Macon officials optimistic about Ocmulgee Mounds bill despite snag in Senate

The bill to designate the Ocmulgee Mounds as a National Park returned to the Senate Dec. 9, and Macon officials believe the bill will advance despite opposition from the National Park Service.

Lawmakers did not advance the Mounds bill last year even after it passed through committee hearings.

The Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources’ National Park Subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday morning to hear testimony on National Park legislation. The subcommittee did not pass any bills.

Senator Jon Ossoff, the bill’s sponsor, did not testify.

Mike Caldwell, associate director of park planning, facilities, and lands for the National Park Service, testified in opposition to several bills on the agenda, including the Mounds bill.

“Other bills on the subcommittee’s agenda would establish or expand NPS units or direct new studies, all of which would require additional resources. The NPS remains focused on addressing existing needs within its existing portfolio,” Caldwell said. 

Two members of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, the local effort to upgrade the historical site’s status, were present for the hearing, including Executive Director Seth Clark.

Clark remains optimistic. He said it is the NPS’s policy to oppose putting additional lands under federal management and ultimately it is Congress’ right to designate new National Parks.

The federal government manages millions of acres, Clark said, and the Muscogee National Park and Preserve would add what amounts to “a rounding error.”

The proposed size of the park’s hunting and fishing preserve, which would connect the park with the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, has already been chopped down from 80,000 acres after being adjusted in last year’s committee meetings.

“It is congress’ will to enact a park in Central Georgia. I checked in with everyone’s office and they want to move forward as usual,” Clark told The Melody.

Dropping “Historical” from the park’s name and upgrading its designation could bring in a million new visitors, the Mounds initiative estimates.

Two versions of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve bill are moving through Congress, one in the Senate and one in the House.