Victory for the Okefenokee Swamp

Environmental victories are so rare these days, one feels as if one should trumpet them. The Okefenokee Wetlands are one of the largest protected wetlands in the United States, with over 400,000 acres of undisturbed, Federally protected lands. A company was threatening to build a titanium dioxide strip mine on the perimeter of the swamp, threatening the priceless ecosystem within and surrounding communities. The Conservation Fund arranged to purchase the swamp's perimeter for $60 million, sparing the Okefenokee and the rivers it feeds from the mining project.  

The Okefenokee is an integral part of life for many of those who live on its borders, as well as for the thousands of species which form its fully functional wetland ecosystem, which is one of the last in North America. The Okefenokee’s peat bogs, formed over thousands of years, also act as natural carbon sinks. Last spring, I had the privilege of flying above the swamp with LightHawk. In December, I explored its waterways by boat with Frances Mayes, who will share our experience in an upcoming feature for Garden & Gun.