Interior secretary visits Okefenokee

Sep. 20—U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland visited the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on Friday to highlight efforts to conserve and invest in the nation's public lands and waters.

Haaland, Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., toured the Okefenokee swamp, where they saw the vast habitat that supports the local economy, water quality, climate resilience, and a diverse variety of species, including the threatened and endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, indigo snake and wood stork.

Haaland's trip to the Okefenokee was at the invitation of Ossoff.

During the visit, Ossoff and Haaland were briefed by senior U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials about the refuge's conservation status and environmental risks. They also heard from local leaders about the importance of protecting the refuge.

Twin Pines Minerals, an Alabama-based company, is seeking a permit to mine on a 577-acre tract near the southeast border of the world-famous swamp that attracts 600,000 visitors a year.

"The Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, wilderness, and surrounding wetlands are among Georgia's most precious natural resources and outdoor recreation areas, and I will continue working relentlessly to defend them," Ossoff said. "I appreciate Secretary Haaland's visit to Georgia and her time at the Okefenokee today as she leads the stewardship of precious lands and wilderness nationwide."

Haaland said she appreciated a chance to see "the stunning beauty of the world-renowned Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge."

"I was grateful to hear from people who have had the privilege of working and living in and around the Okefenokee Swamp about ongoing and future efforts to protect this ecologically and culturally precious place," she said.

Atlanta lawyer Josh Marks, a former Sierra Club campaign coordinator who helped defeat an effort by DuPont in the late 1990s to mine next to the swamp, praised Haaland's visit.

"It was great to see Secretary Haaland at the Okefenokee on Friday to hear her speak passionately about the importance of protecting it," Marks said. "It was especially appropriate since it was 25 years ago that her predecessor, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, came to the swamp to oppose the DuPont chemical company's plan for a titanium strip mine next to the swamp."

Marks said he hopes Haaland will take a strong stance and voice her opposition to the proposed plans to mine near the swamp.

"I was there the day when he said titanium dioxide was a very common mineral next to a very uncommon swamp, and that he was going to urge the company to give up its plans," Marks said. "I urged, and fervently hope, Secretary Haaland will follow in Babbitt's footsteps, follow the lead of the scientific community who say that Twin Pines Minerals project will damage the swamp and urge Gov. Kemp to deny the permit applications for this dangerous project."