A Tennessee Valley Authority pollinator program was recently recognized through an award from the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign.
On October 22, 2024 award winners from the United States, Canada, and Mexico were honored by Pollinator Partnership and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign during the NAPPC Conference Award Ceremony hosted at National Museum of the American Indian.
TVA received the 2024 NAPPC Electric Power Award.
“TVA is proud to be recognized for our role in helping to slow or even reverse the decline of our pollinator friends,” said Rebecca Hayden, Director of Natural Resources. “The Douglas Dam project is a good example of how public lands can be used as habitat for pollinators and as an educational tool.”
Led and administered by TVA, the Douglas Dam Reservation Pollinator Project began in 2016 with the aim of a broadscale restoration of the grassland plant community at the project’s site on the French Broad River in East Tennessee.
The project has followed a phased approach that varies across sections and is based on historic use, proximity to TVA’s assets, and the availability of existing seed banks for plant sourcing.
At this point in time, about 60% of the total project area has been restored with native wildflowers and grasses and has officially reached the “maintenance stage,” wherein prescribed fire and Integrated Vegetation Management will be utilized.
Given the successes of the Douglas Dam’s restoration project, TVA has become an active participant in the Southeast Bumble Bee Atlas regional project and the site has been utilized by University of Tennessee masters students for their theses and five peer-reviewed publications, NAPPC noted.
Direct outreach about the project and the intended maintenance methods has been conducted, along with the publication of an annual TVA Stewardship Book in which the Douglas Dam site is regularly featured.
“TVA has embraced the influence of NAPPC and the growing awareness of pollinators amongst the general public, as the Douglas Dam site was featured during Pollinator Week outreach events in collaboration with several University of Tennessee campuses and their Pollinator Week activities,” NAPPC said.
