Bipartisan, bicameral bill would establish Georgia’s first U.S. National Park & Preserve

Bill introduction follows years of advocacy by Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Middle Georgia leaders

Bipartisan bill will now be reported to the full U.S. Senate for consideration

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) applauded passage of key legislation he’s championed to establish Georgia’s first-ever National Park and Preserve out of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The committee voted to advance the bipartisan, bicameral Ocmulgee Mounds Park and Preserve Establishment Act to the full U.S. Senate for consideration, marking a key step toward making Middle Georgia’s Ocmulgee Mounds a national park.

In May, U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA), alongside Congressmen Austin Scott (R-GA-08) and Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02), introduced the bipartisan, bicameral bill, which would establish Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas in Middle Georgia as a National Park and Preserve. Shortly after introduction, in May, the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee held a hearing to receive testimony from the National Park Service on the bipartisan, bicameral legislation.

“Ocmulgee Mounds is a living testament to our intertwined histories and a source of economic and cultural vitality; I’m proud to see this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to establish Ocmulgee Mounds as Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve taking one more step toward becoming law,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “I want to thank Congressmen Scott and Bishop for their yearslong efforts on this in the U.S. House, as well as Senator Ossoff for his leadership. Working together, we are proving what is possible when we put politics aside and center the people of Georgia.”

“This is historic and unprecedented progress toward establishing Georgia’s first National Park, but more work remains ahead,” Senator Ossoff said. “I’m grateful to Congressman Scott, Congressman Bishop, and Senator Warnock for their partnership, as well the extraordinary efforts of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Macon-Bibb County Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark, and local leaders for their years of hard work, advocacy, and leadership.”

Also today, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Federal Lands held a hearing on the House version of the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act, where the House Subcommittee heard testimony from Seth Clark, Executive Director of Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative, among others. Both Reps. Scott and Bishop offered testimony during the hearing.

“This hearing was further progress in making history by establishing Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve,” Representative Scott said. “I appreciate the Federal Lands Subcommittee listening to Middle Georgians about this greatly supported effort to preserve the Ocmulgee Mounds and surrounding areas for generations to come.”

“This is another step forward towards realizing a longstanding dream that has broad, bipartisan support – not only in Middle Georgia, but throughout the state,” said Representative Bishop. “Not only will this historically create Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve, but it will also raise the profile of Ocmulgee Mounds, bolster the local economy, and welcome more Georgians and Americans to enjoy its rich cultural and natural beauty.”

Middle Georgia leaders today celebrated progress of the bipartisan, bicameral bill in the Senate and House.

“The impact of this bipartisan and bicameral bill to create Georgia’s first national park and preserve will allow our ancestral Muscogee descendants to help tell the story of our homelands,” said Muscogee (Creek) Principal Chief David Hill. “We know the importance of these cultural lands and are excited to partner with Middle Georgians to help reconcile our lands and our stories. I am always humbled to be back in the lands of our people and know that we are still here today carrying on our Muscogee ways.” 

“Congress’s actions today reiterate what we’ve always known: that the cultural and ecological gems of middle Georgia are some of the most nationally significant sites in the United States of America and are worthy of the designation we’ve sought for 90 years. We’re grateful for continued bipartisanship the Georgia delegation has shown throughout the legislative process and stand ready to work with the multitude of stakeholders to shepherd in Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve,” said Seth Clark and Tracie Revis of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative.

“We’re thrilled to see Congress making progress on protecting the encroachment zone of Robins Air Force Base by moving the bipartisan and bicameral Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Act forward,” said Ret. Brigadier General John C. Kubinec, CEO of the 21st Century Partnership and former Commander, Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex at Robins Air Force Base. “It is the right step forward for middle Georgia and I look forward to Congress sending this legislation to the President’s desk before the end of the year.”

Click here to read S.4216, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve Establishment Act, as amended and passed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Click here to view the proposed boundaries, as amended and passed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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