2026 Marks the 40th year for program that recognizes a commitment to preserving Tennessee’s natural resources
KNOXVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has named Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful as a recipient of the 2026 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Natural Resources. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards which honors individuals, businesses, and other organizations for their commitment to preserving the state’s natural resources.
The award for Natural Resources recognizes innovative efforts to preserve, protect, restore, and enhance Tennessee’s natural, geologic, and ecological resources.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful is the nation’s first Keep America Beautiful affiliate dedicated solely to a river system and is celebrating a record‑breaking year of habitat restoration, conservation education, and regional stewardship across the seven‑state watershed.
In 2025, the organization surpassed the milestone of 1 million pounds of trash removed since launching boat-based cleanups in 2019, engaging more than 5,000 volunteers to restore shorelines throughout the Tennessee River watershed. Cleanups in 2025 alone removed more than200,000 pounds of debris for the third year in a row, including 34,660 pounds from Douglas Lake, 8,071 pounds from Norris Lake, 20,695 pounds from Fort Loudoun Lake, and 4,638 pounds from the Nolichucky River as part of disaster-recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful also achieved transformational growth through its Adopt a River Mile Program, which reached 312 total adopted miles by early 2026 with support from 202 adoptees. The organization further expanded its conservation leadership through the innovative Tennessee River Mussel Movement Initiative, designed to protect the critical ecological and economic role freshwater muscles play in the Tennessee River.
And through its Cigarette Litter Prevention & Recycling Program has recycled more than 1 million cigarette butts since 2019, preventing toxins and microplastics from entering nearby waterways and reinforcing private‑sector leadership in watershed protection.
There are ten categories for the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards. Other recipients include:
Agriculture and Forestry – Cumberland River Compact
Building Green – iFixit
Clean Air and Transportation Solutions – Clarksville-Montgomery County School System
Environmental Education and Outreach – Clearloop and Jackson-Madison County School System
Energy and Renewable Resources – Memphis Light, Gas and Water
Materials Management – Toyota Boshoku Tennessee LLC
Pursuit of Excellence – OxyChem
Sustainable Performance – Carlex Glass America, LLC
Water Quality – Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency
The Robert Sparks Walker Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced at the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards event in September.
For more information on the recipients and the awards program, visit the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards website.