Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act
Sponsored By: Senator Ossoff, Jon [D-GA]
Introduced
Summary
Would create the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and a companion Ocmulgee Mounds National Preserve. It would redesignate the current Historical Park, allow limited land purchases from willing sellers, and set rules to protect tribal cultural sites.
Show full summary
- Tribe and tribal members: Gives the Muscogee (Creek) Nation a hiring preference for park jobs and requires protection and access to sacred and cultural sites consistent with federal law. About 126 acres of tribal-owned land would be taken into trust for the Tribe.
- Landowners and State: Land for the Park and Preserve could be bought only by purchase, donation, or exchange from willing sellers. Eminent domain would not be used and any hunting or fishing restrictions must follow federal and State law and occur after State consultation.
- Management and local visitors: The Park and Preserve would be managed as a single unit with a general management plan due within 3 years. A seven-member advisory council, including three tribal representatives, would advise on preservation, interpretation, and land and species management.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.
Ocmulgee Park and Preserve creation
If enacted, the bill would rename the site the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and create an adjoining Preserve. The Secretary could add land only by purchase from willing sellers, donation, or exchange. The Secretary could not use eminent domain for those acquisitions. The official Map could be technically corrected and would be available for public inspection. The Preserve would become a unit when the Secretary publishes a Federal Register notice that enough land has been acquired. The bill would authorize such sums as are necessary to carry out these changes.
Tribal protections, jobs, and council
If enacted, the bill would create a seven-member advisory council to advise on the management plan and Tribal interests. The Secretary would have to write a general management plan within three years and inventory cultural landscapes and plants. The Secretary must protect sacred and cultural sites and allow access for Tribal members with ancestral ties. About 126 acres owned by the Tribe would be taken into trust for the Tribe. The Secretary would set a hiring preference for Tribe members for Park and Preserve jobs. The NPS must consult with the Tribe about cultural programs at Bond Swamp Refuge, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director's consent.
Hunting and fishing rules at Ocmulgee
If enacted, hunting would be allowed on Preserve lands and fishing would be allowed in waters within the Park and Preserve under Federal and State law. The Secretary could set zones or seasons to restrict hunting or fishing for safety, management, or emergencies after consulting the State. The bill would not stop hunting, fishing, or trapping on private land and would not change State fish and wildlife authority.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Ossoff, Jon [D-GA]
GA • D
Cosponsors
Raphael Warnock
GA • D
Sponsored 3/25/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov