Ocmulgee National Park And Preserve Initiative

July 4, 2024, 10:11 pm

The triumphs and tragedies of those who called this area home for thousands of years continue to shape our lives today and define our collective heritage. Reserving this land from major development provides opportunities to tell a more complete story of American history. And as soon as the Muscogee, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, and other natives were gone from the Deep South, they were replaced by hundreds of thousands of slaves, sold down rivers by their northern owners to clear the land for cotton. The small park got a new paved 32-space parking lot, thanks to Tommy Stalnaker, who is now Houston County Commission Chairman. The Ocmulgee Old Fields-Macon Reserve is made up of land retained by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation from 1805 until the Treaty of Washington in 1826, which, along with other treaties, resulted in the removal of the Muskogean people to Oklahoma, the release says. A few years ago he had conflicts with horse riders in the Oconee National Forest and quit going there. Finger Lakes National Heritage Area. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, National Park Service, Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, National Park Foundation, and the Open Space Institute (OSI) announced earlier this week that the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park will double in size. President Donald Trump signed into law the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act. Fishing the Ocmulgee River can be a true wilderness experience. Protect and expand the Ocmulgee National Monument and its integrated network of culturally affiliated resources.

How Can We Preserve National Parks

More information may be found here and on the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative Facebook page. Featuring Georgia Conservancy's Charles McMillan and Brian Foster, along with Dr. Heather Bowman-Cutway of Mercer University, Kensey Rabun of Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative, and Dr. Chris Watson of National Parks Conservation Association. Donations are tax-deductible. "This additional property includes some of our most important unprotected ancestral lands, " said David Hill, principal chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. "Part of our tradition is that we really don't revisit the past, " he said, "particularly when it came to the Trail of Tears. When ONPPI reached out to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, its first contact was then-Principal Chief James Floyd, who lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Congress, who ultimately will determine the park's fate, would draw the final boundaries. The new 951-acre property will be adjacent to the park within Bibb County. Her voice became huskier and she began talking more slowly, seeking words that would do justice to what she had seen. More importantly, The National Park Service (NPS) would implement the sought-after Special Resource Study that would look at the possibility of an even larger park — as much as 50 miles — along the undeveloped corridor of the Ocmulgee River between Macon and Hawkinsville, Georgia. In a report to Congress last year, the Congressional Research Service said the delays had been caused "due to the large number of studies authorized by Congress and the extent of available resources. With this transaction, we are ensuring its permanent protection and acknowledging the Muscogee (Creek) Nation's historic and ancestral connection to this hallowed place.

Partners believe there will be a 12-month window of opportunity to pursue the story-mapping effort. 'The Ocmulgee Mounds touch me deeply, ' she said. Joint Land Use Studies: National Park and Robins Air Force Base (AFB). However, Congress provided no money for land purchases to expand the size, so park promoters, led by a group called the Ocmulgee National Park & Preserve Initiative, are currently raising the approximately $2. Astounding places in the West, like Yellowstone and Glacier and Yosemite, got protected. Most of the land will be immediately transferred to the National Park Service as an addition to the park, but the Ocmulgee Land Trust will hold the other 45 acres during wetlands restoration and then donate them to the park service. Government and tribal unity promises new national park in Georgia. This is a wonderful and well-supported park. National Park Sought For Middle Georgia Along Ocmulgee River. When she returns, she is a ghost. Sandy White, Director of the Hawkinsville/ Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, says the river is important to the local economy. To establish a 35-mile long protected river corridor for wildlife. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation has joined all efforts from the beginning of the process to create a park and aims to have an equal voice with all partners in the co-management of the final park.

Ocmulgee National Park And Preserve Initiative

In 1992, this writer led the effort to improve the Ocmulgee River boat ramp on the Ocmulgee River on Highway 96 near Bonaire. Local and statewide economies (fishing, hunting, tourism). We have never forgotten where we came from and the lands around the Ocmulgee River will always and forever be our ancestral homeland, a place we consider sacred and a place with rich cultural history. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has been making an effort to better align federal hunting dates with state hunting regulations, thus expanding hunting on federal lands. The Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve is one step closer to becoming a reality. The site would commemorate the military history of Fort Ontario, which became a shelter for European refugees during World War II.

