The Little Tennessee River Basin got national attention last week when it was named the first Native Fish Conservation Area in the United States. 

The designation identifies basins where a focus on conservation of aquatic life is paired with recreation and commercial use, the end goal being to ensure longterm survival of native species. 

Home to more than 100 species of fish and 41 aquatic species considered rare at the federal or state level, the Little Tennessee is a hotbed of diversity. A handful of its species are found nowhere else in the world, including the Citico darter, smoky madtom and Little Tennessee crayfish. The river basin stretches from North Georgia, across North Carolina and into Tennessee, including the Little Tennessee, Tuckasegee, Oconaluftee, Nantahala, Tellico and Cheoah rivers.