The Hornyhead Branch Restoration and Habitat Enhancement Project was a cooperative project of the Cumberland Mountain Resource Conservation and Development Association, Emory River Watershed Association, Morgan County Soil Conservation District, Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Tennessee Valley Authority, University of Tennessee Forest Resources Research and Education Center, and the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service. Funding was provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Morgan County Soil Conservation District.

The Hornyhead Branch is a tributary to Crooked Fork Creek, a creek listed on Tennessee's Impaired Waters List for siltation, habitat alteration, and nutrient enrichment. These conditions exist due to historic bench mining, channelization, three permitted discharges, and agricultural practices. Hornyhead echoes the problems facing Crooked Fork. This creek drains roughly 1.04 sq miles of strip mined mountain land (Little Brushy Mountain) as it flows off the UT Cumberland Forest Unit property. It has been channelized and continues to be affected by agricultural practices both above and down stream of the UT property.