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Notice of Inventory Completion: USDA Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee

FR: Interior Department

Published March 19th, 2026

Detected March 19th, 2026

Summary

The Department of the Interior, through the National Park Service, has issued a notice of inventory completion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. This notice pertains to the repatriation of human remains and associated funerary objects.

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What changed

The Department of the Interior, National Park Service, has published a Notice of Inventory Completion regarding human remains and associated funerary objects held by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. This notice is part of the process under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and does not establish new regulatory requirements but rather completes an inventory process.

Regulated entities, specifically government agencies involved in the management of federal lands and cultural resources, should be aware of this inventory completion. While no immediate compliance actions are mandated by this specific notice for external parties, it signifies a step in the NAGPRA process. The notice indicates that repatriation may occur on or after April 20, 2026, which is a key date for potential transfer of these items.

What to do next

Review inventory completion notice for potential implications regarding tribal consultation or repatriation processes.
Ensure internal records are updated if any associated items are managed by your agency.

Source document (simplified)

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Notice

Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, Gainesville, GA

A Notice by the National Park Service on 03/19/2026

Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of the Interior National Park Service Agency/Docket Numbers N6993 NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042345 PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000 Document Citation 91 FR 13331 Document Number 2026-05372 Document Type Notice Pages 13331-13332
(2 pages) Publication Date 03/19/2026 Published Content - Document Details
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Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agencies Department of the Interior National Park Service Agency/Docket Numbers N6993 NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042345 PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000 Document Citation 91 FR 13331 Document Number 2026-05372 Document Type Notice Pages 13331-13332
(2 pages) Publication Date 03/19/2026 Published Content - Document Details
Document Dates Published Content - Document Dates Dates Text Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after April 20, 2026. Published Content - Document Dates
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- AGENCY:
- ACTION:
- SUMMARY:
- DATES:
- ADDRESSES:
- SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
- Abstract of Information Available
- Cultural Affiliation
- Determinations
- Requests for Repatriation Enhanced Content - Table of Contents
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- Public Inspection Public Inspection This PDF is FR Doc. 2026-05372 as it appeared on Public Inspection on
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Department of the Interior

National Park Service

[N6993; NPS-WASO-NAGPRA-NPS0042345; PPWOCRADN0-PCU00RP14.R50000]

AGENCY:

National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest has completed an inventory of human remains and associated funerary objects and has determined that there is a cultural affiliation between the human remains and associated funerary objects and Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations in this notice.

DATES:

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice may occur on or after April 20, 2026.

ADDRESSES:

Send written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice to Judy Toppins, Forest Supervisor, Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, 1755 Cleveland Highway, Gainesville, GA 30501, email judy.toppins@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This notice is published as part of the National Park Service's administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA. The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, and additional information on the determinations in this notice, including the results of consultation, can be found in its inventory or related records. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice.

Abstract of Information Available

Human remains representing at least three individuals have been identified from three different sites in Greene County, Georgia.

Scull Shoals Mounds (site 9GE4) was excavated from 1983 to 1985 and the level where the ancestor was found dates to the Middle Mississippian Savannah period. One individual and 154 associated funerary objects were removed from the site. The 154 associated funerary objects include 143 pottery sherds, one quartz point tip, nine quartz flakes, and one chert flake tool.

Cold Springs (site 9GE10) was excavated from 1977 to1978 and this burial dates to the Late Mississippian Lamar period. One individual and one associated funerary object, a partial pottery vessel, were removed from the site.

Site 9GE1227 was excavated in 1989 and dates to the Late Mississippian Lamar period. One individual and 580 associated funerary objects were removed from the site. The 580 associated funerary objects include five quartz flakes, one quartz shatter, 497 pottery sherds, 63 daub, six pebbles, six unmodified rocks, one fire cracked rock, and one mussel shell.

Cultural Affiliation

Based on the information available and the results of consultation, cultural affiliation is clearly identified by the information available about the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice.

Determinations

The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest has determined that:

The human remains described in this notice represent the physical remains of three individuals of Native American ancestry.
The 735 objects described in this notice are reasonably believed to have been placed intentionally with or near individual human remains at the time of death or later as part of the death rite or ceremony. ( printed page 13332)
There is a connection between the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana; Kialegee Tribal Town; Poarch Band of Creek Indians; Seminole Tribe of Florida; The Muscogee (Creek) Nation; The Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; and the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town.

Requests for Repatriation

Written requests for repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects in this notice must be sent to the authorized representative identified in this notice under ADDRESSES. Requests for repatriation may be submitted by:

Any one or more of the Indian Tribes or Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice.
Any lineal descendant, Indian Tribe, or Native Hawaiian organization not identified in this notice who shows, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the requestor is a lineal descendant or an Indian Tribe or Native Hawaiian organization with cultural affiliation.

Repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects described in this notice to a requestor may occur on or after April 20, 2026. If competing requests for repatriation are received, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest must determine the most appropriate requestor prior to repatriation. Requests for joint repatriation of the human remains and associated funerary objects are considered a single request and not competing requests. The Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest is responsible for sending a copy of this notice to the Indian Tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations identified in this notice and any other consulting parties.

Authority: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, 25 U.S.C. 3003, and the implementing regulations, 43 CFR 10.10.

Dated: March 11, 2026.

Melanie O'Brien,

Manager, National NAGPRA Program.

[FR Doc. 2026-05372 Filed 3-18-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4312-52-P

Published Document: 2026-05372 (91 FR 13331)