The Conservation Fund Ends Okefenokee Mining Threat

A proposed deep earth mine near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is off the table thanks to a recent purchase by The Conservation Fund. The refuge, North America’s largest blackwater swamp, extends from southern Georgia into northern Florida. 

The newly purchased Trail Ridge site — most recently owned by Twin Pines Minerals, LLC — was the subject of a six-year effort by conservation-minded Georgians and folks throughout the South to protect the Okefenokee. After advocates exhausted every possible avenue to stop the mine, The Conservation Fund stepped in to buy the land and mineral rights — ending the mining threat once and for all and safeguarding the adjacent half-million-acre wildlife refuge. 

“Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a special place and one of the most important natural treasures in Georgia. It’s the kind of place that sticks with us and sustains us — a destination for nature lovers and home to unique plants and wildlife like alligators, wood storks, and bald eagles,” said Stacy Funderburke, vice president of the central Southeast region at TCF. “By purchasing this land from Twin Pines, The Conservation Fund will ensure that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge remains wild and unspoiled for all Americans.”