LISTEN: Many residents of middle Georgia had hoped for one big gift by the end of this holiday season: a new National Park. But as GPB’s Grant Blankenship reports, fighting in Congress means more waiting for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve.

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Many residents of middle Georgia had hoped for one big gift by the end of this holiday season: a new national park. But fighting in Congress means more waiting for the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve. 

Many hoped the proposed expansion of what’s now the Ocmulgee National Historic Park would be wrapped up in the government spending bill Congress is trying to pass before Christmas. 

"Now we're just down to really the tree and the lights — and I think that's really what they'll pass," said Seth Clark, the director of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative.

He said even with that basic tree, he’s still optimistic about the next congress. 

"I have faith in the two senators and the two congressmen that represent this area," he said. "They have a track record of getting stuff done when they want it done."

If park expansion happens in 2023, it would end a process that began when two Georgia Republicans supported an Ocmulgee National Park in the U.S. Senate. 

Tags: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park  Georgia  Macon  Atlanta