Public Input Is Invited For Chick-Chatt Park Planning (February/March 2009 Civil War News) FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — As part of the planning process for a new General Management Plan, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will host two March meetings to obtain public input.

Public Input Is Invited For Chick-Chatt Park Planning
(February/March 2009 Civil War News)

FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. — As part of the planning process for a new General Management Plan, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will host two March meetings to obtain public input.

The meetings will be Tuesday, March 10, at Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center, 4-8 p.m. and Thursday, March 12, at the Walker Pavilion, Coolidge Park, Chattanooga, from 4-8 p.m.

The last general management plan for the park was adopted in 1988. Since then, significant changes have occurred in the park, including the addition of new land on Lookout Mountain, the rerouting of U.S Highway 27 outside park boundaries, and the acquisition of Moccasin Bend National Archeological District.

Moccasin Bend is a peninsula formed by a prominent bend in the Tennessee River just northwest of downtown Chattanooga. In 2003, 755 acres at Moccasin Bend were added to the national park as the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. It holds sites representing some 12,000 years of American Indian occupation.

In inviting public input, Superintendent Shawn Benge said, “It is time to look forward again — we must explore how to best preserve the unique cultural history of the park and continue to make it an educational and inspirational place for all of us to visit and enjoy.”

The new General Management Plan will guide management of the park for the next 20 years. People unable to attend the meetings may submit comments at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/chch.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park was dedicated in 1895 as the country’s first military park. The campaign for Chattanooga, including the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, involved soldiers from 29 of the 35 U.S. states. Chickamauga had the highest casualty rate of any two-day battle in the Civil War.

For additional information call the park at (423) 752-5213 ext 113 or visit the park planning Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/chch for the most up-to-date information.