Blue Ridge Country January/February 2022 - 30

GET 'INSIDE' AN ECHO
WWII Storage Bunkers at a
Nature Preserve?
The Chattanooga preserve offers an odd combination of great birding and wildlife
watching with 100 tree-topped concrete bunkers.
By ANGELA MINOR
E
SHELIA CANNON
nterprise South Nature Park,
near Chattanooga, Tennessee,
opened in 2010 with the usual
array of offerings for a natural
area: some 2,800 acres of wooded
park land with trails, driving
loops, overlooks and viewing
platforms, picnic areas, a hidden lake,
streams and a visitor center.
But this park also had an asset like no
other: 100 large concrete bunkers standing
within the vegetation.
The bunkers date to the early 1940s
and had a singular purpose-to store
crates of TNT flakes produced by what
became known as the Volunteer Army
Ammunition Plant (VAAP). Technically
called Corbetta magazines, these domed
bunkers were constructed in a " beehive "
design. This facilitated a camouflaging
strategy of covering the tops with soil
and vegetation should any potential enemies
fly over during the war.
Originally located across 7,300 acres,
the VAAP munitions facility manufactured
explosives for World War II-800
million pounds of it by the end of the
war. It was reactivated for the Korean
and Vietnam wars; and " laid away " in
1977.
Throughout the decades this facility
was ahead of its time in pollution abatement
efforts. Rather than pouring toxic
production waste onto the ground, as
was the common practice of the day, a
treatment plant was built to protect the
soil and water in the area.
Beginning in the late 1990s, site remediation
and reclamation began, which
successfully culminated in the opening
of Enterprise South Nature Park.
Over time, the bunkers have become
integrated into the landscape, complete
with trees growing on top. Three bunkers
are open to the public. With a single entrance,
these structures feel like humanmade
caves with a distinctly parabolic
dish quality. Go inside and whisper, sing
or even tap dance to hear what it's like to
actually stand on the inside of an echo!
Woven amongst these unusual remnants
of history are 10 miles of mountain
bike trails, nine miles of paved pedestrian/bike
trails and nine miles of walking
paths. Placed strategically throughout
are benches, water fountains, information
kiosks, restrooms and ADA accessible
picnic areas.
" There can be hundreds of people in
the park at any given time, yet you can
go down some trails and not a single
other human will be around, " says local
birder Kaye Fiorello.
So bring your binoculars to the three
recognized birding hotspots in and
around the park. Recent data reveals 145
species in ESNP; 96 species in the equestrian
area; and 191 species in the parkadjacent
wetlands.
" Winter is the best time to see all the
ducks and waterfowl, " Fiorello says. " One
year, we had over 100 snow geese come
in! The most exciting time is spring, when
you not only get to see so many species
migrating but also get to witness courting,
nest building and then the hatching and
fledging of so many birds. "
Wildflower walks offer the chance to
see two protected fauna species-the large
flowered skullcap and pink lady slippers.
Watch for deer and small mammals while
spending the day at this local nature preserve
dotted with global history.
Trees have grown over many of the 1940s-era
concrete bunkers at what is now Enterprise
South Nature Park, near Chattanooga,
Tennessee.
30 BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
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Blue Ridge Country January/February 2022

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