MACON, Ga. — When the U.S. Senate passed the Natural Resources Management Act in March of 2019, the former Ocmulgee National Monument officially became a national park.
Now over a year later, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park has unveiled its new entrance sign, complete with the National Park Service arrowhead.
"It was the final placement of the arrowhead that made it official," says park ranger Angela Bates.
Even with the sign up, the national park still has a lot of work to do.
In accordance with the newly-signed bill, the park's boundaries have expanded by 2,100 acres.
While the Ocmulgee's boundaries are larger, the land that they cover isn't officially theirs yet.
The park is working with members of the Ocmulgee Parks and Preserve Initiative to purchase private property or have it donated raise money to purchase property or have it donated to Ocmulgee.
OPPI executive director Kensey Rabun plans to help the park acquire that land in two years.
"We're so excited for the passage of that legislation and how it will lead to future improvements just to make it a place all of us can enjoy," says Rabun.
The extra land would connect the current park to the areas surrounding Ocmulgee's Lamar mounds.
In addition to land acquisition, the bill allowed Ocmulgee to begin the Ocmulgee River Corridor Special Resource Study.
The study will survey over 15,000 acres of land by the river between Macon and Hawkinsville as a potential addition to the park.
The land could be used in part for hunting preserves, making Ocmulgee the only national park and preserve East of the Mississippi River.
The study should also be complete by 2022.
Once finished, the study's findings will presented to Congress.