Staffing shortage forces closure of Georgia lakeside recreational areas ahead of Memorial Day

A federal staffing shortage has resulted in the closure of Georgia lakeside recreational areas just ahead of the busy Memorial Day weekend The U S Army Corps of Engineers announcement Wednesday that it would close parks and masses use facilities around waterways in Georgia Alabama and Mississippi is already drawing political heat U S Rep Rich McCormick R-Suwanee issued a announcement saying he was disappointed to learn of the closures of beaches and docks around Lake Lanier noting the lake draws more than million visitors a year And Georgia s two U S senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff both of them Democratics blamed President Donald Trump The Army Corps announcement listed sites at Lake Lanier two at Allatoona Lake and one along Lake George W Andrews southwest of Blakely The announcement also included a general shoreline area along the -mile Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River system which runs through Georgia Certain sites in Alabama are near Georgia and those closures may also affect Georgia residents The Army Corps gave no reason for the closures but the agency was targeted for cuts by the U S Department of Cabinet Efficiency DOGE that Trump established under billionaire businessman Elon Musk McCormick blamed Democrats in the House of Representatives saying they blocked an appropriations bill introduced last year that would have prevented campground closures around Lake Lanier Warnock attributed the closures to this administration s reckless cuts and Ossoff commented the Lake Lanier closures were a direct and predictable effect of what he called the Trump administration s reckless and chaotic mismanagement The post Staffing shortage forces closure of Georgia lakeside recreational areas ahead of Memorial Day appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta