From: Cecile de Jongh To: JEE <jeevacation®gmail.com> Subject: LSJ name change info Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:04:45 +0000 From Erika: In order to change the name of a geographic area it will be necessary to contact the Department of the Interior and specifically the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (the "Board"). Pursuant to Public Law 80-242, geographic names not in the National Geographic Name Database must be submitted to the Board for approval before they can be used on Federal maps, charts, and other publications. Each name change proposal is submitted to the Board and upon submission the Board evaluates the change based on a number of factors. These factors include the following: o established usage, o historical usage, o legal usage, o legislated usage, o local usage, o unnamed feature, o verbal usage, o and written usage. In addition, the board follows specific domestic geographic names principles. The underlying principle of the Board for establishing official geographic names and their applications is recognition of present-day local usage or preferences. Exceptions to this principle occur when local spoken or written usage is in conflict with Board policy. Well established documented names and names with historical significance are given strong consideration. In general the Board does not encourage name change and will not initiate changes on its own except in rare cases such as derogatory or duplicate names. The Board often stands by its policy to not approve of a name change without good reason. The proposed name changes will be evaluated in cooperation with the local governments, their authoritative bodies, and the public. It is the policy of the Board to follow present-day local usage whenever possible. The Board also considers commemorative naming and sets out established policies and principles in these decisions as well. A commemorative name will not be chosen if a person is living and the person must be dead at least 5