Resources
The Okefenokee Protection Alliance, a coalition of more than 40 organizations, has coalesced to save the Okefenokee Swamp. This resource page provides descriptions of problems with Twin Pines Minerals LLC’s proposed plan to mine Trail Ridge; hydrological models examining what could happen to the swamp during mining; and maps about recreational water trails in the swamp and on the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.
Okefenokee Protection Update as of September 2023
Last month, we announced that the National Park Service received over 10,000 comments in support of nominating the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The National Park System officially selected the Okefenokee for the international world heritage site bid.
Your comments made a difference!
“The decision is the result of consultation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage and the review of public comments submitted in response to an earlier notice,” the Federal Registrar notice stated.
The National Park System can now prepare a nomination. WABE reported that “the United States can only nominate one location each year for the United Nations honor, and the National Park System (NPS) ultimately selects the singular nominee from a list of proposed options” of many bids. The Okefenokee is the first unit in the National Wildlife Refuge System to be nominated. The AJC reported that the Okefenokee could join the ranks of other globally-recognized sites, such as the Everglades and Yosemite National Park in the United States, and internationally-acclaimed areas of natural beauty, such as the Great Barrier Reef and Victoria Falls.
Three Resolutions passed at the local level to protect the Okefenokee. These Resolutions will encourage members of General Assembly to pass the Okefenokee Protection Act.
- Echols County passed a Resolution for the Okefenokee Swamp and against the Twin Pines Minerals strip mine.
- Clinch County passed a Resolution Against Strip Mine in the Okefenokee Swamp.
- City of Jessup passed a resolution to protect the Okefenokee.
We are now awaiting a decision from EPD to either deny the permit or issue a draft permit, which will open a 60-day public comment period.
At this juncture, you can take action by emailing Governor Kemp to ask that he:
(1) Oppose allocation of mining permits from the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to Twin Pines Minerals, and
(2) Support legislation that can protect the Okefenokee for generations to come
Okefenokee Protection Update as of August 2023
Last month, we asked you to:
1. Email Georgia legislators and ask them to sign the Okefenokee Protection Act.
2. Urge Governor Kemp to oppose Twin Pines Minerals mining permit application now being reviewed by Georgia EPD.
3. Comment to National Park Service to consider Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We are proud to announce your public comments to the National Park Service were heard! Over 10,000 comments were received, which shows an outpouring of support. Thank you for taking action! The comment period to the National Park Service is now closed.
We still need you to take action to email Georgia legislators to sign the Okefenokee Protection Act and urge Governor Kemp to oppose the mining permit. You can do both of these actions on protectgeorgia.org by clicking the button below:
Okefenokee Protection Update as of July 2023
Even though the Okefenokee Protection Act HB 71 did not get called for a vote in the House during the 2023 Georgia legislative session, 93 legislators (more than half the House of Representatives) signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, a historic level of bipartisan support. Advocacy efforts continue for the Okefenokee Protection Act to be introduced and passed during the 2024 Georgia legislative session.
A Supreme Court ruling in May rolled back federal wetlands protections, which excludes many Georgia lands from federal oversight. Barring action from Congress, the only way protections can be strengthened in Georgia will be through the Georgia legislature and state-level rule making.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has been nominated for inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the National Park Service is now accepting public comments. The swamp patently meets the UNESCO committee’s requirements for protection, integrity, and biodiversity. Attaining World Heritage Site status will raise the visibility of the Okefenokee and boost ecotourism.
It’s more important than ever to reach out to Georgia lawmakers and Georgia EPD and urge them to protect the Okefenokee! And one of the best ways we can protect the Okefenokee is to celebrate the significance of the swamp as a natural wonder.
Your actions today can help protect the Okefenokee for generations to come.
- Ask Georgia legislators to sign the Okefenokee Protection Act.
- Urge Governor Kemp to oppose Twin Pines Minerals mining permit application now being reviewed by Georgia EPD.
- Comment to National Park Service to consider Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Need help crafting your comments?
Please see the Okefenokee Protection Alliance’s Okefenokee Talking Points below.
