Tech Part Of Two-Day Symposium On Cumberland

Tennessee Tech part of a two-day meeting this week focused on the sustainability of the Cumberland River and its attached basin.

Army Corps of Engineers Hydraulic Engineer Ryan Wigner said the meeting was held to help the Corps get a better understanding of the Cumberland River Basin from agencies and organizations throughout the region. Wigner said that Tech Professor Amanda Rosenberger gave a presentation on the role of mussels in the area.

“Gave a presentation on the current extent of mussels in the Cumberland River Basin,” Wigner said. “Historically, what have those mussel species looked like from a diversity standpoint and also a population standpoint, and then kind of highlighted the critical nature that mussels play in water quality.”

Wigner said the information gleaned from the meeting will inform the Corps’ work in the region moving forward. He said the key takeaway from the meeting was how important it is to collaborate with other organizations. The Sustainable Rivers Program hosted by the Nature Conservancy and Army Corps of Engineers.

“There’s a lot of agencies, federal and state agencies, along with, you know, nonprofits and universities in the state, and they’re all collecting different data and great data, so how can we use that data the most efficiently to make the most informed decisions,” Wigner said.

Wigner said that Tech is a frequent collaborator with the Corps as the university is consistently sharing data and fostering career opportunities with them via different career fairs and internships.

“They’re always happy to share data with us,” Wigner said. “We’re always looking for ways to engage Tennessee Tech.”

Wigner said they will be going through the information from the meeting for the next month or two and discuss which ideas would be the most feasible for the Corps to implement.

“Once we’ve kind of ranked those and we move forward with that, we’ll go seek additional funding for the next fiscal year and on to look at how we can better assess those options and look to long-term implement those,” Wigner said.