Recreation guide

The Corps of Engineers welcomes you to beautiful Lake Sidney Lanier. Located just 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, the lake offers some of the finest camping opportunities in the South. The Corps operates 7 campgrounds at Lake Lanier. Camping enthusiasts may enjoy the luxuries of fully developed areas with water and electrical hookups or “rough it” at designated primitive areas. Most campgrounds have park attendants on duty to assist our visitors. Camping in undesignated areas such as on the lake’s shoreline and islands is prohibited.

Campsites w/ Hookups Campsites w/o Hookups Showers Dump Station Laundry Restrooms Picnic Tables Picnic Shelter Boat Ramp Swim Area User Fee No Pets

13 VAN PUGH SOUTH X XX X XXX X X X 17 OLD FEDERAL X XX X XXXXX XX X Temporarily closed for repairs 45 DUCKETT MILL X XX X XXX X XX X 50 BOLDING MILL X XX X XXXX X XX X 53 TOTO CREEK X XX X XX X 77 BALD RIDGE X XX X XXX X XX X 81 SAWNEE X XX X XXX X XX X

1 LOWER POOL EAST X X 2 LOWER OVERLOOK XX X 3 UPPER OVERLOOK 4 BUFORD DAM PARK XXX XX X 12 BURTON MILL XX X XX X 15 VAN PUGH NORTH XXX XXX X 18 OLD FEDERAL DAY USE X XXX X 19 BALUS CREEK X X X 20 MOUNTAIN VIEW X 30 BELTON BRIDGE 31 LULA X 36 LITTLE RIVER XX X 38 WAHOO CREEK X 39 THOMPSON BRIDGE X X X 41 SARDIS CREEK XX X 42 SIMPSON X X 43 ROBINSON X 45 DUCKETT MILL X 46 LITTLE HALL XXX XXX 50 BOLDING MILL X 53 TOTO CREEK XX XX 54 NIX BRIDGE XX X 55 THOMPSON CREEK X XX 59 KEITH’S BRIDGE XX XXX 60 LONG HOLLOW XX XXX 64 VANN’S TAVERN X X X 67 TWO MILE XX X 70 SIX MILE X X 76 TIDWELL X X X 80 LITTLE RIDGE X 82 WEST BANK XXX XX X 83 WEST BANK O’LOOK X 84 LOWER POOL WEST XX X XX 93 EAST BANK XX X XX 94 LANIER PARK XXX XXX X

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Exit 17

The Corps operates 35 day use parks at Lake Lanier. Facilities range from parks with boat ramps to those with designated swimming areas, picnic tables, shelters and playgrounds. All day use parks close daily at 10 p.m. Boat launching is allowed at all hours unless otherwise posted. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited in all parks.

Picnic shelters are available at several Corps’ parks around the lake. They can be reserved for a fee. Call the Lake Lanier Management Office at 770-9459531.

Day use fees are charged at some park areas which have boat ramps or beach areas. Fees (per day): Boat launching $5 Vehicles $5 Commercial vehicle $20 Pedestrian/bicycle $2 Annual pass $40

Guidelines are not intended as restraints to the enjoyment of park visitors, but as aids for orderly operation, visitor safety and for the protection of the environment and public property. Complete rules and regulations are posted at the entrances to all campgrounds and copies are available at entry stations. To view annual opening and closing dates and rates for campgrounds and picnic shelters, visit www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civ il-Works/Recreation/Lake-SidneyLanier/Schedules.

7 SHOAL CREEK 770-945-8787 11 BIG CREEK 770-945-8787 14 CHESTNUT RIDGE 770-945-8787 33 CLARK’S BRIDGE 770-535-8280 79 MARY ALICE PARK 770-781-2010 86 FLOWERY BRANCH PARK770-967-6371 52 LUMPKIN COUNTY PARK 706-864-3622 56 WAR HILL 706-344-3600 71 CHARLESTON 770-781-2215 74 SHADY GROVE 770-205-6850 75 YOUNG DEER 770-781-2215 87 LANIER POINT 770-535-8280 88 LONGWOOD PARK 770-531-2680 89 HOLLY PARK 770-531-2680 90 LAUREL PARK 770-535-8280 91 RIVER FORKS 770-531-3952 96 LAKE LANIER ISLANDS 770-945-8787 99 DON CARTER STATE PARK 404-656-3530

MORE INFO: Water release schedules - 770 945-1466 Lake information - 770 945-1467 Corps of Engineers - 770 945-9531 www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Recreation/Lake-Sidney-Lanier

PHOTO BY GEORGIA DNR These zebra mussels were removed from a boat in the Lake Lanier area.

With zebra mussels found on a boat in the Lake Lanier area, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is urging boat owners to clean, drain, and dry their boats, and be aware of the potential for transferring these invasive mussels from waters in other states.

Owners of a boat taken to Lanier after being used on the Tennessee River near Chattanooga, Tenn., recently spotted zebra mussels on the boat and called DNR.

Staff from the agency’s Wildlife Resources Division removed about one gallon of dead mussels from the boat and worked with the owners to ensure the vessel was drained, properly cleaned and thoroughly dried. DNR commended the owners for recognizing the issue and taking the necessary steps to report it.

Zebra mussels, a species native to eastern Europe that has spread to many U.S. waters, including the Tennessee River, pose a significant risk to Georgia. If established here they could spur major ecological and economic damage. Zebra mussels and other aquatic invasive species can cause millions of dollars in damage to boats and water intake pipes, while undermining native mussels and other aquatic species.

