# What This Bill Does: Creating Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve

This bill transforms an existing historical site in Georgia into a larger national park and preserve. Currently, there's a place called Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park near Macon, Georgia—it's an important archaeological site with ancient Native American mounds. This bill upgrades it to "national park" status and creates an adjacent "national preserve" area, essentially expanding the protected land and changing how it's managed.

The main practical change is that the federal government will now try to acquire more land around the current site—both for the park itself and for a separate preserve area. However, there's an important catch: the government can only buy land from people willing to sell it. The bill specifically prohibits using eminent domain (the government's power to seize private property), so landowners can't be forced to sell. The preserve won't officially exist until the government has acquired enough land to make it workable as a park unit.

**Who this affects and how:** Local landowners in the Macon area could be approached about selling their property to the federal government, but they can refuse. Hunters and fishermen will still be allowed to hunt and fish in the preserve area (though the park itself will have different rules), following Georgia state laws. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation gets special recognition here—they'll have a role in managing the site, can use it for traditional ceremonies and hunting, and tribal members will get preference for jobs at the park. The bill also sets up an advisory council with representatives from the tribe, state agencies, and federal officials to help plan how the park should operate.

One unusual provision takes about 126 acres of land the tribe already owns and puts it into federal trust, which is a legal status that gives the tribe special sovereignty over that land. The bill also allows military aircraft to continue flying over the area and maintains existing military training routes, so there won't be restrictions on military use.