80: First Few Steps

S H A D Y   V A L L E Y,  T N 

Does a single droplet of water retain its identity when added to a larger body?  I’m sure a chemist or hydrologist or philosopher could answer that inquiry with certainty.  But right now, I cannot come to any certain resolution.  Nonetheless, for the rest of this story, I’m pretending that a droplet does retain its identity.

In the eastern-most valley of Tennessee, a spring seeps fresh droplets from underground - purity at its purest.  The sandy bottom gurgles where the fresh water pushes through to the surface.  Like staring into a fire, it’s a mesmerizing sight to watch.  

The spring in this highly elevated valley has been oozing clean water into Beaverdam Creek ever since the last Ice Age retreated.  In the 1960’s, the Army Corp of Engineers began channelizing Beaverdam to make the land in this valley more farmable.  What once was a meandering course crisscrossing the valley floor has been engineered into unnatural straightness.   But channelization is only the first challenge to the droplets oozing from the spring.  A gauntlet of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dams retards the natural flow these droplets follow on their 1,240-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.  Adding to the challenge, the droplets flow through several other watersheds including the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers impurifying their identity.  

In 1998, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) acquired the spring – known as Schoolyard Spring – noting it’s unique characteristic and importance to water quality.  Since then, adjoining properties and other lands have been added creating a mosaic of protection in the valley.  The Schoolyard Springs Preserve includes a boardwalk for ease of public access and a field station used by partner agencies and individuals to study Shady Valley’s many natural treasures.

Shady Valley is a horseshoe-shaped area with its opening pointing at Damascus, Virginia.  Along its western mountain rim wends the Appalachian Trail.  The valley floor at 2,800 above sea level is 1,000 feet higher than the nearby interstate ten miles to the west.  That elevated height fosters temperatures ten degrees cooler, which are quite welcomed during my mid-day, mid-summer visit.  It’s really comfortable in the Shady Valley today.

Whenever I approach water in the wild, I do so stealthily not wanting to shoo wildlife that tends to gather at such an important sources of life. That quiet approach this afternoon uncovers a favorite bird – the Cedar Waxwing which looks like a masked bandit in gold cape.  It’s not alone as a full flock is flitting about.  Other sightings include a dynamic black and white Widow Skimmer dragonfly, an all-black Common Grackle, cooing Mourning Doves, and a delicate Swamp Rose reaching far out over the water’s edge.   

But the best sighting is the ooze.  Watching water emerge through sandy openings in several spots at Schoolyard Spring is entrancing.  As a proud TNC supporter, and like a proud parent, I’m watching droplets take their first few steps.  Like wobbling toddlers, the droplets start out pure and unblemished.  They hang out in the beautiful pond created by the spring, getting used to life above ground before setting out on their long, gravity-aided journey.  Once they start tumbling downward out of the spring’s pond though, the challenges begin to accumulate – channelization, dams, industry, impure watersheds.  

Will these droplets here in the Shady Valley of Tennessee maintain their identity and remain pure and unblemished when they eventually spill into the Gulf of Mexico?  

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