59–010 

Calendar No. 591 

114TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 114–318 

OCMULGEE MOUNDS NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK 

BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2016 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2016.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1696] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1696) to redesignate the Ocmulgee National 

Monument in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes, to revise the boundary of that monument, having considered the same, 

reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that 

the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

1. On page 1, line 5, strike ‘‘2015’’ and insert ‘‘2016’’ 

2. On page 2, strike lines 3 through 5 and insert the following: 

(2) MAP—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map entitled 

‘‘Ocmulgee National Monument Proposed Boundary Adjustment’’, numbered 363/125996, and dated January 2016. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1696 is to redesignate the Ocmulgee National 

Monument in the State of Georgia as the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and to revise the boundary of the historical 

park. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon, Georgia, was authorized by Congress in 1934 and created by land donations in 1936 to 

protect Native American antiquities in an area known as the 

Ocmulgee Old Fields at Macon. The park commemorates Native 

Americans who first arrived in the area during the Paleo-Indian 

period hunting Ice Age mammals. Different cultures occupied this 

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land for thousands of years. The Mississippian culture arrived here 

around A.D. 900, farming the river’s floodplain terraces and constructing earthen mounds for their elite. The mounds still remain 

today for all to see. The National Trust for Historic Preservation 

has identified the Old Fields as being among the nation’s richest 

archaeological landscapes. 

At the time Ocmulgee National Monument was authorized and 

created in the mid-1930s, the nation was struggling and suffering 

under the Great Depression. The deep economic downturn was 

long-lasting and had an impact on every aspect of human and economic life. The Great Depression also had an effect on Ocmulgee 

National Monument, as preservation of much of the cultural landscape was not completed, leaving significant portions of the ancient 

archaeology unprotected. 

S. 1696 is needed to redesignate the Ocmulgee National Monument as the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and to expand the park boundaries by 2,100 acres to include additional archeologically significant sites. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1696 was introduced by Senators Isakson and Perdue on June 

25, 2015. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on 

the measure on June 15, 2016. 

Representatives Bishop and Austin introduced similar legislation, H.R. 482, in the House of Representatives, on January 22, 

2015. H.R. 482 was reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on March 2, 2016 (H. Rept. 114–442), and passed the 

House of Representatives by voice vote on March 22, 2016. 

In the 113th Congress, Representative Bishop introduced H.R. 

4991 on June 26, 2014. Senators Isakson and Chambliss introduced 

similar legislation, S. 2580, in the Senate on July 10, 2014. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on July 13, 2016, and ordered S. 1696 favorably 

reported as amended. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on July 13, 2016, by a majority voice vote of 

a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1696, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During its consideration of S. 1696, the Committee adopted 

amendments to update the date contained in the short title to 

‘‘2016’’ and to include a definition for the map. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 contains the short title. 

Section 2. Definitions 

Section 2 contains key definitions. 

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Section 3. Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park 

Section 3(a) redesignates the Ocmulgee National Monument as 

the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. 

Subsection (b) requires that any reference in a regulation, law, 

map, document, paper, or other record of the United States to 

Ocmulgee National Monument be deemed to be a reference to 

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. 

Section 4. Boundary adjustment 

Section 4(a) revises the boundary to include approximately 2,100 

additional acres of land. 

Subsection (b) directs the map to be on file in appropriate National Park Service (NPS) offices and available for public inspection. 

Section 5. Land acquisition 

Section 5(a) authorizes the Secretary to acquire land or interests 

in land within the boundary of the Historical Park by donation, 

purchase from a willing seller with donated or appropriate funds, 

or exchange. 

Subsection (b) designates the Secretary to administer any acquired land in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. 

Section 6. Ocmulgee River corridor special resource study 

Section 6(a) directs the Secretary to conduct a special resource 

study of the Ocmulgee River corridor between the cities of Macon, 

Georgia, and Hawkinsville, Georgia to determine the national significance of the study area; the suitability and feasibility of designating the land in the study area to the National Park System; and 

the methods and means for interpretation and protection of the 

study area by the NPS, other Federal, State, or local government 

entities, or private or nonprofit organizations. 

Subsection (b) requires the study to be conducted in accordance 

with applicable law. 

Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to submit a report on the 

study, including any recommendations, to the House Committee on 

Natural Resources and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources within three years after the funds are made available to carry out the study. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, August 9, 2016. 

Hon. LISA MURKOWSKI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MADAM CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has 

prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1696, the Ocmulgee 

Mounds National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2016. 

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If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

S. 1696—Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2016 

S. 1696 would redesignate the Ocmulgee National Monument in 

Georgia as the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, authorize the expansion of the newly designated park’s boundaries, and 

authorize a special resource study of the Ocmulgee River corridor. 

