The Cheoah River between Santeetlah Dam and Calderwood Lake is carefully controlled by planned releases from the dam, with enough water released most of the year to provide a minimum base flow and larger releases about 20 times per year creating controlled high-flow pulses. These larger releases benefit aquatic life and create Class IV-V whitewater for expert boaters. When Santeetlah Dam was built in the 1920s to generate hydroelectric power, it nearly cut off the river’s natural flow, greatly reducing fish and other aquatic wildlife or causing them to disappear, while trees and shrubs took root in the dry river channel. In the early 2000s, a cooperative dam relicensing agreement established a flow regime intended to restore more natural conditions by increasing year-round base flows and using larger releases to mimic seasonal big rain events that refresh the river system and surrounding habitats.