This bill redesignates the existing Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as a National Park and establishes a new adjacent National Preserve in Georgia, both to be managed as a single unit. The Secretary of the Interior can acquire additional land for both areas from willing sellers through donation or exchange, but cannot use eminent domain to seize property. The National Preserve will officially be established once sufficient land is acquired to form a manageable unit. The bill requires the Secretary to develop a comprehensive management plan within three years in consultation with a new advisory council, with special attention to protecting sacred sites and cultural resources important to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, including burial grounds and tribal cultural landscapes. Hunting will be allowed in the Preserve and fishing in both areas under state and federal law, with state consultation on any restrictions. The bill also grants tribal hiring preference for park positions, provides for tribal access to sacred sites under existing federal Indian religious freedom laws, places approximately 126 acres of tribal-owned land into federal trust, and authorizes necessary appropriations for implementation. The advisory council will include representatives from the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Georgia's Department of Natural Resources, and the regional commission.
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