90-plus legislators support bill to protect Okefenokee
From staff reports
ATLANTA — As the Georgia General Assembly meets this week to continue work on the 2023-2024 term, many in south Georgia and the conservation community have their eyes and ears on HB 71, a widely-supported bill to protect the Okefenokee from mining along the edge of the swamp.
“This legislative session is a critical one for the Okefenokee, the wildlife that calls the refuge home and the communities that rely on a healthy swamp,” Mike Worley, the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s executive director. “We need to move HB 71 and protect this incredible part of our state.”
HB 71 was originally introduced in 2023 by Rep. Darlene Taylor, R-Thomasville, and co-sponsored by Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, Gerald Greene, R-Cuthbert, Bill Hitchens, R-Rincon, and Lee Hawkins, R-Gainesville. As year two of the term begins, the bill has strong bipartisan support with more than half of Georgia’s House of Representatives now co-sponsoring the bill.
HB 71 would prohibit mining on Trail Ridge, a geologic formation along the southeast section of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Many leading scientists have raised significant concerns that breaching this ridge could significantly impair the refuge. These scientists are concerned over the use of groundwater in the mining process as well as the potential for mining to make soils in Trail Ridge more porous, allowing more water to flow through it and away from the Okefenokee.
Less water reaching the Okefenokee would likely mean lower water levels, which could contribute to more frequent and hotter fires as well as negative effects on the swamp-dependent wildlife.
The legislation also recognizes both the cultural importance and the economic importance of the refuge. The Okefenokee is one of the last great wild places in Georgia and is formally recognized nationally and internationally as a heritage site of immense value. The refuge attracts visitors from around the world and provides substantial economic benefits in southeast Georgia.
Polling conducted in 2022 by Mason-Dixon Polling of Jacksonville, Fla., found that 68% of Georgia voters supported permanently protecting the Okefenokee from risky mining operations. This viewpoint is being fortified through more than 50 clergy signatures on the “Faith Leaders Support of the Okefenokee” letter and city and county resolutions from St. Mary’s, Homeland, Valdosta, Kingsland, and Waycross, and Ware, Echols, Clinch, and Dekalb counties.
The support letters and resolutions urge the governor and General Assembly to protect the integrity of the Okefenokee, as it is seen as one of our state’s natural wonders. Nearly 20 clergy took additional action last month by gathering at the refuge for a prayer vigil to urge the passage of HB 71 in the upcoming legislative session.
Popular sentiment from across the state is that the limited benefit of mining relatively abundant materials from Trail Ridge are not worth the substantial risks of harm to the Okefenokee.
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