Lake Graham (Tennessee)
Lake Graham (also Graham Lake) is a reservoir in Madison County, Tennessee 5 miles (8.0 km) west of the city of Jackson. It is primarily a recreational lake that also provides wetlands habitat to local wildlife and migratory birds. The lake is owned and managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA). The TWRA Region One offices are located at the lake, and it is the largest lake managed by the Agency.[3][4][5] The lake is impounded by a 51 foot (16 m) high earthen dam with an uncontrolled spillway.[6]
| Lake Graham | |
|---|---|
  Lake Graham  Lake Graham | |
| Location | Jackson, Tennessee, United States |
| Coordinates | 35°37′57″N 88°43′17″W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Primary inflows | Brown's Creek |
| Primary outflows | Brown's Creek |
| Catchment area | 6,200 acres (2,500 ha)[1] |
| Managing agency | Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency |
| Built | 1981 |
| First flooded | December 16, 1982[2] |
| Surface area | 500 acres (200 ha) |
History
The lake was first proposed in 1971, with Madison County Commissioner John Graham leading efforts to obtain the $2.8 million in federal, state, and county funds for the lake's construction. Originally known as Lake Madison, named after the county it is located in, it was informally referred to by commissioners as Lake Graham.[7][8] In 1981, Governor Lamar Alexander ordered the dam across Brown's Creek closed during a ceremony at the construction site.[9]
In July 1982, the Madison County commission officially recommended the lake be renamed to Lake Graham, which was denied by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission.[10][8] By September of that year, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission reached an agreement to name it after Graham, who was at that time a member of the commission and was initially against the renaming to avoid appearances of favoritism until they agreed to name the road leading to the lake after Sen. Lowell Thomas, another supporter of the project, and the renaming received the support of a number of state senators and representatives.[11]
The lake was projected to be opened in early 1983. By late 1982, the projects had been revised to on-or-about January 1, 1983, but significant rain in early December 1982 caused a rapid rise in the lake's levels. By December 16, 1982, the water had crested the spillway and the lake was declared filled and open.[2]
Ecology
The primary purpose of the lake was to provide a habitat for sport fishing near Jackson, though the history of the fish population in the lake has been troubled. In 1981, while the lake was still filling and before fishing was allowed, a group of individuals illegally stocked crappie in the lake. The species then exploded, out-competing other species due to the unbalanced, unnaturally large numbers of fish added to the lake. In 1989, the TWRA began the process of lowering the water levels in the lake to concentrate the prey species to allow for predation by other fish, such as bass and catfish.[12] These efforts were only partly successful, though, and later the TWRA was forced to conduct a large scale fish kill to bring populations under control. By the early 1990s, crappie populations had decreased to unacceptably low levels, and re-stocking programs were started.[13]
References
- "Contest asks when lake runneth over". The Jackson Sun. 14 December 1982. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- "Mother Nature rains on contest". The Jackson Sun. 16 December 1982. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- "Lake Graham in Tennessee". TN.gov. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- Wilson, Taylor (2 June 1993). "Lake Graham: 10 Years of Fun". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- "TWRA Regions". TN.gov. Tennessee Wildlife Resoures Agency. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- "Dam Safety Inspection - John Graham (Madison County, TN)". Dam Safety Inspection. Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- Barnard, Kevin (5 March 1982). "Harvey, Graham reject re-election try". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- Barnard, Kevin (10 September 1982). "Sen. Thomas still presses TWRC to name lake for John Graham". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- "Governor Signals Filling of Madison County Lake". The Commercial Appeal. 6 September 1981. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- Barnard, Kevin; Tanzer Roberts, Sue Ann (19 July 1982). "Commission names woman to school panel; budget OK'd". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- Barnard, Kevin (15 September 1982). "Lake to be named for Graham". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
- Dupree, Spence (4 November 1989). "Lakes to be lowered to improve fishing". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- Wilson, Taylor (24 November 1993). "Lake Graham gets crappie". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved 5 March 2023.