Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Ocmulgee Mound could be Georgia’s first national park

The remains of a funeral mound at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Macon, Ga., on Aug. 22, 2022. The lesser funeral mound remains mostly intact at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Macon, Georgia, on Aug. 22, 2022. A railroad blasted through a much larger burial mound. Archeologists removed millions of artifacts, still held in government archives, and skeletons were put on ghoulish display before the Muscogee managed to rebury 114 ancestors in 2017. (AP Photo/Sharon Johnson)
Mike Stewart/AP
/
AP

Lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would establish Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve.

Senators Jon Ossoff, Reverend Raphael Warnock, and Representatives Austin Scott and Sanford Bishop Jr. first introduced the bill in May 2024. In November of that year, the bill passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Now, the bill has been brought to the floor once again.

While Georgia has several national historic parks and monuments, it does not have a park dedicated specifically to the preservation of wildlife and natural beauty. The proposed park would protect the ancestral land of the Muscogee Nation (also known as the Creek Native Americans) located in Middle Georgia. During the Mississippian Period, the Muskogean people built the Ocmulgee Mounds on the land for meetings, agriculture, and burials.

The park and preserve would raise awareness about this historical landmark, encourage public hunting and fishing, and attract visitors to boost the local economy.

Principal Chief David Hill of the Muscogee Nation expressed his support, stating, “The Muscogee Nation remains steadfast in [our] support of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Bill.”

Related Content
  • According to the Athens-Clarke County Government, thousands of new residents are expected to move to the area in the next two decades. With housing scarcity already an issue, the mayor and commission considered changing local code to facilitate using RVs as a housing solution during a meeting Tuesday.