Mag : Dead Porcupine

Jeff Rich - Watershed

A common misconception of a watershed is that it’s all about the water.  While water does play a large part, the land plays an even larger role by directing the water to a common point, such as a river or ocean. Thus human impact on the land directly affects the water that runs over it.  With this project I intend to highlight this relationship between the land, water, and man, within the Mississippi River watershed.

This is a long-term series of work that aims to define the Mississippi River watershed, the largest watershed in North America, in terms of its smaller pieces.  I intend to document the four corners of the watershed in a series of chapters.  The French Broad, and the Tennessee watersheds make up the southeastern corner of the Mississippi watershed.

The first chapter of the Watershed series focuses on The French Broad River Basin.  This project documents the development and use of the watershed. It is my hope that by documenting the rivers of the French Broad, its citizens, and environs, this project will bring attention to the importance of the growing sustainability movement in this watershed and beyond.

Continuing down the system of watersheds that make up the southeastern quarter of the Mississippi River Basin, the second chapter of the Watershed project will examine the Tennessee River Basin, a system of rivers that is for the most part controlled and ultimately harnessed by Tennessee Valley Authority.

All images © Jeff Rich