Read more
Chattanooga creates committee to eye moving the Moccasin Bend firing range
Thank goodness, Chattanooga and Hamilton County officials finally are moving off the dime to look for ways to move the police firing range off of Moccasin Bend so that the Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District can reach its full potential.
Until Thursday when local leaders announced the formation – again – of a study committee to investigate potential new firing range locations, it had seemed that years of political wrangling, federal legislation and grassroots efforts to build an amazing park practically in the center of the city were all for naught. Instead of working toward a fully embraced park plan and the building of relocated, state-of-the-art police training grounds, our leaders were publicly contemplating $300,000 in “temporary” firing range upgrades on the Bend.
Moccasin Bend is not just another plot of land, and the park will not be just another set of trails. The Bend’s mounds and village sites represent 12,000 years of human habitation along with a historic Trail of Tears route and a number of Civil War cannon mounts. But the park’s future has been marred at the center by the 33-acre firing range and its near constant volley of practice gunfire and bomb squad detonations – just what every national park visitor wants to hear as they learn about the Native Americans and Civil War fighters who make up Chattanooga’s rich history.
Perhaps this new 16-member committee can help Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger find not only new police training locations and funding but also a path to the greatest legacies they could have – an amazing national park in the center of our city surrounded by mountains and the Tennessee River. (Think $55 million in yearly park-generated economic impact and 771 private sector jobs).
Move over 21st Century Waterfront.