Lake Sidney Lanier Over the years recreation has grown by leaps and bounds to nearly 7 million visitors annually at Lake Sidney Lanier. Today recreation is an important benefit of the lake. Seventy-six recreational areas have been developed around the lake. These include 49 parks operated directly by the Corps, 10 marinas, and Lake Lanier Islands. The remaining areas are leased to county and city governments such as the Boy Scouts. Lake Lanier is one of the most visited federally operated lakes in the nation.
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site Just past noon on January 15, 1929, a son was born to the Reverend and Mrs. Martin Luther King in an upstairs bedroom of 501 Auburn Avenue, in Atlanta, Georgia. The couple named their first son after Rev. King, but he was simply called "M.L." by the family. During the next 12 years, this fine two story Victorian home is where "M.L." would live with his parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and their boarders. The home is located in the residential section of "Sweet Auburn", the center of black Atlanta. Two blocks west of the home is Ebenezer Baptist Church, the pastorate of Martin's grandfather and father. It was in these surroundings of home, church and neighborhood that "M.L." experienced his childhood. Here, "M.L." learned about family and Christian love, segregation in the days of "Jim Crow" laws, diligence and tolerance. It was to Ebenezer Baptist Church that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would return in 1960. As co-pastor with his father, "Daddy King", Dr. King, Jr. would preach about love, equality, and non-violence.
Ocmulgee National Monument Ocmulgee is a memorial to the antiquity of man in this corner of the North American continent. The National Monument preserves a continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present. From Ice-Age hunters to the Muscogee (Creek) people of historic times, there is evidence here of 12,000 years of human habitation.
One period stands out. Between AD 900 and 1200 a skillful farming people lived on this site. Known to us as Mississippians, they were part of a distinctive culture which crystallized about AD 750 in the middle Mississippi Valley and over the next seven centuries spread along riverways throughout much ofthe central and eastern United States. The Mississippians brought a more complex way of life to the region and here they left behind eight earthen mounds and the remains of a ceremonial earthlodge.
The Monument today consists of two units separated by two miles of riverine wetlands along the Ocmulgee River. The Main Unit is adjacent to the city of Macon, an urban area with a population of 118,000. The isolated Lamar Mounds and Village Unit can be visited by special permit.
Okefenokee NWR The refuge is an important resting and feeding area for birds during the spring and fall migrations. Over 400,000 visitors visit the refuge yearly.
Piedmont NWR Piedmont NWR is primarily an upland forest dominated by loblolly pine on the ridges with hardwoods found along the creek bottoms and in scattered upland coves. Clear streams and beaver ponds provide ideal wetland habitat for waterfowl and other wetland dependent species. Today the forest and native wildlife populations have been restored from what was originally abandoned farm land. The refuge serves as a model of forest ecosystem management for wildlife. The red-cockaded woodpecker, a native bird of the southern US, is an endangered species because the old growth pine forests it requires for nesting and roosting have been logged throughout most of its range. The refuge currently has 35 active clans (family groups). Prescribed burning and thinning are two forest management practices used to provide habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker. Many migratory bird species, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and other native wildlife benefit from these management practices. The diversity of habitats provides a haven for nearly 200 species of birds and 50 species of mammals.
