Chattanooga Times Free Press - Editorial
Saturday, December 13, 2003, p 18

   Believe it or not, it won’t be many months before most of the orange barrels will be gone and Chattanooga’s great progress will begin to be more evident.

   The 21st Century Waterfront is under way. Work on the Tennessee Aquarium addition, expansion of Hunter Museum of American Art and other major downtown projects is progressing. Steps have been taken to prepare Enterprise South for eventual massive new job opportunities. But it is almost impossible to estimate the great potential for Chattanooga’s economic, historic and recreational development that will come over the next few years as Moccasin Bend’s story from prehistoric habitation through the War Between the States begins to be told through National Park development.

   Rep. Zach Wamp, Sen. Bill Frist, Sen. Fred Thompson and Sen. Lamar Alexander have done their job well on the federal level. Tennessee’s Gov. Don Sundquist and Gov. Phil Bredesen have been very helpful. County Mayor Claude Ramsey, Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker and many private individuals and community interests have worked masterfully.

   Now is the time to get it all in motion. There is great need for Gov. Bredesen to take official action for the state to convey undeveloped land near the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute to the National Park Service, thus allowing the project to shift into high gear. The U.S. Corps of Engineers will stabilize the river bank, and steps will be taken for archaeological, historic and interpretative development to make a great dream into beneficial reality. We encourage Gov. Bredesen to "fire the starting gun" for Chattanooga’s next huge step forward on Moccasin Bend.