MDN: Wolf River Access and Federal Grant Highlight Preservation Efforts

The road in Piperton near Albert Spillers Bridge on state Highway 196 is gravel and it is steep. But it is the way to a new boat access point onto the Wolf River that is formally dedicated Wednesday, Oct. 26.

Access to the Wolf River on public lands is meant to be what is described as “primitive” to preserve the wetlands and the natural environment.

“Here’s a public place you can drive, park, put your boat in the water and have access to the river,” said Alan Peterson, regional manager of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. “You don’t have to worry about getting permission from a land owner. It’s a public area. Here you go.”

Preservation is a common theme this week with that event and a Thursday event in Kennedy Park in Raleigh to announce a $60 million federal grant, part of which goes directly toward wetlands restoration on the Wolf River Greenway.

The Kennedy Park improvements also include a trailhead and boat access on both sides of the Wolf River where the river reaches its northernmost point in Shelby County.

Although the Piperton access point is not part of the greenway, both projects are partnerships that involve the Wolf River Conservancy.

Peterson says his agency has worked closely with the conservancy in the last 30 years to gather the riverside land.

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The Tennessee Valley Authority and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency partnered with the conservancy on the Piperton boat access point that provides access to 4,000 acres of state-protected land on both sides of the Shelby-Fayette County line with 11.5 miles of river frontage.

“We manage the fifth largest river system in the United States and part of that is looking at how we take care of the environment and how we manage navigation,” said Jacinda Woodward, TVA’s senior vice president of resources and river management.

Six to seven access points for canoes and kayaks are planned along the Wolf River from Memphis to just beyond Collierville.

“As we look at these types of projects, we want to make sure that we are not making an impact on what we are trying to protect,” Woodward said.

The original Wolf River management area is south of Lagrange, Tennessee. And almost 30 years ago, one of the TWRA commissioners bought the land with his own money as state funding for the first acquisition was slow in coming.

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The original area includes the Ghost River stretch of the Wolf, with cypress trees and stumps part of the scenery.

At times the Wolf River Conservancy has taken on the same role of buying land in lieu of state funding.

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The TVA has also worked with the conservancy on the master plan that is starting to take shape in a faster and more visible way than the decades of acquiring land as it became available.

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MDN: Wolf River Access and Federal Grant Highlight Preservation Efforts