John,
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia safeguards one of the world's largest pristine freshwater swamps. There are more than 700,000 visits to the refuge every year, with people drawn in by its tea-colored waters, towering cypress trees, longleaf pine forests, and abundant wildlife.
It’s so unique, biodiverse, and culturally significant, the United States government is trying to get it designated as a World Heritage site.
Stand up for this wild oasis and its astonishing and precious biodiversity.
For years the Center has worked to stop a titanium-mining company from destroying nearly 8,000 acres right next to the Okefenokee in search of minerals — without federal environmental oversight. Now our fight is down to the wire, and every comment counts.
The Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s Environmental Protection Division just issued draft permits that move the company one step closer to its goal. But mining near the Okefenokee could threaten its water levels, increase wildfire risk, contaminate the groundwater, and hurt endangered species like red-cockaded woodpeckers and eastern indigo snakes. It could also trigger the release of carbon stored in the vast peat beds beneath the swamp — a grave risk in the fight against climate change.
This could be our last chance to protect the Okefenokee from destructive titanium mining.
Tell Georgia’s state officials to reject the permits and save this global treasure.
