I think that anyone who loves Lake Martin, for long enough, will begin to have concerns about where its water comes from and the quality thereof.  Lake Martin is fed by the Tallapoosa River.  I only recently learned this:  a river’s watershed is the area of land where every single trickle, creek and stream flows into that river.  So you can imagine that the Tallpoosa River watershed is a huge area of land that covers much of east-central Alabama and then goes into Georgia.

If you would like to learn more about the Tallapoosa River Watershed, I think the best way to do so is to attend the Tallapoosa River Basin State of the Watershed Conference .  It’s being held on June 22nd at Central Alabama Community College in Alexander City from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

This is a collection of scientists – many of whom come from Auburn – that includes biologists from the State of Alabama as well as ones from private industry.  They do a lot better job of describing the event, so I will post their website and comments below.  But, let me say that before attending this conference, even though I have grown up on Lake Martin, I had never heard of the Tallapoosa Darter.  That’s just one nugget of information you may learn.

Here’s a quote from Mona Scruggs, Conference Coordinator:

“We want to make sure that folks in the Tallapoosa Basin don’t miss this opportunity to learn about recent accomplishments and opportunities in their area. It may be of particular interest to your readers that there will be a special panel discussion about the recent designation of Outstanding Alabama Water for the section of the Tallapoosa River and the Treasured Alabama Lake classification for Lake Martin which will include input from local Economic Development and Real Estate experts.”

So, to learn more, check out the links below:

Tallapoosa River Basin State of the Watershed Conference Website

Tallapoosa River Basin State of the Watershed Conference Registration