Firing Range Upsets Neighbors - Flint Adam

Some Maury County residents are furious a state agency would build a firing range within a few hundred yards of their homes.

At the Yanahli Wildlife Management Area - just off Highway 50 near Columbia, a sighting range will be available for public use beginning next month.

Neighbors say the range appeared out of nowhere this month, and they're worried about what it means for their neighborhood.

Roger and Debbie Barrows are still trying to make sense of what they see when they walk only a few dozen yards into the Yanahli Wildlife Management Area.

There stands a sighting range - newly built by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - and soon to be used by hunters calibrating their rifles before a hunt.

Trouble is, the Barrows say no one knew it was coming.
"You would think that before they would have thought about doing it, they would ask if there would be a problem," says Gloria Barrows.
Her husband, Roger, says, "They did not notify any of the neighbors or us."

The Barrows front door is not 200 yards from the firing range, separated only by a thin line of trees and Highway 50.
"If wildlife wanted to build this range, why didn't they build it by one of their homes?" says Roger Barrows.

Recently, folks around here began complaining to county leaders - who were also clueless about the range.
Options are limited - the land is state owned - so, neighbors are working on a petition that will head to the Capitol.

Neighbor Debbie Turner says, "Nobody refused to sign this - in fact, everybody was blindsided and surprised because nobody knew!"

Our phone calls to TWRA representatives were not returned, but in an interview with the Columbia Daily Herald, a TWRA spokesman said ranges like these have existed on state-run wildlife management areas for decades.

He is further quoted as saying there is no policy for disclosing the opening of such ranges.

That leaves neighbors suspicious and angry.
"There's all kinds of tragedies in the making over there - from the environmental aspect to the safety aspect," says Turner.

Fire arms aren't new to Yanahli Wildlife Management Area.
It is open to seasonal hunting, but neighbors say those shots are not fired so close to their homes.Firing Range Upsets Neighbors - Flint Adam