Presence of firing range shoots holes in plans for national riverfront park at Moccasin Bend

In a few days, top elected leaders will meet with Moccasin Bend park friends and others to talk about the city's and county's announced abandonment of a plan to close the 33-acre police firing range and give the land to the National Park Service. Instead of building a new $5 million indoor shooting range on East 12th Street, or moving the firing range and bomb detonation field someplace else (like the unused acres on the old Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant site), our leaders, citing costs, now plan to upgrade the existing firing range -- the one that sits on a key piece of land on the Bend and future park. Certainly, moving the firing range is complicated, and our public officials are to be commended for meeting with park supporters. Surely there is a "Chattanooga Way" to relocate the range.

Today, folks long invested in preserving and building Moccasin Bend Park make their case. Again.

Read moreRobbins: Long road to preserving Moccasin Bend

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THE CONGRESSMAN

photo Zach Wamp

For more than 60 years, hundreds of citizens, including historians, archaeologists, conservationists and elected officials have advocated for protection of Moccasin Bend as a historically significant site. After all, nowhere else in our relatively young nation can 12,000 years of human history be so documented. Humans have always gravitated to the place where the plains, rivers and mountains meet. This is one reason why there are civilizations buried under Hampton Place, on the tip of Moccasin Bend, in the shadow of Lookout Mountain.

After much perseverance and tremendous public input, I was honored to draft legislation and submit it to Congress for approval. The committees of jurisdiction, the National Park Service and other experts diligently considered the "historical significance" of Moccasin Bend. The U.S. House of Representatives approved our legislation, followed by the U.S. Senate. Finally, on Feb. 20, 2003, the president of the United States signed the law permanently establishing the "Moccasin Bend National Archeological District" as the only archeological district within the National Park Service. It would be a new unit of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

From the local perspective, the vision was clear: We would extend our successful Tennessee Riverwalk to this amazing archeological wonder that offers education, culture and history tourism almost in the middle of downtown.

Think about it. The thousand or so acres we call Moccasin Bend have seen it all: the days of hunting mastodon, the settlement of early woodlands, the Spanish era, the Trail of Tears, the Civil War.

But the area also has seen the flush of a modern city. Within the boundary of the bend proper, we encountered three major "nonconforming" uses -- the golf course, the mental health center and the firing range. Two of the three were deemed as acceptable to be "grandfathered" in under their current use only. And when their day is done, they will revert to the park.

But the firing range was determined to be an unacceptable non-conforming use. In other words, a new place needed to be found for it as soon as possible. Because local and state officials supported the Moccasin Bend project, a clear understanding was reached that the firing range would be relocated. After all, how can you invite tourists, students, hikers, bikers and history buffs to visit a national park yet expect them to coexist with exploding ordinances and fully automatic weapons exercises?

Furthermore, tens of millions in private dollars were being committed to develop downtown housing and commerce directly across the river from the Bend in every direction.

Like many, I have lived in Chattanooga my entire life and witnessed amazing progress. But it did not happen by accident. Good planning, public input and shared investments make this a remarkable city.

If we are to continue to create the most livable city with the highest quality of life, we must allow Moccasin Bend Archeological District to fully realize its potential.

The public can be best served with the relocation of the firing range to a place other than Moccasin Bend.

Zach Wamp, a member of Congress from 1995 to 2011, was a driving force in preserving Moccasin Bend.

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photo kay parish
photo Shelley Andrews

FRIENDS EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

Since 1920, public voices have insisted that Moccasin Bend is precious. Leaders of the city, county, state and National Park Service solemnly concurred in 2003.

The Bend is designated a national park because it has national significance. It tells the 12,000-year American story -- much of which predates written history -- with archeological and historical evidence. It offers layer upon layer of artifacts from the mists of prehistory, Euro-American contact, Cherokee life, American settlement, the Civil War and finally our city's growth. A 1998 assessment by the Park Service, city-county Regional Planning Agency, state of Tennessee and culturally affiliated American Indian tribes concluded that the "quality, diversity and broad accessibility of these resources cannot be matched in any other American metropolitan area."

Nationally, Moccasin Bend is regarded as rare and enviable for its cultural significance and for its educational, economic and social potential.

The police firing range, acknowledged for 15 years as the most incompatible aspect of the "old" Bend with its national park status, was to have been closed, cleaned up and added to the park. Suddenly, we are advised the range will continue to operate where it is, dashing plans for primary national park visitor experiences on the shore of the Bend overlooking Chattanooga's skyline.

The Friends of Moccasin Bend is eager to help identify a solution that benefits everyone. Do we want a great national park or not? If we do, let's work together to honor our unique asset.

Kay Parish and Shelley Andrews, respectively, are the interim executive director and recently retired executive director of Friends of Moccasin Bend Park.

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AN URBAN PLANNER

photo Rob Taylor

Chattanooga is world-renowned for its scenic beauty, and one of its iconic views is the vista of Moccasin Bend from Point Park atop Lookout Mountain. When you embrace that panorama, you're standing in one national park area gazing down on another -- a distinguishing feature of our national park, unique for its multiple components.

