As an Alabama-based company waits for Georgia regulators to decide whether it can mine for titanium near the Okefenokee Swamp, a federal proposal to grow the refuge is receiving backing from one of Georgia’s Democratic U.S. senators.
Still, some who are concerned about the fate of the Okefenokee pressed federal officials this week to consider an even larger expansion.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the 407,000-acre Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, held a virtual public meeting Tuesday on a preliminary expansion plan it unveiled in late October.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The agency’s proposal calls for adding 22,000 acres to the refuge’s “acquisition boundary.” The move wouldn’t immediately add land to the refuge, but would allow the agency to speak with nearby landowners to explore buying their property or implementing other conservation measures. The proposal would also create a 1-mile “fuel reduction zone” around the swamp to prevent wildfires that periodically burn in the swamp from spilling into surrounding commercial timberlands.
An initial public meeting on the proposal was held last month in Folkston, at the edge of the swamp. Tuesday, the agency offered a second chance for those interested to weigh in during a roughly two hour virtual meeting.
The acreage FWS is eyeing includes land near the swamp’s southeast corner owned by Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals. The company wants to mine for titanium sands on a 600-acre portion of Trail Ridge, a line of mineral-rich dunes that run along the swamp’s eastern edge.
Twin Pines says its mine won’t harm the swamp, but many independent scientists disagree. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, an Atlanta Democrat who has repeatedly spoken out against the mine, reiterated his opposition to Twin Pines’ plan in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
“This may be the most famous and beloved natural treasure that we have,” Ossoff told the AJC. “There are clear warnings from highly qualified experts on the hydrology and ecology that strip mining the swamp puts the refuge at risk and I continue to believe it would be a serious mistake.”
Ossoff has also pressed Gov. Brian Kemp to block the mine. In the past, Kemp’s office has referred requests for comment on Twin Pines to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, which is in charge of permitting the mine.
On Wednesday, Ossoff also submitted a letter to the FWS’ regional director throwing his support behind the refuge’s potential expansion. Ossoff wrote the proposal, which only allows the federal government to negotiate with willing landowners, protects private property rights and the swamp.
“Given the importance of protecting the Okefenokee to my state, our nation, and future generations, I strongly support the FWS proposed boundary expansion,” Ossoff’s letter concludes.
Experts say Trail Ridge is critical to the swamp’s hydrology, allowing it to support rare and endangered species like red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, American alligators, wood storks and thousands more. FWS itself says the proposed additions would better protect the swamp and its wildlife.
But even if the expansion were finalized, tens of thousands of acres of Trail Ridge are still privately owned and could, in theory, draw interest from other miners. Many speakers at Tuesday’s meeting asked the FWS why all of Trail Ridge isn’t being included in the proposed boundary expansion.
Christian Hunt, with the nonprofit conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife, urged the federal government to “leverage this expansion in a manner that better addresses both present and future dangers.”
“Tens of thousands of acres are still vulnerable,” Hunt said. “We’re strongly encouraging the (Fish and Wildlife) Service to consider increasing the acreage to include tracts situated both north and south of the Twin Pines property.”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Trail Ridge has drawn attention from miners before.
In the 1990s, the mineral and materials giant DuPont tried to mine thousands of acres on Trail Ridge, but the company abandoned the project after pushback from environmentalists and then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt.
FWS officials have said part of the reason they aren’t seeking to add more land now is procedural.
The additions the agency has floated are considered a “minor expansion.” So-called “major expansions” are those that stretch the acquisition boundary by more than 15% of the refuge’s area. Larger additions require more layers of approval.
FWS staff said Tuesday there is wiggle room for this proposal to grow and stay in the minor category. As it’s currently constituted, an expansion of up to 68,000 acres would still be considered “minor” for the vast Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Michael Lusk, the refuge’s manager, said a larger expansion has been discussed, but indicated that for now, the agency plans to move forward with the current proposal.
“We certainly would not rule it out, but we want to get this done first and see how it goes, and then that’s something we can we can look at in the future,” he said.
Anyone who would like to chime in on the current proposal has a few more days to do so. Comments can be submitted to FWS by emailing okefenokee@fws.gov. The agency is accepting feedback through Friday.
