Gov. Kemp, it’s now or never for the Okefenokee

We were in this spot almost 30 years ago when DuPont, a chemical company, sought to mine Trail Ridge. The federal government stepped in. Ninety million dollars from the feds was enough to get DuPont to look elsewhere for its titanium dioxide, a whitening agent used in toothpaste.

But back then, the Okefenokee had Georgia’s governor on its side. Kemp, though, has been largely silent about the swamp.

We cannot depend on the federal government to save us this time.

Credit: Facebook/Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Credit: Facebook/Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Two federal agencies — the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior — are trying to save Georgia’s ecological wonder. Fish and Wildlife is seeking to expand the park’s boundaries by 22,000 acres. Doing so would allow the service to explore voluntary conservation, including acquisition, to protect the Okefenokee’s “globally significant freshwater wetland system and wildlife habitat,” as the agency’s website says,

Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior announced Friday that it is nominating the refuge as a UNESCO World Heritage site, placing it among the ranks of the Acropolis, Babylon and the Great Wall of China.

But there might not be time for either.

Any day now, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division is expected to release its decision on Twin Pines’ mining permit. More than 200,000 people pleaded with the EPD in a public comment period to deny the permit. Sen. Jon Ossoff asked the EPD to deny the permit and supports the Fish and Wildlife expansion. Local governments want the Okefenokee protected.

And the incoming Trump administration could stamp out either effort. In fact, it was the Trump administration’s 2019 Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which removed federal protections from many wetlands, tributaries and ponds, that opened the door for Twin Pines to apply for a mining permit. The Biden administration tried to reclaim oversight, but the company sued. A settlement left the decision to the state.

Twin Pines, the Alabama mining company with a spotty environmental record that wants to mine Trail Ridge, has said its operations will not adversely affect the swamp, citing environmental impact studies it commissioned. The EPD agreed.

Conservationists and scientists don’t.

The Fish and Wildlife Service said it is “concerned with mining-induced changes to surface and groundwater that could result in lowered groundwater levels in Okefenokee Swamp. We believe reduced water availability will negatively impact habitat for federally listed and at-risk fish and wildlife species.”

Georgia Conservancy claims portions of the proposed mine site drain surface water directly into the swamp. Changes in groundwater flow could lower the water table in the area, having a deleterious effect on wetlands near and in the swamp. The nonprofit also said wildfires — a grave danger to the timber stands that border the refuge — would likely increase because of reduced groundwater levels.

Georgia Rivers noted that mining to a depth of even 50 feet would alter water flows away from the swamp, lowering the water table within the swamp and exposing critical irreplaceable peat deposits that store volumes of carbon.

Credit: Public domain/NASA

Credit: Public domain/NASA

For three sessions now, the Georgia Legislature has failed to protect the Okefenokee. Last year, legislators failed to advance two bills that would have put a moratorium on or banned mining permits near the Okefenokee. It’s frankly embarrassing that Georgia is shrugging off an existential threat to the magnificent Okefenokee Swamp.

One of the main sticking points for legislators is private property rights. The Okefenokee’s 400,000 acres are surrounded by privately owned land. Many of the owners of that land could seek mining permits of their own or seek compensation for the mineral rights to their land.

In March, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he thinks there is a solution that protects the private property rights of landowners near the Okefenokee that also protects the Okefenokee.

Another issue for legislators and local elected officials is the 400 high-paying jobs the mine would create in a county of 4,000 people. That is obviously a game-changer for a lot of people. And though we understand the allure of those new jobs, no one can deny that the swamp is a moneymaker.

The Okefenokee, largely through tourism and recreation, supports more than 750 local jobs and drives an annual economic output of about $65 million in just the four counties surrounding it.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

It’s no wonder why people from all over the world — more than 600,000 people a year — visit the Okefenokee. It’s one of the last remaining blackwater swamps of its size.

The swamp’s “size and exceptional ecological integrity” make it uniquely important. “Subtropical swamps of this size are rarely found in good ecological condition (because they are in areas with pleasant climates, and therefore heavily impacted by development,” as Cyril Kormos, the executive director of Wild Heritage, which helped prepare the UNESCO nomination, said. The Okefenokee was affected by “logging and some canal building a century ago, but has largely recovered and is in excellent condition,” he noted.

And the flora and fauna within the swamp include endangered and threatened species.

The Okefenokee is home to more than 850 species of plants, 48 species of mammals, 238 species of birds, 39 species of fish and 90 species of reptiles and amphibians, plus invertebrates, according to Kim Bednarek, executive director of the Okefenokee Swamp Park & Adventures.

The reptiles and amphibians in the swamp are “particularly impressive, with numbers rarely seen in a temperate or subtropical ecosystem, including 58 reptile species, 32 amphibian species, and an important population of American alligators, which are recovering from near-extinction in the wild. The ONWR acts as a refuge for several threatened species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers, Eastern indigo snakes, and wood storks,” Bednarek said.

In an editorial in March, we asked the governor to pause any mining permits on or near Trail Ridge to allow time for “the Legislature, conservation groups and private foundations to save and preserve the swamp, a sprawling 400,000-acre natural wonder.”

But the Okefenokee can wait no longer.

Now, before it’s too late, Kemp and the Legislature must protect the Okefenokee. As soon as the Legislature convenes on Jan. 13, legislators should get a bill to Kemp’s desk to sign — even if it’s the moratorium bill that failed last year.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

But a permanent solution is needed. “A conservation solution that will preserve the Okefenokee’s ecological integrity and biodiversity requires land protection in perpetuity,” Bednarek wrote. “Ideally, this would align with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposal for expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Boundary to include Trail Ridge with the intention to enable voluntary actions to protect hydrological integrity, conserve wetlands and key wildlife habitat, and create fuel reduction zones to help protect neighboring properties.”

Unless the Okefenokee and its surroundings are protected by state or federal law, we will be in this position again and again. We shouldn’t have to count on the federal government or rely on philanthropists to reward companies who continually put short-term gains over preserving the Okefenokee.

The governor and the Legislature have a once-in-forever chance to save Georgia’s most important natural resource.

If they fail now, it might just be gone forever.