Mountains, waterways, bluffs, forests and trails abound here, establishing us as an outdoor mecca. Visitors increasingly flock to enjoy these assets and contribute more and more to our community's prosperity.

That's why continued and appropriate development of the national park at Moccasin Bend is essential. It will be a major addition to our outdoor amenities. There are already two public trails on the Bend, with a dozen more opportunities to connect hikers and bicyclists with natural beauty and historic sites. The Tennessee River curves protectively around the Bend to invite exploration by kayak, canoe or paddleboard.

It has long been envisioned that we could hike a riverside trail, stop at a picnic spot overlooking downtown Chattanooga, and even catch a pedestrian/bike ferry connecting to the downtown Riverwalk. Indeed, that's but one of the experiences being weighed for the Moccasin Bend national park.

Or so it was until the city and county decided to keep the old firing range on the Bend. I certainly support the need for a proper law enforcement firearm training facility, but such a facility is not compatible with a national park or for the Riverwalk extension and new housing being built directly across the river. I encourage our elected leaders to continue efforts to identify a more appropriate place for our vital law enforcement personnel to train, so that our long-held plans for the Bend can be realized.

Rob Taylor is president of CityScape Development Services.

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A POLICE OFFICER

photo Sean O'Brien

The Moccasin Bend Archeological District is a gateway to the rich heritage of the Tennessee Valley. With the wealth of history contained there, much can be learned from the past. History provides us perspective and insight into the people, events and decisions that preceded us. And if history has taught us anything, heeding the lessons provided is sensible.

With the recent decision to step back from an agreement to vacate the Law Enforcement Training Range at Moccasin Bend, the leaders of Chattanooga and Hamilton County are capitalizing on lessons learned. Specifically, critical analysis, historic preservation, financial discretion and public safety do not exist autonomous of each other.

Consider for a moment that scores of law enforcement officers from local, county, state and federal agencies conduct dynamic, comprehensive and strategic training each year at the existing range. This training encompasses extensive subject matter in firearms, explosive ordinance disposal, canine deployment and tactical operations. Further consider that this very training helps each law enforcement agency that operates within Hamilton County to deliver the professional public safety services you expect and deserve. Lastly, consider that no one has developed a comprehensive alternative that meets or exceeds the capabilities of the current site and is financially viable.

I have heard time and again from our police officers their preference to continue to use the existing training site and I agree. We applaud our leaders for exercising due care and restraint in this matter. An inclusive approach which balances historic preservation, financial wisdom and public safety is praiseworthy. Pressing the "pause" button is just plain smart!

Master Police Officer Sean O'Brien is president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Rock City Lodge #22.

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A BOARD MEMBER

photo John Edwards III

I serve with great enthusiasm on the board of directors of the Friends of Moccasin Bend.

I love history and my community. Moccasin Bend offers us an unprecedented opportunity to explore 12,000 years of our past. It represents something very exciting: a developing national park that will be easily accessible by local and regional school buses.

The National Park Service's interpretive rangers already have developed curriculum-based learning programs for themselves and teachers, but that's only the beginning.

I can see a developing national park area that is accessible to underserved, inner-city youth during after-school programs, youth work projects and summer camps designed for young Chattanoogans in need of a place that offers healing, peace and learning experiences under the wing of the National Park Service -- America's most trusted agency.

It's easy to see that a law enforcement weapons training range does not fit into this equation. Moccasin Bend is not the appropriate place for gunfire anymore. Studies have been made, plans have been drawn and taxpayer money has been spent. It's time to move the training range.

John Edwards III is publisher of the Chattanooga News Chronicle.

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A LAND CONSERVATIONIST

photo Greg A. Vital

A million people visit Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park each year. They spend $55 million dollars, creating almost 800 private sector jobs.

That's a pretty substantial positive impact for our community.

The National Park Service has done studies on how heavily used Moccasin Bend is likely to be, finding that an estimated additional 250,000 people will visit the newest area of the park each year once amenities are in place. These visitors are likely to stay an extra day in Chattanooga for their riverside national park experience and patronize our restaurants, stores and hotels.

National parks are good for business. For every $1 allocated to them by the federal government, they return $10 to the communities that are their gateways. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, managing the development of Moccasin Bend, currently returns $16 for every $1. Not too shabby.

The park-in-progress on the Bend will be a place where people can learn, reflect, relax and recharge. It will be as important to Chattanooga as Central Park is to New York City, so it's easy to see the benefit of having it next door to our downtown.

My personal passions include historic preservation, land conservation and national parks. All three have driven me to invest in major giving to the nonprofit Friends of Moccasin Bend. This group has worked long and hard to save the Bend. Now they're working with the National Park Service to transform what they saved into something even more meaningful to the public.

It makes good sense to develop the national park on our Bend the right way, and a law enforcement gun training range just doesn't belong. Move the range, and keep building the park. Chattanooga will be better for it.

Greg A. Vital is president and CEO of Independent Healthcare Properties and is a board member of Friends of Moccasin Bend.

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