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.”
Photo credits: Stacy Funderburke
This purchase is critical to protect the entire Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, which includes more than 350,000 acres of designated wilderness. Trail Ridge marks the eastern edge of the swamp, and a mining accident would have threatened the refuge’s water table and the St. Mary’s River watershed, which drains the eastern side of the refuge.
Thanks to efforts by Okefenokee Swamp Park and local partners, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge could soon receive UNESCO World Heritage Site status in recognition of its natural significance and biodiversity. More than 800,000 people visit the Okefenokee each year, spending $91.5 million in Ware, Charlton, and Clinch counties.
This purchase was possible thanks to an incredible outpouring of support from the Holdfast Collective, the Cox Foundation and many others. The Georgia organization One Hundred Miles has been a key partner in this project, and many groups and individuals, including the Okefenokee Swamp Park, Georgia Conservancy, Georgia Rivers Network, Southern Environmental Law Center, Georgia Wildlife Federation, the Okefenokee Protection Alliance, and the Georgia Water Coalition, helped turned out hundreds of thousands of voices in support of protecting the swamp.
Photo credits (from top of page): Stacy Funderburke
