Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Updates General Management Plan for Lookout Mountain Battlefield

Date: January 12, 2015
Contact: Brad Bennett, 423-752-5213 x115

Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Superintendent Brad Bennett announces that the general management planning effort focused on Lookout Mountain Battlefield is nearing completion. The planning effort will amend the 1988 General Management Plan for Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to provide management guidance for the Lookout Mountain unit for the next 20 years. Bennett stated, “This amendment will shape the management direction for over 500 acres of new lands on Lookout Mountain that were added to the national park due to their association with the 1863 Campaign for Chattanooga. This plan will update management zoning for the entire Lookout Mountain portion of the national park, with each zone defining a set of desired conditions, visitor experiences, and appropriate activities and facilities for that zone. Reflecting comments from the last public meeting in 2013, a preferred alternative has been developed that focuses on the national park’s primary purpose: commemorating the meaningful sacrifices made by Americans during the Civil War. The amended general management plan will also address use and access at a number of new locations on Lookout Mountain that will enhance visitor experiences in the national park.”

The preferred alternative with the proposed changes to management zoning for Lookout Mountain can be viewed at: www.parkplanning.nps.gov/chch. Comments can be submitted electronically through the website between January 12 and February 12, 2015.

The park will host an open house on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 between 4:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at the South Chattanooga Recreation Center at 1151 West 40^th Street in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The purpose of the open house is for the National Park Service to describe the preferred alternative and hear your ideas, concerns, and thoughts about this special place. There will be presentations at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Comment forms will also be available at the open house.