Macon is a power spot. Unfortunately, many anglers avoid fishing the river due to its hazardous conditions, like strong current, numerous stumps and fallen trees which at times can entirely block boat passage. It states: "Consolidating these areas into a single entity, along with their wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and recreational opportunities, could offer increased management efficiency and better visibility and public access. Additionally, the newly acquired property is located to the east of the previous park boundary and situated within the Ocmulgee Old Fields formally known as the Macon Reserve, which was a three-by-five-mile site for the Muskogean people. James K. Polk Presidential Home. The tribal government in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, also bought 130 acres (52. There has been an ongoing effort from a community organization, the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, to expand the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park, incorporating Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and the Ocmulgee River corridor from Macon to Hawkinsville. The study would assess the possibility of creating the first national heritage area in Hawaii on the west end of O'ahu. Many are familiar with the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds in Macon, and that would be the northern anchor point of the proposed expanded park. Clark hopes that Georgia's Congressional leaders will introduce a bill this spring. In 2022, the 30th annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration will take place on September 17-18, and will include music, dance, crafts, educational programs, and storytelling. The national parks that we do have in Georgia are historical — preserving forts and battlegrounds and the birthplaces of leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Jimmy Carter. Built between 900 and 1100, these artificial mounds, crafted out of dirt and clay by Mississippian builders, were part of Native American villages, with public buildings, homes, and temples.

Ocmulgee National Park And Preserve Initiative Program

"It was over a decade ago when I was in law school that I became aware of the concept of preserving a larger corridor of the river. While NPS has remained mum on the cause of its backlog, the delays have been a long-standing concern for the agency. Grants & Fellowships. We owe the nation some parks in the Southeast, " said botanist Heather Bowman Cutway, professor at Mercer University in Macon and a board member of ONPPI. One thing playing in the initiative's favor? Pending park studies. The report says that the majority of this economic activity—about 90%—would come from increases in visitor spending associated with a number of key activities: heritage tourism, bicycling, paddling, camping, fishing, wildlife watching, hiking, hunting and horseback riding. Local officials got a chance to press their case with their congressmen last Friday during a flag-raising event in Macon, when they unveiled a flag of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation will now fly in front of City Hall to acknowledge Macon-Bibb's growing partnership with the tribe that is now based in Oklahoma. Coalition-building among stakeholders. The Ocmulgee National Monument and Georgia's other national park sites, like Cumberland Island National Seashore and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, together attracted more than seven million visitors from around the world in 2013 and produced more than $345 million in economic benefits from tourism within the surrounding communities. There has been some debate on the intentions of the National Park promoters to include WMAs and Bond Swamp, but a study called "Diamond in the Rough" was published by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).

The study would determine ways to commemorate and interpret locations along the Transcontinental Railroad. The more of us who imagine it, the easier the creation will be. Flushing Remonstrance.
"The sheer number, age, and undisturbed condition of the prehistoric sites, in particular, would make a park like this unique, " wrote journalist Heather Duncan. From our public comment letter to the National Park Service: "This project represents a unique cultural and environmental opportunity for the people of Georgia and our nation as a whole. We have to face our long American history of uprooting communities in order to create public land and other federal installations. Thurgood Marshall School (PS 103). He said the state WMAs should stay owned by the state, so we in Georgia can have local control. A woodworker by trade and an artist, Wilson is a lover of maps and a 60-something guy who cares about what's happening in nature. The ONPPI is aiming for national park and preserve status, a title that allows hunting and fishing in certain park stretches, satisfying virtually all area recreationists, Clark says. Read the study yourself at. The Ocmulgee River Corridor includes a diverse animal and plant population and is one of the last remaining wild areas in the Southeastern United States. "The creek, floodplain, and river were a conjoined body of water, lapping at interstate embankments and bridge pilings, swirling around leafless willows and river birch, flooding park trails and also boardwalks, only the railings visible above water.

In an era when some culture warriors see government as the enemy, years of coalition-building have eliminated any significant opposition to federal management in the reliably Republican center of a long-red state. Every September, indigenous communities and visitors gather at the Ocmulgee Mounds for the Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration which celebrates Southeastern Native American culture. Spring Ramble Itinerary. "That day, the Atamasco lilies happened to be in bloom. In 2019, Ocmulgee was upgraded to National Historic Park status.