Volkswagen's emissions cheating scandal may be giving local officials headaches.
But the German automaker has been a great environmental partner for the area, veteran local ecologist Bill Phillips said at Outdoor Chattanooga's Winter Workshop series Thursday.
Phillips' company, Envision Ecology, worked as an independent consultant on the development of the Enterprise South Nature Park that accompanied construction of the $1 billion auto plant.
"They're under a lot of fire, but let me tell you, they're the best environmental partners we could have," Phillips told a group gathered at the Outdoor Chattanooga building in Coolidge Park. "They are so much stronger than we Americans (in mitigation strategies and wetland protection). It's because they've been facing these problems longer than we have."
Just a quarter of an acre of wetland was displaced by plant construction, Phillips said. That disruption was recouped exponentially through development of new habitat.
Envision Ecology, with the support of Volkswagen, local and state government, helped implement the 18,000 feet of new stream channels around the 940-acre plant and bring an 80-acre wetland to the site.
"We were going through really dense stuff, garbage vegetation, watching our feet for snakes," Phillips recalled.
Now numerous species of birds and animals dwell in the area. Two black bears have even been spotted in the nature park, Phillips added.
"If you go out there now, it really is pretty nice," Phillips said, pointing to a photo of an Enterprise South stream with a rabbit next to it.
Envision Ecology also is consulting on the new 85,000-square-foot, $25 million Bass Pro Shops project in East Ridge. The store is slated to open in April, and the wildlife disruption of the project is minimal, according to Envision Ecology partner and field operations manager Larry Carter.
"They are wanting to do it right," Carter said. "They're known for doing very good ecological work. That kind of business, they want to be very well-represented in that aspect and everyone around here seems to be very pleased with what they've done so far."
Phillips said 70 percent of natural wetlands in the Tennessee Valley have been lost and local water quality has plummeted since his days fishing Lake Chickamauga and swimming in the South Chickamauga Creek in the 1960s.
But, he added, he has found renewed hope that future generations can reverse that trend.
"The city in the last couple of years has started taking seriously the protection of city waters," Phillips said. "And the county is getting more and more involved as well."
Phillips added that he is hoping to find more spots along the South Chickamauga Creek greenway where wetlands can be cultivated.
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.