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Watauga Reservoir Land Management Plan
Reservoir Land Management Plans (RLMPs) effectively guide land use approvals, private water use facility permitting, and resource management decisions on TVA-managed public land.
Watauga Reservoir is one of seven tributary reservoirs included in the Northeastern Tributary RLMP project, which was approved by the TVA Board of Directors in June 2010.
Watauga Reservoir is an impoundment of the Watauga River formed by Watauga Dam, which is located at Tennessee River mile 36.7. Watauga Reservoir is situated in Carter County in northeastern Tennessee.
Surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest and flanked by the Appalachian Mountains, Watauga Reservoir is one of the most scenic in the Tennessee River watershed. A 1.5-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trial crosses Watauga Dam and the surrounding dam reservation. Wind-powered watercraft frequently enjoy the breezes in the middle of the lake.
Scope
The scope of the Watauga RLMP is 1,137.0 acres of the 4,932 total acres of TVA public land in the Northeastern Tributary RLMP. The Watauga RLMP contains a regional overview, information about the environment around the reservoir and descriptions of each parcel of land. Watauga Reservoir property is divided into 60 parcels, and each parcel is assigned a single land use allocation zone. Descriptions of the allowable land uses within each land planning zone are available here.
Watauga Reservoir Land Management Plan
Maps
Use the GIS Viewer Map to find individual parcels and land use allocations for TVA reservoir property. Click on individual parcels to find out more information about a piece of TVA property. Please note that parcel descriptions are included in the interactive map viewer for convenience, but may have been altered from the original description due to character length restrictions. Please reference the appropriate Reservoir Land Management Plan for the complete parcel descriptions. Also, please note that parcel descriptions are representative of the time in which the plans were written; some information may be out of date such as available facilities or names of commercial operations.
Download Map (PDF)
How to Use the Viewer Map (PDF)
Land Allocation Acreage
TVA land around Watauga Reservoir has been allocated for certain land
uses as summarized in the table below.
Allocation Designation* | Acreage | |
Zone 2 | Project Operations | 518.0 |
Zone 3 | Sensitive Resource Management | 102.0 |
Zone 4 | Natural Resource Conservation | 427.0 |
Zone 5 | Industrial | 0.0 |
Zone 6 | Developed Recreation | 86.0 |
Zone 7 | Shoreline Access | 4.0 |
Total | 1,137.0 | |
*Zone 1 is Non-TVA Shoreland with TVA land rights and does not change as a result of the lands planning process.
Environmental Review
TVA’s land planning methodology incorporates the environmental review process established under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NEPA requires federal agencies to consider the effects of their proposed projects on the human and natural environment before final decisions are made.
Northeastern Tributary Reservoirs Environmental Review
It is important to note that RLMPs are programmatic plans that designate potential allowable land uses as defined in the land use zone definitions and do not involve specific land actions. TVA would complete an appropriate site-specific environmental review prior to proposed development or activity on TVA public land.