The Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) is a community-based group of Middle Georgia and Muscogee (Creek) citizens working together to expand the current site of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park into Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve. The Ocmulgee River corridor serves as a vital carbon sink, safeguards water quality for hundreds of thousands of residents, and provides habitat for 430+ species.
Establishing a National Park and Preserve here will secure long-term protections while connecting and expanding conserved areas including Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and lands near Robins Air Force Base. The new designation is projected to increase visitation from 200K to 1.3M annually, generating an estimated $206M in economic impact and creating over 3,300 new jobs across Middle Georgia. The preserve expands public access to hunting and fishing, and overall will provide inclusive opportunities for paddling, hiking, and other outdoor recreation, creating spaces where people can connect with nature, culture, and each other.
This landscape remains sacred to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, whose ancestors stewarded the land for millennia before forced removal in the early 1800s. Today, no federally recognized tribes remain in Georgia, yet the Muscogee (Creek) Nation maintains strong connections to this homeland. This work, led in close partnership with the Nation, ensures their voices and leadership are restored through conservation, programming and relationship-building. By elevating Indigenous knowledge and presence, this project advances reconciliation while honoring and preserving a living cultural heritage.
