATION PROCEDURE

FOR COST EFFECTIVE BMP PLACEMENT AT A WATERSHED SCALE1."​ Journal

of the American Water Resources Association,​ vol. 39, no. 6, 2003, pp. 1331-1343​.
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ProQuest​,

https://proxy.lib.utc.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lib.utc.edu/docview

/201307443?accountid=14767​.

Watson, Alissa. “Cumberland Monkeyface- ENDANGERED” September 29, 2019. English

1020, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, student paper