Twin Pines Minerals LLC Mining Proposal Update as of January 2023
On January 19, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division released Twin Pines Minerals LLC’s draft Mining Land Use Plan (Draft Plan) and opened the 60-day public commenting period – allowing concerned citizens and Swamp advocates to voice their concerns and opposition to Twin Pines’ mining proposal.
More information on the Draft Plan can be found at: https://epd.georgia.gov/twin-pines
Please submit your comments on the Draft Plan and your support for the Okefenokee Swamp by March 20 by clicking here, via email to: twinpines.comment@dnr.ga.gov.
Or via mail to:
Land Protection Branch
4244 International Parkway, Atlanta Tradeport, Suite 104
Atlanta, GA 30354
Need help crafting your comments?
Please see the Okefenokee Protection Alliance’s Okefenokee Talking Points below.
“Okefenokee Protection Act” (HB 71) Update as of January 2023:
On January 24, State Representative Darlene Taylor (R-Thomasville) introduced House Bill 71, the Okefenokee Protection Act, to prohibit the Georgia Environmental Protection Division from issuing, modifying or renewing future permits or accepting bonds to conduct surface mining operations on the Okefenokee Swamp’s Trail Ridge beginning on July 1, 2023. A bipartisan group of 35 legislators co-signed the bill to demonstrate their support.
The legislation was prompted by Twin Pines Minerals, LLC’s plan to develop heavy mineral sands mines along Trail Ridge, the sandy ridge that runs along the eastern border of the swamp and helps keep the Okefenokee intact.
Proposals to mine this area have surfaced since the 1990s. While HB 71 would have no impact on the mining permit currently being weighed by the EPD, it would prohibit future mining along Trail Ridge.
Click the button below to tell your legislators to support the Okefenokee Protection Act.
More information about the Okefenokee Protection Act can be found at: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/63631
Need help crafting your comments?
Please see the Okefenokee Protection Alliance’s Okefenokee Talking Points below.
Okefenokee Protection Alliance Talking Points
Key Messages
- The Okefenokee Swamp holds significant economic, ecological, cultural, and historical value to local communities — and this globally treasured resource should be protected from any mining activity.
- It is critical that elected officials step in and play an important role to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining.
- Trail Ridge, the site of Twin Pines’ proposed mining operation, is not only ecologically important in and of itself, but also serves as scaffolding for the health of the Okefenokee Swamp.
Ecological health
- Twin Pines, an Alabama-based mining company, is attempting to operate an 8,000-acre heavy mineral sand strip mine at the doorstep of the Okefenokee Swamp, a project that would devastate the ecological health of this iconic natural treasure.
- Twin Pines’ proposed mining project would mine at a depth of 50 feet below the ground surface, which is below the level of the Okefenokee Swamp depression and integral to maintaining surface water and groundwater hydrology in this region of southeast Georgia.
- Mining on Trail Ridge could harm and potentially kill threatened and endangered wildlife, including the gopher tortoise, a keystone species, as well as destroy important habitat.
- Light and noise pollution from Twin Pines’ proposed mine would also degrade the visitor experience in the neighboring Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness Area, where visitors fish, paddle, camp, and observe wildlife.
Recreational/economic importance
- Local residents depend heavily on the Okefenokee Swamp for jobs, food, and quality of life — visitors from across the world visit the refuge for recreation, birding, camping, and solace.
- At more than 400,000 acres, the Okefenokee Swamp is a National Wilderness Area, the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the eastern United States, a Gold-tier International Dark Sky Park, and a National Natural Landmark, a designation reserved for “the best examples of biological and geological features” in the country.
- With its opportunities for boating, birding, fishing, photography, adventure, and hunting nearby attracting 650,000 visits a year and supporting more than 800 jobs, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) provides more economic benefit to each of Georgia and Florida than any other NWR.
- The Okefenokee Swamp is home to the headwaters of two recreationally and ecologically significant rivers, the Suwannee and the St. Marys. Due to its proximity to the proposed mining operation, the 120-mile long St. Marys River and its blackwater stream ecosystem is particularly vulnerable to toxic discharge.
