Lake Lanier and Buford Dam are shown in this undated photo looking toward Buford Dam Park. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Friday afternoon that it would begin seeking new names for the lake and dam.
Lake Lanier and Buford Dam are shown in this undated photo looking toward Buford Dam Park. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Friday afternoon that it would begin seeking new names for the lake and dam.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers launched — and then quickly “paused” — efforts to find a new name for Lake Lanier and Buford Dam on Friday afternoon.
The lake and the dam were highlighted in a report from a federal commission that looked at renaming Department of Defense properties which are named for people who served in the Confederate Army. The Naming Commission was created in response to the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
The Naming Commission’s Final Report to Congress pointed out Buford Dam is named for the city of Buford, but added that the city was named for Algernon Sidney Buford, who was a member of the Virginia Militia during the Civil War. The commission said Lake Lanier was named for the poet, Sidney Lanier, who had also been served as a private in the Confederate Army.
“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pausing any actions related to project renaming pending further guidance from the Department of the Army,” the Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District said in a statement two and a half hours after it said it had been directed to provide potential new names for the dam and the lake.
The renaming of Lake Lanier would not be as simple as the Army deciding to change it in response to the commission’s report. That’s because he lake name was set by Congress when it approved its creation in 1946.
“In accordance with the FY21 NDAA, over the coming months the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District will develop and submit a recommendation for a new name for Lake Lanier/Buford for consideration by the Department of the Army and Congress,” he corps announced on Friday afternoon. “Ultimately, Congress has the final authority to select a new name for the project since it established the project’s name (Lake Lanier) when it first authorized the project in 1946.”
In other words, the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate would have to agree to changing the lake’s name.
If that name were to change, it would have a cascading effect that would reverberate across the community because of places in he community that are named for either the lake or the dam.
In Gwinnett, these place include Buford Dam Road and Corps of Engineers-run Buford Dam Park, as well as Lanier Middle School and Lanier High School. There is also Lanier Islands and residential communities.
Lake Lanier orders several other counties as well where amenities, roads and communities also take their names from the lake.
U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., whose district borders much of the name said he called he Army Corps of Engineers Friday afternoon to express concerns after the effort to seek new names was beginning. Clyde praised the decision to pause those efforts, which he called “severely misguided.”
“The USACE’s decision to pause its efforts is a tremendous victory for Northeast Georgians, as these re-namings would have attempted to rewrite history, impose massive burdensome costs on our community, and create unnecessary mass confusion,” Clyde said. “I will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure that USACE does not under any circumstances engage in any effort to rename Lake Lanier or Buford Dam in the future.”
I'm a Crawford Long baby who grew up in Marietta and eventually wandered to the University of Southern Mississippi for college. Earned a BA in journalism (double minor in political science and history). Previously worked in Florida and Clayton County.
Okay, this is absolutely ridiculous. Enough is enough!!!! These woke liberals are doing everything they can to destroy our history, our heritage and our country. Never ever vote for a democrat!!!!
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Okay, this is absolutely ridiculous. Enough is enough!!!! These woke liberals are doing everything they can to destroy our history, our heritage and our country. Never ever vote for a democrat!!!!
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