National Park Service seeking public input on plans for Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District

Moccasin Bend is seen from Point Park on Thursday, Apr. 23, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Tenn.
Moccasin Bend is seen from Point Park on Thursday, Apr. 23, 2015, in Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

Lecture series continues

The Friends of Moccasin Bend Lecture Series continues Monday at 7 p.m. in the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga University Center Auditorium. Adam King, a research anthropologist focusing on the early history of Native Americans, will present “Gradiometers, Mounds & Copper Plates: Piecing Together a History of the Etowah Site.”

If you go

* Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is soliciting public feedback on the future of the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.* View the proposals for the park and submit comments online at www.park planning.nps.gov/chch or attend a public meeting later this month.Meeting 1When: Tuesday, Oct. 20 | site visit from 3-6 p.m. | presentations at 4 and 5 p.m.Where: Moccasin Bend gateway site on Hamm Road.Meeting 2When: Thursday, Oct. 22 | open house from 4-7 p.m. | presentations at 5 and 6 p.m.Where: Outdoor Chattanooga headquarters in Coolidge Park

Should there be a fully staffed visitors center at the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District with displays and videos explaining the historical significance of the area?

Or should the park take on an outdoor-recreation identity with river access, better hiking options and a multi-use riverfront trail?

Some of those answers partially depend on the future of a police firing range on the Bend, but the public is also getting a chance to weigh in on what it wants to see at one of Chattanooga's outdoor treasures.

The National Park Service opened a public comment period last week on its website for four proposed Moccasin Bend management concepts.

The open comment period will run through Nov. 13. Then park officials will take the feedback gathered from the public and from discussions with American Indian groups and begin work on a preferred management concept that will be implemented starting in 2017.

"Our hope is we get lots of folks showing interest and letting us know what's important to them and what they want to see," said Brad Bennett, superintendent of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

The four alternatives, as they are labeled in September's park newsletter, list the array of possibilities for an area that has long been associated with a mental health institute, a sewage treatment plant and a golf course.

"This is kind of the next big thing for Chattanooga in terms of expanding outdoor recreation and public park space," said Michael Wurzel, executive director of the Friends of Moccasin Bend National Park. "We hope with this plan and the future park that they truly start to think about Moccasin Bend as a park."

* Alternative A calls for no action and shows what the park's current infrastructure consists of.

* Alternative B is highlighted by a staffed visitors center and a dock that could harbor a bicycle ferry, potentially bringing riders across the river from the Tennessee Riverwalk. This alternative would be possible even if the firing range remains.

* Alternative C would include an unstaffed visitor information plaza and feature a looping riverfront walking and bicycling route. This alternative would require the park to work around the firing range.

* Alternative D could be implemented if the firing range moved off the Bend. It would include an orientation kiosk for guests and is highlighted by Tennessee River Blueway (paddling trail) access and the most thorough trail development of any of the alternatives.

Representatives of the city and Hamilton County county are joining forces with law enforcement officers and community members to develop a long-term plan to relocate the shared firing range now on Moccasin Bend.

The final management concept for Moccasin Bend likely will incorporate aspects from more than one of the alternatives that have been presented.

"I think the visitor center is crucial to the long-term, 20-year plan at Moccasin Bend just because there are so many stories about the history of Moccasin Bend that can only be told in the visitor center setting," Wurzel said. "At the same time, I'm also a big fan of the outdoor recreation opportunities here, too. So, ideally, I'd love to see a hybrid of the those two things."

The park is hosting a pair of public meetings later this month to present the management concept plans and to solicit in-person feedback.

"The American people own it," Bennett said. "It's their park and we really want them to be engaged and involved."

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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