Macon Magazine

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 | maconmagazine.com 59 At the same time, O'Neal recognizes the importance of the Ocmulgee's new designation from a preservation standpoint. "We live in an industrialized world and though industrialization is often thought of negatively, there are many benefits," she said. "The benefit of having a protected corridor along the Ocmulgee River as proposed will be extremely beneficial to the existing animals and plant species that call this area home and, in turn, will benefit the human visitors to the park." Dr. John Bembry, a Hawkinsville veterinarian, self-titled tree farmer, forestry advocate and lover of the outdoors, is proud to say his family has been native to Pulaski County "since forever" — or at least since revolution-era land grants permitted his ancestors to begin farming these lands. Together with his sister, Bembry owns the original farm built by his great-, great-, great- grandparents, which sits on the Ocmulgee River. "I grew up in, on and around that river," he said. "We're all connected in some way by that river; that body of water is the great connector." As a board member of ONPPI, member of the Middle Ocmulgee Regional Water Planning Council, member of the Georgia Conservancy and former member of the board of trustees for the Georgia Conservancy, Bembry has a unique perspective on the role of the river and its natural biodiversity. "We are blessed to have a free-flowing river and river basin from Juliette all the way down to Darien," he said. "I have swum, paddled and motored down some or all of it, not to mention hunted the bottomlands and fished the river and its tributaries. While I am not a trained naturalist or ecologist, I appreciate the natural beauty and wonder of all the flora and fauna in our basin." This waterway has been appreciated for thousands of years for the abundance of game and fish — deer, ducks, turkeys, bears and more — not to mention the non-game animals that serve to keep the habitat both in and out of the water in balance, suggested Bremby. The true biodiversity of the region is most evident as the topography of the land transitions from the steeper, rocky shoals of the Piedmont region just north of Macon to the flatter, sandier upper coastal plain down in Pulaski County, he said. The topographical and geological transition is found both in the flattening of the land as well as in the soils of the lower flood plains. "One can appreciate the dramatic difference in the flow and course of the river, not to mention the breadth of its flood plain and the type of habitat found in the adjoining upland buffer lands," Bembry said. "Much of the diversity comes from the transitions in topography and vegetative cover in the corridor that we are hoping to protect with the designation as a National Park and Preserve." Though the Muscogee Creek Nation no longer fully reside in the corridor, the rich biodiversity of the river undoubtedly played an important role in the choice of this location in which to build their community, speculated Cutway. "Macon is located on the Fall Line — that point where the Piedmont and coastal plain regions meet," she said. 'WE'RE ALL CONNECTED IN SOME WAY BY THAT RIVER; THAT BODY OF WATER IS THE GREAT CONNECTOR.' — DR. JOHN BEMBRY

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