ATLANTA – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing an expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, including land currently held by a company looking to open a titanium mine near the swamp.
The federal agency is seeking public comment on the plan to add about 22,000 acres adjacent to the existing refuge, according to a news release issued Friday.
“If adopted, the proposed minor boundary expansion would enable the service to work with willing landowners to explore voluntary conservation actions, including potential acquisition, that would further protect the refuge’s globally significant freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitat,” the news release stated.
Proposed state draft permits that would allow Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals (TPM) to mine titanium oxide along Trail Ridge on the Okefenokee’s eastern rim have drawn widespread opposition. Scientific research has shown a mine would threaten the swamp’s water levels, increase wildfire risks, harm wildlife, and release toxic contaminants into nearby surface and groundwater.
Twin Pines officials say the project would not harm the largest blackwater swamp in North America.
There is precedence for adding to the wildlife refuge to head off proposed mining, said Josh Marks, president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, who led a successful effort to stop DuPont’s mining project at the swamp in the 1990s.
“Having helped with the last major addition to the refuge in 2003, which was the product of the DuPont company deciding to donate its land for conservation instead of mining it, I know first-hand the importance of public/private partnerships for securing the integrity of the Okefenokee,” Marks wrote in an email to Capitol Beat.
“Now that the federal government has taken this critical step in the face of this latest mining threat, it’s now Governor (Brian) Kemp’s turn to stop the review of TPM’s permit application and instead join in helping permanently protect Georgia’s greatest natural treasure.”
A poll a Washington, D.C.-based research firm conducted last June found strong opposition to issuing permits for a mine next to the Okefenokee.
Bipartisan legislation aimed at stopping the mine has been introduced in the General Assembly but has failed to win passage. Also, at least 19 local governments across Georgia have passed resolutions calling for protecting the Okefenokee.
Public comment on the proposed expansion of the refuge must be submitted by Nov. 18 via email to Okefenokee@fws.gov. In addition, a public meeting on the proposal will be held Oct. 29 from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Charlton County Annex Auditorium in Folkston.
— Dave Williams
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