There’s a renewed push to make Ocmulgee Mounds Georgia’s first national park and preserve

A new bill was filed Wednesday with every member of Georgia’s delegation signed on as either a sponsor or cosponsor except for U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, who also declined to add his name to last year’s proposal.

Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Austin Scott, R-Tifton, the delegation’s senior-most members, are taking the lead in the House. Scott said getting the bill signed into law is a top priority.

“The Ocmulgee Mounds are of invaluable cultural, communal, and economic significance to our state, and I am committed to keeping this initiative moving forward,” he said in a press release.

Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will introduce a companion bill in their chamber. Warnock said members of the delegation have been working for years on the proposal, and he hopes it can reach the finish line this congressional session.

“Local leaders and everyday Georgians have been waiting for Congress to act, and now is the time,” the Atlanta Democrat said. “Working together, we can prove what is possible when we put politics aside to serve the people of Georgia.”

If the measure passes, it would drastically increase the footprint of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park. Macon officials are hopeful that making it one of roughly 60 national parks, could increase tourism in the region.

Macon Mayor Pro Tempore Seth Clark, who also serves as executive director of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, said the legislation has both regional and statewide significance.

“Tens of millions of private dollars have been leveraged to conserve the precious cultural and ecological resources of the Ocmulgee Corridor,” he said. “And this bipartisan legislation allows us to continue to grow the Middle Georgia economy, protect our national security interests at Robins Air Force Base, expand hunting and fishing access, and authentically preserve some of the most culturally significant sites in the country.”

The Muskogee (Creek) Nation also has been heavily involved in backing the national park initiative, principal chief David Hill said.

“The opportunity to make the historic Ocmulgee Mounds a national park is so important to us because we have been included,” he said. “We have been shown the respect of collaboration, and because of that we can feel confident that the living history that will be told here is authentic and has the power to elevate Georgia forever.”

This article has been updated to reflect revisions in the land area of the proposed national park.