Antioch Woods Illegally Bulldozed; Rare Crayfish In Danger, Critics Say

ANTIOCH, TN — The illegal removal of 12 acres of trees in Antioch might threaten an endangered crayfish.

Metro Water Services fined 5135 Hickory Hollow LLC, owner of the name's-the-same property, $1,400 — the maximum penalty — for bulldozing the trees because they were an important part of erosion control for nearby Mill Creek, a key tributary to the Cumberland River.

But, local environmentalists say the damage is already done, even though the owners will be required to go through a restoration process.

“There is no longer anything but bare dirt right up to the small tributary stream," the Cumberland River Compact's Alec Norman told Fox 17. "As a result, you're getting erosion. Mill Creek is home to an endemic crayfish species that is called the Nashville crayfish. It's on the federal endangered species list. Nowhere else on Earth can you find this species.”

Discovered in the 1940s, the Nashville crayfish was put on the endangered species list in 1986, re-classified as critically endangered in 1996 and then, showing some population stability, moved back to simply endangered in 2010. It is known to exist only in Mill Creek and in a small portion of Sevenmile Creek in Williamson County.

Councilmember Jacobia Dowell told Fox 17 the fines for this kind of removal are not enough deterrant, because the process for getting the proper permits are often so time-consuming and expensive that paying an after-the-fact fine is more efficient.

“Sometimes the penalties after the fact are not as punitive as the time and money it would cost you to go through the process," Dowell said. "I would like to see us put girth behind the laws we have, because they're creating a potential flood for people who live downstream. For someone from out of town to come in, it’s shocking to me that someone would show so much disrespect for our laws and environment. There's no opportunity to build on it because it is a flood plain. It's not a quick fix. It's disheartening but I am glad to see our city is taking an active look .”

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Image via Cumberland River Compact