NCWP v2 will focus on the upper part of Percy Priest Lake, specifically two islands: Riversbend and Poole Knobs. These two islands have massive deposits of dumping and debris from years of disrespect and neglect. Here's a recent photo from Riversbend. You can see we need your help:

From a broader perspective, we will also be cleaning shoreline across the lake, and taking inventories of previously cleaned islands to document how well our Spring efforts have maintained. Early patrols indicate the previously cleaned islands have accumulated some trash throughout this season, but not nearly as much as they held before our Spring cleanup began.

Percy Priest's islands accumulate tons of human-imposed debris each season; the metals and plastics leach chemicals into the water and threaten the habitat for aquatic species and birds beyond Tennessee. In fact, Percy Priest trash could be flowing all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and into the Dead Zone.

All that waste has a dramatic impact on the integrity of the environment in Middle Tennessee. Cigarette butts, for example, threaten wildlife and aquatic animals that mistake them for food. The filters block their digestive tract, and the animals become ill or starve. Animals will also ingest hazardous compounds such as cadmium, arsenic, lead and nicotine (of course) that are absorbed by the filters.

Here's another illustration of the problem: