LUMPKIN COUNTY, Ga. – Chris Dockery is one of a dozen North Georgia county commission chairmen who signed a letter to Gov. Brian Kemp requesting that all state parks in their counties be closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The letter reads, “As County Commissioners in North Georgia, we are writing to request that you issue an Executive Order closing down all of the state parks located in our area for the duration of the Statewide Shelter in Place Order.”

Chris Dockery

Many of the counties they represent had already issued their own emergency orders but the Governor’s Shelter-in-Place Order issued April 2 supersedes those and prohibites them from enacting stricter laws. Dockery called that “very unfortunate” and added that he is concerned about increased traffic in the area.

The letter further states, “A significant portion of this increased traffic is coming from COVID-19 hot spots such as Atlanta or from areas outside our state. During normal times, we are very thankful for the many Georgians and other tourists who visit and explore our area and frequent our state parks. As public awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic has increased, there has been a recent surge in visitors to our area. It appears that these nonresidents believe our area is a safe haven because of its rural nature. To the contrary, the influx of people into our communities has had a staggering detrimental effect on our resources. Our communities simply do not have enough hospital beds or medical personnel to care for the inflated population. Similarly, there is not enough food, dry goods, fuel and other supplies to adequately provide for the numbers we are experiencing.

“Many County Commissioners in our area are actively discouraging any and all nonresidents from visiting our area until the pandemic has resolved itself. The United States Forest Service has taken steps to discourage the influx of people by closing down all of its “sited” campgrounds, but the continued operation of the state parks is stressing our community’s resources in a substantial manner.

“On behalf of the many citizens that live in North Georgia who entrust us as County Commissioners to represent their interests, we respectfully ask you to close all of the state parks located in our area immediately.”

The letter is signed by the county commission chairmen from Franklin, Habersham, Towns, Rabun, White, Gilmer, Dade, Lumpkin, Fannin, Stephens, Union and Banks counties.

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