After a week of ruffled feathers, an island bird sanctuary in Soddy Lake no longer is going to be the launching site of Soddy-Daisy's July Fourth fireworks show.

"We're not having (the launch) on the island. We're moving it back to the pier," said Soddy-Daisy Interim City Manager Sara Burris.

The move followed a weeklong inquiry and protest by the Cherokee Sierra Club, whose members Tami Freedman and Mark and Susan Perruso were concerned about shooting fireworks during nesting season.

"It's not that we wanted to stop the fireworks, it was about not shooting them from inside the bird sanctuary -- and in the height of nesting season," Mrs. Perruso said. "It was just going to be horrifying. There are a lot of domestic birds and babies there that can't fly."

Ms. Freedman, a member of the Sierra Club's executive committee, said she accompanied Mrs. Perruso to the sanctuary on several occasions to walk and feed the birds and geese. She said the island was marked by a bird sanctuary sign and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency "No Hunting" signs.

But in the past month, the city graveled a road to the island and cleared away a number of large trees in the height of nesting season to set up the fireworks show. And the signs disappeared.

The island is owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority, not Soddy-Daisy as city officials believed, and it is managed by the TWRA. Ms. Freedman says all the changes to the island and decisions to use it as the base for the fireworks show were done "without permission of possible landowner TVA, or land manager TWRA, and possibly in violation of many agency rules/federal laws."

State officials first said there was no problem, but after Ms. Freedman enlisted the help of the Humane Society of the United States, the TWRA ruled this week that the fireworks show had to move.

Ms. Burris said the city decided on its own to move the fireworks launching site after a review by city commissioners and the pyrotechnics contractor.

"The fireworks won't make as pretty a show from there (the island) because of the tree cover," Ms. Burris said. "So we're going back to the pier. It's ours, and it's easier to get a good viewing spot over the lake."

But Laura Simon, the Humane Society's field director for the urban wildlife program, said Tuesday she spoke with the TWRA's John Mayer, who told her his agency made the city move the fireworks launch off the island.

"Preferably to a barge in the river," said Ms. Simon, a wildlife biologist. "I think the pier is still a little too close. Birds are nervous. A lot of birds don't have night vision, and if they're scared off the nest at night, they can't find the way back. We'd like to see more communities take wildlife into consideration."

Mr. Mayer said the pier will be fine for launching fireworks this year, but next year's celebration may have to move a bit further away from the sanctuary.

"We want to be good neighbors, and that includes the holiday celebration. We'll correct things afterward," he said.

The corrections may include getting the city to restore habitat on the island, he said.

Ms. Burris said TWRA officials had not even known it was supposed to be managing the island.

TVA spokesman Jim Allen said TVA signed an easement for TWRA to manage the land. He said TVA forwarded the complaints to TWRA.

Greg Atchley, a manager with TWRA, said he believed the park was under the control of Soddy-Daisy. He said the city put up the bird sanctuary sign to ward off hunters who were shooting birds in the surrounding marshes.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Special Agent John Rayfield said he spoke with TWRA on Monday as its officials reviewed the site, and personnel told him no migratory birds were injured and "it doesn't appear the fireworks show is going to be in any way detrimental" to the birds.

Tisha Calabrese-Benton, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, said no wetlands permit was necessary because the island had an already-existing roadbed that goes from a park picnic area to the island. The city added gravel to an existing roadway, she said.

"This was not a fill and did not require a permit," she said.

Staff writer Matt Wilson contributed to this story.

IF YOU GO

* What: Fireworks over Soddy Lake

* Where: Soddy-Daisy Park

* When: Saturday between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m.

* Admission: free

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See fyiWeekend for a full list of July 4th activities.