Wheeler 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.

Wheeler Reservoir is one of eight reservoirs included in the Multiple RLMPs project which was approved by the TVA Board of Directors on August 23, 2017.

Wheeler Reservoir is an impoundment of the Tennessee River formed by Wheeler Dam, which is located at Tennessee River mile 274.9. Wheeler Reservoir is situated in Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall and Morgan counties in north Alabama.

The area around Wheeler Dam is great for birdwatching. TVA impounds shallow backwater areas of the lake to produce excellent waterfowl habitat.

The accessible Marbut Bend Trail off Limestone County Road 99, near Athens, Ala., is a 1.1-mile loop trail that has an elevated boardwalk through a beaver pond, and crosses one small wetland and swamp.

Scope

The scope of the Wheeler RLMP is the 36,045.2 acres of TVA public land. The Wheeler RLMP contains a regional overview, information about the environment around the reservoir and descriptions of each parcel of land. The reservoir property is divided into 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.

Wheeler 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note that parcel descriptions are representative of the time in which the plans were written; some information may be out of date such as available facilities or names of commercial operations.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 Maps (PDF)

Reservoir Land Management Plan Viewer

How to Use the Map Viewer (PDF)

Land Allocation Acreage

TVA land around Wheeler Reservoir has been allocated for certain land uses as summarized in the table below.

^*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.

Final Environmental Impact Statement

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.