The bill stipulates that the National Park Service (NPS) may acquire approximately 2,100 acres of additional land through a donation, with donated funds, with appropriated amounts, or through a 

land exchange. Based on recent sale prices of comparable tracts of 

land in the areas where land would be purchased, and information 

from the NPS, CBO estimates that the cost to acquire and administer the land would be about $2 million over the 2017–2021 period, 

assuming the land was acquired with appropriated funds over the 

next five years. Total costs would depend on the average price per 

acre which, according to local property sales records, could range 

from $500 per acre to $1,500 per acre. Based on information from 

the NPS, CBO estimates that developing the resource study would 

have an insignificant cost. 

Because enacting S. 1696 would not affect direct spending or revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO estimates that 

enacting S. 1696 would not increase net direct spending or onbudget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027. 

S. 1696 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

On February 22, 2016, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

482, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2016, as ordered reported by the House Committee on 

Natural Resources on February 3, 2016. H.R. 482 would not authorize the NPS to acquire land by purchase, whereas S. 1696 

would; therefore, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1696 would 

cost more than implementing H.R. 482. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jon Sperl. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director for 

Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 1696. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 1696, as ordered reported. 

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CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 1696, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the June 

15, 2016, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 1696 follows: 

STATEMENT OF DR. STEPHANIE TOOTHMAN, ASSOCIATE DI- RECTOR, CULTURAL RESOURCES, PARTNERSHIPS AND

SCIENCE, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to present the Department of the 

Interior’s testimony regarding H.R. 482 and S. 1696, bills 

to redesignate Ocmulgee National Monument in the State 

of Georgia and revise its boundary, and for other purposes. 

The Department supports S. 1696 and would support 

H.R. 482 if amended in accordance with this testimony. 

This legislation has three components: it would redesignate the national monument, expand the monument’s 

boundaries, and authorize a special resource study of the 

Ocmulgee River corridor in Georgia from Macon to 

Hawkinsville. With respect to the special resource study, 

the Department feels that priority should be given to the 

24 previously authorized studies for potential units of the 

National Park System, potential new National Heritage 

Areas, and potential additions to the National Trails System and National Wild and Scenic River System that have 

not yet been transmitted to Congress. 

Ocmulgee National Monument, authorized by Congress 

in 1934 and established by Presidential proclamation in 

1936 after the purchase of lands by local citizens, encompasses 701 acres in two separate units. The Main Unit 

(656 acres), includes seven prehistoric mounds, a funeral 

mound, a reconstructed earth lodge, prehistoric trenches, 

and numerous archeological features. This unit also includes the site of a British colonial trading post dating to 

1690 (which the Creek Indians frequented), the historic 

Dunlap House, an Art Moderne visitor center, Civil War 

earthworks, substantial urban green space, six miles of 

hiking trails, and a picnic area. The smaller Lamar 

Mounds Unit (45 acres), named for a Late Mississippian 

agricultural society, is located about two and one-half 

miles southeast of the Main Unit. Both sites are part of a 

larger archeological area known as the Ocmulgee Old 

Fields. 

In 1999, the Ocmulgee Old Fields was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a ‘‘traditional cultural 

property,’’ the first location in the eastern United States to 

receive this designation. The monument and surrounding 

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area is the site of one of the largest archeological investigations in North American history. The investigation and 

recovery of artifacts and information in this area was instrumental in the development of scientific archeology. The 

traditional cultural property extends well beyond the current boundaries of the monument to encompass areas traditionally associated with the cultural beliefs and practices 

of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and related tribes. 

REDESIGNATION

H.R. 482 and S. 1696 would redesignate Ocmulgee National Monument as ‘‘Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park’’, a more appropriate name for the site. For generations, Middle Georgians have known Ocmulgee National Monument simply as ‘‘the Indian mounds.’’ The addition of the word ‘‘mounds’’ to the name would not only 

clarify the identity of the site for residents of the region, 

it would also give all potential visitors a better idea of the 

principal resource of the site. In addition, the title ‘‘National Historical Park’’ recognizes the complexity of the 

site and the fact that it is much more than a collection of 

Indian mounds. The proposed title also provides better 

identification of the site as a unit of the National Park 

System. 

BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT

H.R. 482 and S. 1696 would also expand the boundary 

of the Ocmulgee National Monument consistent with the 

preferred alternative of a boundary study the National 

Park Service completed in 2014. The study evaluated lands 

that were part of the Ocmulgee Old Fields and found that 

approximately 2,100 acres of these lands were suitable and 

feasible for inclusion in the monument. These additional 

lands would link Ocmulgee’s Main Unit and the Lamar 

Unit and create a contiguous park unit of approximately 

2,800 acres. 

