Georgia park redesignation secures Muscogee Creek Nation land in federal trust

What it does

This bill redesignates the existing Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park as a National Park and establishes a new adjacent National Preserve in Georgia. It allows the Secretary of the Interior to acquire willing-seller land (no eminent domain) for both units, creates an advisory council with Tribal representation, places approximately 126 acres of Muscogee (Creek) Nation land into federal trust, and ensures Tribal consultation on cultural site protection and hiring preferences for Tribal members.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a redesignation of an existing park, establishment of a new preserve, and placement of Tribal land into federal trust with Tribal hiring preference and consultation rights. This is fundamentally a sovereignty and cultural-protection measure, not a market-facing or commercial instrument.

What the text implies

• Military overflights and special-use airspace designation remain permitted over the park and preserve, potentially limiting Tribal control over sacred airspace despite cultural protection language.
• The preserve's establishment is contingent on the Secretary determining 'sufficient land' has been acquired to constitute a 'manageable unit'—a discretionary threshold that could delay or limit the preserve's creation if land acquisition stalls.
• Hunting is permitted in the Preserve but not the Park, creating a two-tier management regime that may complicate enforcement and Tribal resource-management authority.
• The advisory council includes only 3 of 7 seats for Tribal representatives, giving the Tribe a minority voice despite the bill's stated focus on Tribal consultation and cultural preservation.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens gain public access to culturally significant archaeological sites, formalized protection of sacred Tribal lands, and a management structure that centers Tribal consultation and cultural preservation. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation gains land trust status, hiring preference, and enforceable voice in management—a concrete restoration of sovereignty over ancestral territory.

Named in the bill

Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Georgia, Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Middle Georgia Regional Commission

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Mar 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 25, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Dec 9, 2025 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. Hearings held”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Dec 2025 to Dec 2025. Those filings disclosed $139,430 in lobbying spend. A filing names 46 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

Jon Ossoff, the sponsor, reported $976,351 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Parks Conservation Association — $139,430 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jan 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.