State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) Saturday announced plans to introduce a bill in the Georgia legislature next year to begin a study of the feasibility of the state – along with local governments – taking over the “vital” recreation areas on Lake Lanier now run by the Corps of Engineers.
This is the latest fallout from the Corps’ on-again, off-again plans to close the parks, boat ramps and other amenities it operates on the lake because of staffing shortages and budget cuts. At first the Corps said all would be shut down. However, after the hue-and-cry from the public as well as some members of Congress and the state legislature, the federal agency reduced the number of sites it would be closing.
Still, Clark calls what the Corps has been talking about doing, to whatever degree, “unacceptable (as well as) harmful to our communities, families and small businesses. We will not allow unelected bureaucrats in Washington to restrict access to what belongs to the people of Georgia.”