
Don Carter State Park manager Jamie Madden, left, and naturalist Michaela Weis.
The new manager at Don Carter State Park got her feet wet over the summer and is set to dive into fall with new programs and a local naturalist. Jamie Madden brings deep experience managing Georgia state parks to the only such park on Lake Lanier. Naturalist Michaela Weis, a Gainesville native, looks forward to bringing fun, educational activities back to the park that has not hired a naturalist in two years.
Madden, 33, started work in July following the departure of 7-year assistant manager/manager Steven Emery, who left to manage Smithgall Woods State Park in Helen. Born and raised in Kansas, she earned her degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from the University of Kansas. She specialized in park management, conservation and interpretive park programs.
Madden departed the flatlands of America’s heartland for the Peach State while she was in college. “I needed to complete an internship for my degree and found an internship in Georgia that would allow me to get credit,” she said. A part-time stint at Ellijah Clark State Park on the western shore of Clarks Hill Lake in Lincolnton near the South Carolina border led her to other positions at numerous Georgia State Parks. She visited campsites, welcomed campers and fielded questions as the roving interpretive ranger at North Georgia parks, Fort Mountain in Chatsworth and Vogel in Blairsville, as well as historic sites, Chief Van House in Chatsworth and New Echota in Calhoun.
Next came a string of management positions at North Georgia parks: assistant manager at Cloudland Canyon in Rising Fawn and Richard B. Russell in Elberton and manager of Panola Mountain in Stockbridge and Red Top Mountain on Lake Allatoona in Acworth. She came to Don Carter State Park seeking a “better work/life balance” after being in charge of the sprawling, bustling, metro environment at Red Top. The mother of two sons, ages 4 years and 22 months, also saw the potential to grow the “smaller, more contained” 1,316-acre park on Lanier. She and husband, Michael, were impressed with Hall County and the park’s proximity to vibrant Gainesville. Her husband found work in Dawsonville. When she’s not working, Jamie Madden enjoys family time, crafting, reading and hiking.
At an August meet and greet with Friends of Don Carter State Park Madden told the dozen or so attendees she has long term plans at Don Carter. “My oldest child just started preschool. I plan to stay until they graduate,” she said. Most who met her that evening represented the local equestrian community, many of whom rode northeast Hall trails before the park broke ground. She answered their questions and suggestions with openness and updates on trail maintenance equipment and responses about what she can and cannot do regarding special on-site accommodations for horse riders. Decisions about those amenities must come from higher ups on the state level, she said.

Teams compete in the sandcastle-building contest at Don Carter State Park on Labor Day.
She spoke with enthusiasm about upcoming programs, including the Labor Day sandcastle competition, a Girl Scouts “I Love State Parks Day” hike, Trunk or Treat this month, plus a S’Mores with Santa event in December. She added that the park planned to start work on a new event center near the RV campground in September. The enclosed facility, similar to a group shelter but accommodating 150 people, is expected to open next fall.
Weis, the new part-time naturalist, graduated from Chestatee High School in North Hall and is currently enrolled at the University of North Georgia. She plans to transfer to the University of Georgia School of Forestry. “I always knew I wanted to work with the public. It is my passion to become an environmental educator,” she said. “I feel lucky to be here” at a state park so close to home, she said. She grew up camping and enjoying outdoor activities with her family. She spoke excitedly about upcoming programs, especially one aiming to sweeten up the winter. She hopes to introduce a syrup tasting day with local syrup-makers. It might include pancakes. Additionally a National Coffee Day program was in the works for Oct. 4. Details were not available by Lakeside deadline.
Madden noted that Lake Lanier is by far the main draw to the park with a wide, sandy beach, two boat docks, paddle sport rentals, and fishing docks. About 90 percent of visitors come for the beach, she estimated. The park accommodates overnight guests in eight 2-bedroom cottages, 44 tent, trailer and RV campsites, and 14 primitive tent campsites. Madden reported Labor Day holiday visitors filled all the campsites and cottages. The four picnic shelters were 90 percent booked for the three-day weekend.
Visitation drops off sharply in the late fall and winter. A few hikers, trail runners, equestrians, and cold weather anglers step foot on the trails or launch into the lake in the off-season. Madden said she looks forward to spreading the news about what the park has to offer to the Gainesville community year-round. She expressed surprise that despite its opening 11 years ago, many local residents are still unaware of the gem on the north end of the lake. Its lure includes 14.5 miles of well-marked hiking trails, paved and woodsy paths, many of which open up to lovely lake views after the leaves fall. Another 14.5 miles of horse trails wind through the woods on wide paths with bridges crossing creeks. Madden looks forward to weekend and seasonal programs, like those she and naturalist Weis plan this fall. She deemed their Labor Day sandcastle contest a rousing success after signing up 11 teams whose architects showed off their creativity on the park shore.
She anticipates bringing her own creativity and practicality to grow the park that the late Don Carter, Gainesville real estate executive and long-time Georgia Natural Resources Department worker and board member, envisioned more than 25 years ago.
Photos: by Jane Harrison