The Tennessee Valley Authority will host a meeting next week to educate the public on how it manages public lands and waters in its seven-state service area.

The meeting will be from 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, in the TVA Multi-Purpose Building, Room MPB 01202, 101 Reservation Road, Muscle Shoals. It’s one of several public meetings the utility has been hosting in Alabama and Tennessee.

An online-only webinar is set for Aug. 6 for those who can’t attend the meetings. It requires pre-registration at www.tva.gov/nrp.

The 2011 plan organized TVA’s work into six resource areas, but did not include all of TVA’s Natural Resource efforts. In the 2020 Natural Resource Plan, TVA proposes 10 focus areas that encompass:

• Reservoir lands planning;

• Section 26a and land use agreements;

• Public land protection;

• Land and habitat stewardship;

• Nuisance and invasive species management;

• Cultural resource management;

• Water resource stewardship;

• Recreation, ecotourism and public outreach and information.

The proposed update features more clearly defined strategies, including objectives and programs for each focus area and a flexible approach for long-term planning, which will help TVA prioritize funding and support its mission of environmental stewardship. TVA will complete an environmental impact statement to analyze the potential effects of these changes.

Those with special needs who wish to attend any open house should contact TVA at least a week in advance at 1-865-632-6113.