When Congress agreed to enlarge the boundaries of the former Ocmulgee National Monument the national park designation was only part of the plan.

For the next few years, the National Park Service will study whether to include about 50 river miles in Bibb, Twiggs, Houston, Bleckley and Pulaski counties.

Amid high temperatures and a pandemic, green spaces are a lifeline. But new data shows parks in low-income and nonwhite areas are smaller and more crowded than those in high-income and white areas.