Identified Public Benefits
According to the Wolf River Conservancy, the Wolf River serves the Mid-South in four distinct ways:
- Flood/Erosion Control: During heavy rains, the Wolf’s floodplain and wetlands temporarily store floodwaters. When these are filled in for development, the river loses these natural release valves, causing increases in river velocity and flood height. Without an adequate floodplain, floodwaters and the erosion caused by them threaten property, transportation, and lives.
- Water Quality: The Memphis metropolitan area and other Mid-South communities receive drinking water from a pure underground aquifer beneath the Wolf River Basin. The Wolf’s fragile wetlands hold water long enough for it to be absorbed into the ground and serve as natural filters to cleanse polluted waters before they reach the aquifer.
- Wildlife Habitat: The Wolf River supports a variety of animals and waterfowl. Migrating osprey, great egret, and bald eagle have been spotted along the river as well.
- Low-Impact Recreation: While civilization has long surrounded the Wolf River’s floodplain, its wetland and bottomland trails provide Mid-Southerners with scenic wilderness experiences from the Holly Springs National Forest all the way to downtown Memphis. Hikers, runners, sportsmen, cyclists and paddlers experience nature on or near the river every day.
Read more about this topic: Wolf River (Tennessee)
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