Ocmulgee Mounds could become Georgia’s first national park after House hearing

Proposal would redesignate Ocmulgee Mounds as a national park without expanding its current boundaries

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A House Natural Resources subcommittee held a hearing Wednesday on a bill that would redesignate Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as a National Park.

The proposal focuses on changing the site’s designation while keeping the park’s current boundaries.

Austin Scott told lawmakers the effort has been years in the making.

“This redesignation is a culmination of a decades long bipartisan effort dating back to 1934,” Scott said.

Scott also said the bill does not expand the park, but instead focuses on recognizing it at the national level.

“The bill before you is a straightforward next step,” he said. “It makes no changes to the park’s boundary and focuses on conferring national park status reflecting extensive collaboration between my office, committee staff, the Department of the Interior, local leaders, and tribal partners.”

Local leaders also spoke during the hearing about what the change could mean for the region.

Gary Wheat, president and CEO of Visit Macon, addressed lawmakers in Washington.

“Madam Chair, members of the committee, our region has spent nearly a century preparing for this moment,” he said. “We have built the partnerships, we have invested the resources, we have demonstrated the local commitment. Congress is not being asked to imagine what this designation becomes, it is being asked to recognize what Middle Georgia has already built. We respectfully ask for your support of H.R. 9416.”

The legislation is expected to move through the committee.