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Improving the fish habitat in Cordell Hull Lake, specifically the area immediately adjacent to the Defeated Creek Recreation Area, which is a top-ten revenue generating USACE campground nationwide and averages over 150,000 visitors annually. This will be achieved by installing artificial habitat structures within Defeated Creek to the main channel near the campground.

• Nonpoint source pollution
• Siltation
• Mudflats/shallowness
• Limited littoral structure

• Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Catfish, Walleye

Cordell Hull Lake is located in the heart of Tennessee at river mile 313 on the Cumberland River. The construction and impoundment of the lake was completed in 1973 with hydropower, navigation, and recreation as the top missions. The cool water the lake receives upstream is ideal for walleye, sauger, and striper on the main channel while bass, crappie, catfish, and sunfish thrive in the shallow warmer bank areas.
Cordell Hull Lake is a run-of-the-river lake with most of its recreation is land based such as fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, and horseback riding. However, Cordell Hull Lake has gained popularity amongst anglers after the Tennessee state record striper was caught in 2000. The majority of boat traffic on Cordell Hull Lake is fisherman, with the local tourism boards heavily promoting the angling opportunities the lake provides.
Defeated Creek is the hub of activity on Cordell Hull Lake. These three miles stretch of the lake hosts a 155-site campground, a six-mile hiking trail, bike trails, swimming beach, picnic area, fishing platform, commercial marina, environmental study area, and multiple bank fishing access points. The campground itself is a top-ten revenue generating USACE campground nationwide with over 150,000 visitors annually.
With the lake approaching 50 years since impoundment, the fishery in and around Defeated Creek has begun to deteriorate. The loss of underwater structure and erosion issues in high traffic areas have led to the need for a major rejuvenation of the aquatic habitat. This project aims at placing nearly 150 artificial structures into the lake, with a special emphasis on areas accessible to land based users. This includes Mossback habitat structures, black pipe spiders, spawning benches, and stake beds. Additionally, nearly 200 tons of rip rap will be placed along 400 linear feet of high traffic areas that will provide fish habitat, shelter for fry, and reduce siltation caused streambank erosion.

Over 150 Fish attractors will be constructed or assembled using volunteers from TTU, B.A.S.S. Nation and other Corps of Engineers volunteers and staff. They will be loaded onto boats, provided by USACE and TWRA, where they will be deployed into the lake. Riprap will be placed along the shoreline using USACE employees and equipment, while volunteers will assist by hand placing some riprap in areas the equipment cannot reach.

Monitoring will be a joint effort by Corps of Engineers staff and volunteers. Both parties will perform in person creel surveys to see if utilization, fish population, and specific fish species have increased due to fish attractor installation and habitat improvements. Surveys will be performed on a monthly routine before the improvement of the area and continued 18 months after the area improvement project is complete.
Bank stabilization will be placed in areas commonly used for bank fisherman. Success will be determined during periods of high water and the presence of no additional sluffing of banks and shoreline. During the summer months, wave action should not reduce water clarity in these areas and USACE staff will monitor them while on boat patrol.
Park Rangers will monitor sunken structures via boat patrol once a month for 18 months. TWRA and USACE already has a fish attractor refreshment schedule in place. This area would just be added to the rotation and provide additional fish habitat.

A press release and posts on social media by USACE will both notify the public of the grant and its planned impact but will solicit volunteers for completing the various tasks.
This project will be presented at our annual Environmental Awareness Days event where every 5th grader in Smith County, approximately two hundred students, spend the day at Defeated Creek Recreation Area for a four-hour rotational interpretive day hosted by the Corps of Engineers.

• Ten "Mossback Shallow Water Bundles" consisting of forty separate structures added.
• Fifty "Spiders" consisting of concrete blocks and four 5' black corrugated pipes added.
• Thirty spawning benches added.
• Ten wood pyramids added.
• Twenty stake beds added.
• 200 tons of rip rap to restore/stabilize 400 linear feet of shoreline.

TWRA has been heavily involved on Cordell Hull Lake for many years, by being the lead agency for the lake’s wildlife management areas as well as conducting extensive fisheries restoration and stocking. For this project, TWRA will assist in the planning phases, site inspection and selection during winter and summer pools, and providing boats for the deployment of the fish habitat structures.

• 2022-Budget-Narrative.xlsx
• 2022-Grant-Partner-Contributions.xlsx

These are items to be purchased with grant money:
10 Mossback Shallow Water Bundles- $5,500
2 bundles of rough cut lumber for spawning benches and wood pyramids- $200
Box of 500 screws for spawning benches and wood pyramids- $50
4" black corrugated pipe 100' long for "spiders"- $925
100 concrete blocks for benches, pyramids, and spiders- $200
Bags of concrete- $125
200 tons of rip rap- $5,000
Total of $12,000

These are federal funds provided by USACE and TWRA (who uses some state and some federal money):
USACE administrative and technical planning- 1 person for 16 hours at $24 totaling $384
USACE labor- 5 persons for 40 hours at $24 totaling $4,800
USACE total of $5,184
TWRA administrative and technical planning- 1 person for 16 hours at $24 totaling $384
TWRA labor- 2 persons for 40 hours at $24 totaling $1,920
TWRA total of $2,304
Federal funds total- $7,488.00

These are non-federal funds provided by SCTN B.A.S.S. Nation, TTU Student Fisheries Association, and USACE volunteers:
B.A.S.S. fish attractor assembly/bank stabilization work 40 people above age 18 for 8 hours at $18 an hour totaling $5,760 and 20 people under age 18 for $10 an hour totaling $1600 for a grand total of $8,860 in in-kind service.
B.A.S.S. will also provide $1,500 in cash for in lumber and equipment for stake beds.
USACE volunteers creel surveys before project- one person for 12 hours at $18.00 totaling $216 in-kind service.
USACE volunteers creel surveys after project- one person for 18 hours at $18.00 totaling $324 in-kind service.
USACE volunteers assembling fish attractors- two persons for 40 hours at $18.00 totaling $1440 in-kind service.
TTU Student Fisheries Association fish attractor assembly- ten people for 8 hours at $18.00 totaling $1440 in-kind service.

Summer 2022: USACE volunteers will begin monitoring program/creel surveys and USACE staff will start purchasing of fish attractor/habitat structures.
Fall/Winter 2022: TTU Fisheries will have a work day to assemble Mossback structures. USACE volunteers and staff will begin assembling spiders & wood pyramid structures.
Winter/Spring 2023: Rip rap placement will begin by USACE, with TN B.A.S.S Nation helping hand place rip rap. TN B.A.S.S. Nation will also begin constructing stake beds and spawning benches in shallow areas. Fish attractors/structures will be begin to be placed in the reservoir by TWRA, USACE, and volunteers.
Spring/Summer 2023: Rip rap will be monitored during periods of high water and while lake returns to summer pool. USACE & TWRA will begin boat patrols to view the underwater structures and the presence of aquatic life.
Summer/Fall 2023: Additional fish habitat will be deployed/submerged by TWRA & USACE if unable to complete in the spring. USACE volunteers will continue to perform in person creel surveys.