After years of effort, lawmakers in Georgia have finally secured a purchase to protect land near the Okefenokee Swamp from a proposed mining project, according to reporting by The Conservation Fund.
Earlier this year, two bills were introduced to ban future mining in the area by the Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals, which sought to mine titanium dioxide and zirconium near the swamp, bringing mining operations within three miles of the largest wildlife refuge in the Eastern U.S.
Fortunately for the people and environment of Georgia, Twin Pines Minerals agreed to sell its 8,000-acre property near the swamp to The Conservation Fund for $60 million, according to the Savannah Morning News, paid in two installments, funded by private donors with the help of advocacy group One Hundred Miles.
Public outcry against the project was crucial over the past six years, as it threatened more than 350,000 acres of the Okefenokee's ecosystem and North America's largest blackwater swamp. About a quarter of a million people submitted comments opposing the mining project to officials, per the Savannah Morning News.
"The Conservation Fund will ensure that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge remains wild and unspoiled for all Americans," Stacy Funderburke, The Conservation Fund's vice president for the central Southeast region, said.
This is a huge win for the people and environment of Georgia. The Okefenokee is home to bald eagles, bobcats, black bears, and 13,000 alligators. Endangered and threatened species like wood storks, indigo snakes, and red-cockaded woodpeckers that rely on the swamp will also be protected.
Public and private officials were quick to celebrate the conservation act as a victory for the state and beyond.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia called the purchase "great news for all Georgians and our beloved natural treasure."
"It was one of the largest public campaigns that I have ever been involved in," said Alice Keyes, a vice president of One Hundred Miles, who has worked on environmental issues for three decades, crediting "the unbelievable public outcry," per the Savannah Morning News.
"Twin Pines' decision to sell their land to a conservation buyer instead of to a mining company is a respectable response to the hundreds of thousands of voices who have spoken out against the mining proposal," Megan Desrosiers, president and CEO of One Hundred Miles, said, per the Savannah Morning News.
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