State plans for new Ocmulgee boat ramp in Bond Swamp

Bibb County may get a new boat ramp that would provide access to the Ocmulgee River in the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in East Macon near land being considered for a National Park.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources proposed building a concrete boat ramp and gravel parking lot on about an acre of riverfront land at 1900 Bondsview Road, not far from Brown’s Mount off Ocmulgee East Boulevard. The 20-foot ramp would be built on the river’s east bank on 674 acres owned by the federal government. 

If approved, the project could start as early as August and would be completed by November. 

The proposed location on the Fall Line would offer public access to a unique but rarely-seen part of the river where the lower Piedmont meets the upper coastal plain. Fish caught by anglers there include black crappie, largemouth bass, shoal bass, catfish, redear and redbreast sunfish, according to an environmental assessment of the area. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the following endangered species that could be affected by construction: Tricolored bat, whooping crane, monarch butterfly, Fringed Campion, Ocmulgee Skullcap, Relict Trillium, Bald Eagle, Atlantic Sturgeon and Altamaha shiner.

The Georgia DNR is seeking comments and feedback from the public on its environmental assessment. Read the assessment here and email comments to fm.comments@dnr.ga.gov by the deadline May 30 at 4:30 p.m. Comments may also be mailed to Clint Peacock, c/o Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division, 2067 U.S. Hwy. 278, SE, Social Circle, Georgia 30054.