There is no known established population in Georgia.

However, in March zebra mussels were found in Georgia pet stores attached to moss ball plants being sold for aquariums.

For more information on these aquatic invaders and how to report them, as well as how to properly clean, drain, and dry vessels, visit georgiawildlife.com/ans. – from Georgia DNR

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down with all three state governors and federal agencies interested in the waters of the ACF,” Clayton said.

“Representatives of the states have participated in ACFS meetings in the past to share information on a variety of topics,” said Linda MacGregor, Director of Gainesville Water Resources who also serves as ACF Stakeholders government relations chair.

MacGregor said the organization is currently working on a strategy to update state officials on ACF Stakeholders’ activities. She said the Stakeholders provide ample opportunities for networking, having open discussions and developing camaraderie. “Building relationships holds a great hope for working toward solutions,” she added. “One of the main benefits of ACF Stakeholders is collaborations and open discussions.”

Ackerman imagined what it might be like to get governors from all three states in the same boat, literally on Lake Lanier or on a river. “Wouldn’t it be cool,” she said, “if the governors went out on a boat trip together and met with environmental gurus” to see the connectivity of the entire basin. Being out on a river together “seems to raise awareness” of what is at stake, she said. “We sit at the end of the line (in Apalachicola Bay),” she said.

The end of the 2013 lawsuit does not end droughts, growth, water hoses, irrigation pipes, improper management and other challenges facing the ACF in the future. Without attempts to solve water sharing problems through collaboration, more litigation is possible. At least two other lawsuits involving the three states, environmental groups and the Corps of Engineers are working their way through the courts.

Said Rogers, 56 people of good will have agreed there are water problems. The Stakeholders have responded, “Here’s a way forward.”

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Lake Lanier Association legal counsel. He referenced justices’ inquires in the Feb. 22 oral argument that sought to assess the economic and ecological value of Florida oysters. Morris added he thought justices saw they could not fashion a remedy that could benefit Florida. “In the end, while some Justices may have hoped to find a way to benefit the oyster farms, none of them was convinced that Georgia had caused their collapse. Florida just simply did not prove its case, and the few Justices who may have been leaning Florida’s way ultimately concluded that they could not vote in Florida’s favor.”

Morris indicated he feels the lawsuit outcome offers relief to Lake Lanier advocates “because the specter of equitable apportionment has been taken completely off the table… the fact that the Supreme Court’s decision was unanimous sends an unmistakable message to Florida and Alabama that their accusations of Georgia taking more than its fair share of water are meritless.”

Environmentalists and legal experts took note of justices’ message to Georgia in the ruling’s final paragraph which states “We emphasize that Georgia has an obligation to make reasonable use of Basin waters in order to help conserve that increasingly scarce resource.” Some even speculated on the possibility of more water litigation, besides current lawsuits currently working their way through the courts.

Chris Manganiello, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper water policy director, opined about potential future litigation if states do not heed the obligation to conserve. “If a robust culture of conservation does not take hold and advance in metro Atlanta, the Flint River basin, and across all economic sectors, then we’ll be back in court again. And the next court might consider Georgia’s water use un-reasonable,” he said.

Lara Fowler, Senior Lecturer for Penn State Law, wrote in SCOTUS Blog that although “the court’s ruling gives Florida no room to argue its case further … equitable-apportionment cases over water between states can be filed again if the circumstances change.” If Florida filed a new case against Georgia, “it would require different circumstances,” she added. She also mentioned other on-going litigation related to management of the Apalachicola-ChattahoocheeFlint system and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Master Manual for management of reservoirs on the rivers. ACF Stakeholders the answer?

Manganiello, Fowler, and Apalachicola Riverkeeper all pointed to a possible medium that might help the states resolve water disagreements without going to court: ACF Stakeholders. The private, non-profit organization of representatives from Georgia, Florida and Alabama in 2015 presented a Sustainable Water Management Plan that offers water-sharing solutions. The ACF Stakeholders has worked more than a decade to find a resolution to “the water wars” outside of the courtroom, according to the group’s post-ruling news release. Manganiello said the “collaborative group of agricultural, municipal, industrial, environmental, individual and other interests who live, work and use the water resources of the ACF river basin” have produced a technical solution to steer away from litigation.

Fowler described the Stakeholders’ effort as a potential pathway for negotiation that might avert litigation. “While the immediate case brought by Florida is now dismissed, what happens next remains open,” she said.

ACF Stakeholders Chairman Phil Clayton said the group felt relief that the lengthy and costly Florida v. Georgia case had come to an end. “Now we can shift the focus back to development of an equitable, stakeholder-supported water sharing plan for the ACF Basin.”

Apalachicola Riverkeeper implored states’ officials to take a serious look at the ACF Stakeholders’ work. “We urge state leadership of Alabama, Georgia and Florida to collaboratively review this plan.”

PHOTO BY ALAN HOPE More than 500 people turned out in mid-April for the Lake Lanier Association member celebration at Gainesville Marina. It included a vendor fair, food from Skogie’s and music by Gina Gailey. “People are just so ready to get outside in a safe space and see each other again, and this was the perfect opportunity,” said Jennifer Flowers, executive director of the association. “To have this kind of participation during the pandemic was a good way to celebrate LLA and Lake Lanier.” The vendor fair included boating organizations, business members of the association and other marine-related groups. “A big thank you to Tony and Heather of Skogie’s for the amazing food,” Flowers said. Shelia Davis Group was the event’s signature sponsor. For more information, visit www.lakelanier.org. - By Pamela A. Keene