USDA completes $14 million restoration of Cane Creek

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has successfully restored parts of Tennessee’s Cane Creek, according to a release. The $14 million project was the largest stream watershed stabilization in U.S. history.

Erosion along the creek had led to the loss of healthy soil and farmland near the town of Ripley, Tenn. Unstable stream banks also threatened the stability of local bridges. Several degraded bridges, large-scale erosion and flooding threats in the area were addressed.

Funding for the project came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. More than 1,000 acres of farmland were relieved from erosion and six bridges were re-established. Ripley also benefited economically from the extra visitors who resided there while working on the project.

Image: The restoration saved this bridge, the only direct thoroughfare, just outside the town of Ripley, Tenn. (Credit: USDA/NRCS)