This Land, Your Land

The National Forest Service has found "no significant impact" in the development of a shooting range proposed for Nantahala National Forest land near the Fires Creek backcountry area in Clay County.

The decision permits construction of the range on three to five acres approximately 9 miles east of Hayesville near Perry Creek, an area with several miles of popular hiking and bridle trails.

Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine said in February that the site is within a half-mile of the Chunky Gal Trail, a 21-mile-long footpath that connects to the nearby Bartram Trail from the Fires Creek Rim Trail, "which would make the sound of gunfire a constant companion on the trail."

Building a road to the range would mar an unspoiled area, which the Wilderness Society and Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition have named it a Mountain Treasure area, the magazine said, adding that the two groups had publicly opposed the project.

The Forest Service decision says the Perry Creek site has less of a noise impact on the Chunky Gal Trail than the alternative proposal to build the range at a site on Barnett Creek Road (Forest Service Road 6236).

Because Clay County is developing rapidly, "national forest lands represent one of the few options in the county to provide a safe, secure facility for marksmanship and training in firearms safety," the 40-page decision says.

The plan, Alternative B among proposals studied, calls for the creation of five to eight shooting lanes and clean-soil earthen backstops, approximately 1,300 feet of single lane, gravel road, and a parking lot for about 10 vehicles.

"The shooting facility, designed to the safety standards set by the National Rifle Association, will include covered shooting stations, sign boards, and a portable restroom facility," it says.

The proposal for a public shooting range in Clay County debuted in November 2002 with a proposed site on Birch Cove off Nelson Ridge Road, which was deemed too close to homes whose residents would be bothered by the noise.