Of the 2,100 acres proposed for inclusion in the monument, approximately 707 acres (34% of expansion area) 

would likely be acquired by donation. The remaining 

lands, approximately 1,350 acres (66% of expansion area) 

would likely be acquired through purchase from willing 

sellers. Based on tax assessments, the value of the private 

tracts that would be purchased is just under $2 million, 

but actual acquisition costs could be higher. Costs would 

eventually be incurred to demolish non-historic structures. 

Some relatively low-cost improvements for recreational enhancement are anticipated, such as trailhead kiosks, maintenance of old roadbeds for biking/hiking trails, and installation of canoe launching facilities. Funding for these activities would be subject to the availability of appropriations. 

The proposed boundary expansion enjoys strong community support. Resolutions in favor of the expansion have 

been passed by the Board of Commissioners of Wilkinson 

County, the Macon-Bibb County Commission, the Historic 

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Macon Foundation, Inc., the Georgia Small Business Lender Board of Directors, and the Hawkinsville-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. Other organizations and governmental entities have also expressed support for the expansion, including Altamaha River Keeper, the Georgia Conservancy, Main Street Macon, New Town Macon, the 

Macon Chamber of Commerce, the Middle Georgia Regional Commission Council, the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Mayor and City Council 

for the City of Perry, the Georgia River Network, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Save our Rivers 

INC. and the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority. 

SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY

H.R. 482 and S. 1696 would also authorize the Secretary 

to conduct a special resource study of the Ocmulgee River 

corridor between Macon and Hawkinsville, a distance of 

about 50 miles and an area encompassing approximately 

70,000 acres. Although the study area would be contiguous 

with Ocmulgee National Monument, the size of the area 

and the complexity of resources warrant the authorization 

of a special resource study, rather than another boundary 

study. The study area would encompass a patchwork of 

privately and publicly owned land, including the Bond 

Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and two State of Georgia 

wildlife management areas. It would also include much of 

the Ocmulgee Old Fields Traditional Cultural Property not 

already included in the national monument or the proposed expansion of the monument. We estimate that this 

study would cost approximately $350,000 to $500,000. 

Funding for this proposed study would need to be allocated 

from the set amount of funding that Congress appropriates 

for all special resource studies. 

The Department supports S. 1696 as introduced and 

would support H.R. 482 as passed by the House if amended to conform to the language in S. 1696. As passed by the 

House, H.R. 482 makes the establishment of the expanded 

boundary subject to the written consent of the owners of 

properties that would be included within the new boundary. This places landowners, rather than Congress or the 

Administration, in the position of determining the boundary of a federal park, which we believe is inappropriate. 

This provision has the potential to create legal and practical confusion over the boundary since it is possible that 

a landowner could give consent, then change his or her 

mind and withdraw consent or convey the property to another owner who withdraws consent. If the intent of this 

language is to ensure that no land is included within the 

park boundary without the consent of the landowner, we 

recommend amending the bill to provide that the park 

boundary shall not be adjusted unless and until a specified 

property is acquired for the park. By waiting to include 

land in the boundary until it is acquired by the federal 

government, this approach avoids entirely the potential 

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problems we see with the approach used in the House bill. 

Our recommended approach has precedent in other park 

laws. 

H.R. 482 allows land acquisition by donation or exchange only, not purchase. At this time, only about one 

third of the land in the proposed boundary adjustment 

area is anticipated to be donated. We support allowing the 

purchase from a willing seller with donated or appropriated funds, as provided by S. 1696. This language would 

also render unnecessary the prohibition on condemnation 

included in H.R. 482. 

H.R. 482 also includes language that says that an activity outside the boundary shall not be precluded because it 

can be heard or seen inside the park boundary. The Department has concerns about this language. It is misleading, as it suggests that the NPS may have authority 

to preclude activities outside the boundaries, which it does 

not. Of even greater concern, however, is that the language 

could discourage park managers from addressing threats 

to park resources from external sources. Even though the 

NPS does not control what happens outside of its boundaries, park managers have a responsibility under the NPS 

Organic Act and other laws to work with owners of properties outside of park boundaries to resolve problems that 

could negatively impact the resources the NPS is responsible for protecting. 

Finally, we note that S. 1696 as introduced has blank 

lines for references for a map that would depict the boundaries of the expanded and redesignated Ocmulgee Mounds 

National Historical Park. The National Park Service has 

developed a map to accompany this bill and we would be 

happy to submit the map to the bill’s sponsor and the committee. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be 

happy to answer any questions that you or other members 

of the subcommittee may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered reported. 

Æ 

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