Macon officials are hoping to nearly triple the size of the Ocmulgee National Monument, home of ancient Native American mounds.

Right now they’re trying to secure funding for a boundary study. The National Park Service requires one before any expansion could move forward.

Chip Cherry with the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce says the expansion to 2-thousand acres would attract twice as many visitors and connect the monument’s land to the Ocmulgee River.

“The Lamar Mounds on the other hand is in an area that is relatively untouched since the times the Native Americans lived here. So that area could be restored back to the way it looked 8 to 900 years ago when the Lamar people’s lived there.”

Cherry says the ultimate goal is to turn the Ocmulgee National Monument into a National park. The study is a step in that process and should take about a year to complete.

Tags: Macon, Ocmulgee National Monument, National Park Service, Native Americans, Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce