Okefenokee proposal could help protect wildlife
I have exciting news to share in our fight to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from a reckless mining plan.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing to expand the acquisition boundary of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This means extending portions of the refuge’s border to improve the health of one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in the world. The expansion would include the site of a proposed mine along Trail Ridge, safeguarding it from this reckless project.
You can tell Fish and Wildlife this plan is a good idea right now.
You can help protect the Okefenokee
If finalized, this means willing landowners included in the proposed new boundary could have their property become part of the refuge.
Why is this so important? Trail Ridge is the eastern edge of the swamp and is no place for a mine — without Trail Ridge, there is no Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
By proposing to expand the boundary, FWS acknowledges Trail Ridge’s importance to the wildlife and habitat the refuge was created to protect. Conserving the lands within the proposed refuge would:
- Strengthen protection of the refuge’s sensitive water levels.
- Mitigate catastrophic wildfire and drought impacts.
- Help provide habitat for the gopher tortoise and provide opportunities to restore habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker and tricolored bat.
While this is an extraordinary development, it does not single handedly stop the current mining threat the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge faces. Any day the Georgia Department of Natural Resources could issue permits that put Twin Pines Minerals, LLC one step closer to mining on Trail Ridge.
At SELC, we’re committed to defending the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for the people and wildlife that depend on it and that wouldn’t be possible without advocates like you.