The United States Coast Guard has withdrawn a controversial plan to allow live-fire training exercises on the Great Lakes citing public opposition to the plan. Due to "meetings with many community leaders, ...public meetings, and numerous comments from the public and their elected representatives," Rear Admiral John E Crowley, Jr. described the proposal as "unsatisfactory" and pledged to "take the time to get this right" in a press release issued today. Crowley recognized the concerns of many opposed to the plan, including the potential for accidental injury or accident that could come from using live ammunition in areas located in popular recreation spots on Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes while also responding that he would pursue "environmentally-friendly alternatives to the lead ammunition" that the Coast Guard currently uses. In the months before the decision, the proposal for 34 live-fire training zones drew significant opposition from residents, activists, and elected officials--including Mayor George Heartwell of Grand Rapids--all of whom opposed the plan during the public comment period. Much of the opposition worked within Citizens for Lake Safety coalition while opposition spread across the internet to entities such as the Michigan Peace Network and You Tube.

Of course, the struggle to prevent the Coast Guard from establishing the zones is not over, as a close reading of the press release issued today reveals that the Coast Guard "will not conduct live-fire training on the Great Lakes to satisfy non-emergency training requirements unless we publish a rule," suggesting that the Coast Guard is not opposed to the idea if there was a rule establishing guidelines. The entire release is written in a tone that suggests the procedure will only be fine-tuned rather than abandoned completely. When evaluating the sincerity of the Coast Guard it is also important to remember that it began conducting live-fire exercises in 2004 in "temporary" zones without soliciting public input.