He was initially victorious in protecting the fish: In 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that “the Endangered Species Act prohibits impoundment of the Little Tennessee River by the Tellico Dam ...

In 1967, construction began on the Tellico Dam—the aim was to create a reservoir on the Little ... of Tennessee discovered a previously unknown fish living at the bottom of the river.

In the 1970s, the discovery of the Tennessee ... the fish, because it represented a way to fight the Tennessee Valley Authority's plan to build the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River ...