US Senate’s Big Public Lands Bill Includes Park Expansions In Georgia

In the U.S. Senate bill, 8 acres would be added to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, including two historic sites from the Civil War. The boundaries of Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island and Ocmulgee Mounds in Macon would also be expanded.

Judson McCranie / wikimedia commons

Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate will expand three parks in Georgia, from the Atlanta suburbs, to Middle Georgia, to the coast.

The public lands package also creates new national monuments and secures funding for land acquisition in the future. And it’s popular: it passed the Senate 92-8, and is expected to pass the House.

The legislation adds 8 acres to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, including two historic sites from the Civil War. It allows Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island to expand its boundaries by 55 acres; Congress had previously limited the size of the national monument to 250 acres. And it changes Ocmulgee Mounds in Macon from a national monument to a national historic park and expands its boundaries by more than 2,000 acres.