Brunswick News Editorial wants Legislative vote on Okefenokee Protection Act

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State assembly should allow vote on Okefenokee bill

• 7 hrs ago

 

People who feel the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is worth protecting from mineral exploration and commercial interest might want to join the latest push to prevent either from occurring in what is a vast wetland of natural treasurers. A thinking individual might even arrive at the conclusion that a natural treasure worth UNESCO nomination is a natural treasure worth saving.

It is not the Grand Canyon, which already enjoys the umbrella of UNESCO, but the swamp’s ecosystems and diverse wildlife are just as alluring and deserve to be preserved for future generations.

Yet there always seems to be some interest in mining in or near the 438,000-acre swamp, the largest blackwater swamp in North America. Most of it lies within the borders of Georgia, our own backyard.

 

The community will recall the recent uproar over an Alabama company’s request for a permit to mine an area considered vital to the Okefenokee’s health. Scientists predicted the company’s plan to dredge for minerals would inflict irreversible harm on the swamp, triggering an even larger field of opponents that included state legislators and members of the U.S. Congress. Some even sought the adoption of laws that would derail the proposed project.

Turns out, none of it mattered. The company withdrew its request.

But what about next time?

 

It is exactly why a group of citizens, a coalition of environmental organizations, is imploring Gov. Brian Kemp to act to save the Okefenokee from tomorrow’s for-profit ventures. They are concerned about that “next time.”

Environment Georgia State Director Jennette Gayer presented the office of the governor a petition Thursday bearing 24,000 signatures asking for protections for the Okefenokee Swamp. Included with the petition were 300 pieces of artwork from children along the same theme.

 

Among other things, the coalition, which also included Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Garden Club of Georgia, are asking Gov. Kemp to get behind legislation to prohibit surface mining on Trail Ridge. Introduced by Thomasville Republican Rep. Darlene Taylor, House Bill 561 would prohibit surface mining on the ridge. Rich in minerals, the ridge is described as a protective barrier of the swamp.

Rep. Taylor’s measure would keep the Georgia Environmental Protection Division from issuing permits to mine the area, but the bill is at the moment a moot point. The legislation remains stuck in the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee, which includes two members of Glynn County’s state delegation — Rep. Buddy DeLoach, R-Townsend, and Rep. Rick Townsend, R-St. Simons Island, secretary of the committee.

The committee should release the bill and allow the House and Senate — which speaks for all of Georgia — to decide its fate.