Shanty Hollow Lake Proposed Shooting Range

I'm not sure how many local folk frequent Shanty Hollow Lake - but if you've been there recently, you already know it is a beautiful and serene place to hike, kayak, canoe and camp.

Bowling Green and WKU are exploring the possibility of building an Olympic style shooting and archery facility at Shanty Hollow Lake. This facility will have 120 indoor shooting lanes and outdoor ranges as well.

http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/2007/11/21/news/news3.txt

While I'm not necessarily against the project, I am definitely against the location. Below is a copy of the email I sent to our mayor and commissioners. I urge everyone to contact their representatives if they have an opinion on this matter.

Good morning, Mayor and Commissioners!

Four years ago, there was a large meteor shower during the month of November. People in our area were able to see hundreds of shooting stars within a matter of hours.

Friends and I wanted to watch this spectacular event, and the closest place we could think of to go, where lights would not be a problem, was Shanty Hollow Lake. It was a gorgeous November night, and the stars were spectacular. We weren't the only ones who had gone there for this event.

I've read two articles about the prospect of a shooting range being built at Shanty Hollow Lake. While I'm not against the range (if those who are pushing it know what they are talking about, it sounds like a definite money-maker for BG) I am certainly against the location. Shanty Hollow Lake is one of the last few places us 'common folk' have in this area, where we can go hike, fish, canoe, kayak and even camp overnight. We can't afford a lake house or a speed boat, we can't canoe or kayak at Barren River Lake because of the speedboats, but we have Shanty Hollow Lake. We can kayak and canoe on the Barren, but we certainly can't camp along the banks. But we have Shanty Hollow Lake. There are beautiful hiking trails (there's even a waterfall), it's quiet, serene, and easily within driving distance. When other streams dried up this summer, Shanty Hollow Lake was still there.

I urge, beg, and plead that other locations be considered for this shooting range. If the lake isn't necessary for the range (which it doesn't seem to be), why not have the range on Lover's Lane? Or out by Camping World and the new Gander's Mountain, where motels already exist? Out Louisville Road where new roads, etc... are already being built? Why not somewhere close to Western?

The noise of the outdoor range will disrupt whatever serenity exists there now. The lights will brighten the night sky. The noise of the construction itself will play havoc on such a beautiful area.

Please, please look at other alternatives. Why not build where infrastructure already exists? I urge all of you to visit Shanty Hollow Lake before signing off on this location - it is a small treasure within driving distance, that will change forever if we allow development there.

Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving,Cynthia