Lands associated with the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park located near Macon, Georgia, have been home to Native Americans for more than 17,000 years. We at the National Trust for Historic Preservation have long advocated for conserving the Ocmulgee landscape, naming it a National Treasure in 2016.

In March 2019, then-President Trump signed into law the most significant public lands package in more than a decade, including legislation expanding and redesignating the Ocmulgee National Monument. Within the package was a provision to redesignate the Ocmulgee National Monument to the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and adjust its boundary to include approximately 2,100 additional acres. This action created greater protections for landscapes significant to several Native American tribes and numerous cultural resources.

As part of the legislation, the National Park Service is conducting a special resource study of the Ocmulgee River Corridor in Georgia to determine whether the location should be part of the National Park System. The approximately 50-mile river corridor has a rich history that includes archaeological resources dating from the Paleoindian Period through World War II, with extensive Native American resources such as Mississippian mound sites. To learn more about the National Park Service special resource study of the Ocmulgee River Corridor, explore their detailed story map featuring video and interactive maps of the area.

The National Park Service posted a landing page with background on the special resource study and a cultural and historic context report. Advocates who support this historically and ecologically significant landscape are asked to submit a public comment on the project by March 26.

Your voice will aid the preservation and protection of this site and its cultural resources.