- The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge holds the potential to become the first refuge to receive UNESCO World Heritage Site Status–a non-regulatory designation reserved only for international sites of universal value and exceptional natural beauty. Only a handful of sites in the United States, like the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone and Yosemite, have been awarded UNESCO status. Should the refuge be designated—the Okefenokee is currently on the shortlist of tentative sites—the swamp would earn its rightful place beside these iconic natural wonders, further catalyzing tourism in the area. Currently, swamp-based tourism supports more than 750 local jobs and generates an estimated $64.7 million in economic activity in the four counties surrounding the wildlife refuge.
Clean Water Act and federal water protections
- We are disappointed that in August 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers retracted its earlier decision guaranteeing Clean Water Act protections to the nearly 400 acres of wetlands on the proposed mining site on Trail Ridge and adjacent to the Okefenokee Swamp.
- The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the greatest remaining natural treasures in the world and deserves to be protected—our hope is that federal agencies step up to protect this iconic place.
- State protections are not sufficient to protect Georgia’s wetlands; they are limited in scope. This underscores the importance of the federal Clean Water Act protections that should be in place for hundreds of acres of wetlands on the site of Twin Pines’ proposed mining project.
- Destroying the wetlands next to the Okefenokee Swamp without first obtaining a federal Clean Water Act permit is unlawful, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has a responsibility to enforce the Clean Water Act.
- The previous administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule put communities, businesses, and drinking water at risk. Now that two courts have invalidated the rule, it should not be used when considering the Twin Pines mining proposal.
Immense opposition to the project
- Twin Pines’ proposed mining project has drawn an unprecedented level of opposition—throughout all of the opportunities for public comment to Georgia Environmental Protection Division and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, there have been at least 100,000 comments submitted in opposition to the mining proposal and in support of the Okefenokee Swamp.
- It is not just environmental and conservation organizations who are opposed to Twin Pines’ risky mining project— local communities, former federal and state officials from both sides of the aisle, independent experts and scientists, and faith leaders have spoken out in favor of protecting the iconic Okefenokee Swamp.
- A September 2022 poll shows that 69% of Georgians want Gov. Brian Kemp to take “immediate action” to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a proposed mine near its borders.
OPA Member & Partner Comment Letters to the EPD (2023)
Click here to view UGA Professor Dr. Rhett Jackson’s Letter to the EPD
Click here to view Georgia River Network’s Comment Letter to the EPD
Click here to view Senator Jon Ossoff’s Public Comment to the EPD
Permit Application
2023:
Click here to visit EPD’s Twin Pines announcements page for all recent materials and correspondence between EPD and Twin Pines
2020 & prior:
Click here for Twin Pines original Permit Application and the Corps’ Public Notice from July 2019 to mine 12,000 acres in multiple phases
Click here for a recording of the virtual public meeting on May 13, 2020.
OPA Member Group Comment Letters to the Corps (2020)
SELC Supplemental Comments to Corps on May 28, 2020
Georgia River Network Comment Letter to Corps
Other Resources
A Letter From the Science Community – The science and engineering community has composed and signed a letter about the most-likely effects of a mine near the Okefenokee Swamp. Read the letter here.
A Letter from 100+ Faith Leaders – Over 100 Faith Leaders have signed a letter calling on public officials to protect the sacred Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Read the letter here.
Poster Presented at the Georgia Water Resources Conference
PowerPoint Presented at Okefenokee Swamp Park
Water Trails
The refuge is part of the National Water Trail System, one of only 21 designated trails in the U.S., in part because it requires an act of Congress. The Okefenokee and the Suwannee River both have water trails. The St. Mary’s trail is under development. To learn more about Georgia Water Trails, click here.
Georgia River Guide Mobile App
Plan your next paddling or boating trip on the Okefenokee Wilderness Area Canoe Trail, St. Marys River Water Trail or Suwannee River Water Trail using the Georgia River Guide mobile app. Learn more and download this free resource here.
Website hosted by Georgia River Network
okefenokeeprotectionalliance@gmail.com