34°22′41″N84°09′59″W / 34.378166°N 84.166512°W /34.378166; -84.166512Dawson Forest (City of Atlanta Tract) is a 10,130-acre (41.0 km2) public-useforest located inDawson County, Georgia, southwest ofDawsonville. It is owned by the city ofAtlanta, but is considered astate forest, as it is managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission.[1]
It was purchased in 1971 fromLockheed, and was the previous site of theGeorgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory (GNAL).[2] The property is currently referred to as the Dawson Forest City of Atlanta Tract and managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission with a trail system open to the public.[3] The tract is located approximately ten miles from the end oflimited access onGeorgia 400 inCumming. An area of 3 acres (12,000 m2) previously occupied by GNAL was restricted following 1978 testing which found residualnuclear radiation from the experiments performed there. Subsequent studies in 1991 and 1997 found radiation levels to be at or slightly above normalbackground radiation levels.[2] The property also encompassesAmicalola Creek, which various groups are lobbying to be designated as ascenic river, and which flows overAmicalola Falls withinAmicalola Falls State Park.
It was intended and retained by the city as a potential site forAtlanta's second airport, however in late summer 2009 it was made known that part may be used for theShoal Creek Reservoir, areservoir that would send water mainly to the city of Atlanta system, at itswater works inSandy Springs. However, this 38-mile (61 km)pipeline would result in aninterbasin transfer from theEtowah River to theChattahoochee River, which is currently prohibited by themetro Atlantawater district, and would leave less water inLake Allatoona. Additionally,Alabama has sued to stop nearly everythingGeorgia has tried to do with the upstreamwater supply, including theHickory Log Creek reservoir. In 2009, it was estimated that theselawsuits preventedpermitting and construction that would take only four years.[4] Thelake would be 2,000 acres (8.1 km2), leaving the remainder as forest.
Dawson Forest started life as a testing facility for theLockheed Martin Corporation in the 1960s. This area was used to test the development of theNuclear-powered aircraft,[5] and later used simply for open air testing to determine the effects ofIonizing radiation on various items. In 1971, the land was purchased by theCity of Atlanta for use as an alternative airport toHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.[citation needed]