The Chattanooga Audubon Society needs millions of dollars to address the longstanding erosion problem at Maclellan Island, which is washing away at a rate of about an acre each decade.
“In some ways, we’re like a farmer,” Chattanooga Audubon Society Executive Director Jim Stewart said in an interview. “We’ve got great land, but we don’t have a lot of cash.”
Experts have advised the Audubon Society that rocks called riprap placed to stabilize eroding shorelines is the most viable solution for Maclellan Island, according to Director of Development Laura Marsh. But riprap comes at a cost.
To place riprap just along the western tip of the island where the Audubon Society has a boat dock is estimated to cost about $100,000 or more, Marsh told a group assembled to discuss the erosion problem Wednesday. To place riprap along the entire island is estimated to cost between $2 million to $5 million.
Maclellan Island is a large, undeveloped property situated in the Tennessee River between Chattanooga’s riverfront and North Shore districts. Veterans Bridge stretches over the island. The Chattanooga Audubon Society has served as steward of the property since 1954, when Robert J. Maclellan of Provident Life and Accident Insurance (now Unum) donated the land to the nonprofit.