Bill before Congress would expand 3 Georgia historic sites

WASHINGTON (AP) - A bill working its way through Congress would expand three national historic sites in Georgia.

The largest public lands bill Congress has considered in a decade passed the Senate and is now pending in the House. It would grow the Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon to roughly 2,800 acres (1133 hectares) - four times its current size.

The measure would also allow the Fort Frederica National Monument on St. Simons Island to grow to 305 acres (123 ha) by removing a 250-acre (101-ha) limit Congress imposed in the 1950s. And the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park north of Atlanta would absorb 8 (3 ha) new acres that contain additional historic structures.

Sen. Johnny Isakson said in a news release the bill would help “preserve the rich, historical significance and archaeological heritage of some of Georgia’s oldest landmarks.”