Take Action Now to Protect the Okefenokee Swamp

America’s Okefenokee Swamp is a world-renowned treasure. Spanning across 438,000 acres of southeast Georgia, the Okefenokee Swamp is the largest intact freshwater wetland in North America.

But right now, this unique landscape is threatened by a proposed titanium mine at the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. In February, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division issued draft permits moving the mining company, Twin Pines Minerals, one step closer to their plan to strip mine along Trail Ridge, a geological formation that is critical to maintaining the swamp’s complex water system.

There is wide consensus among experts that mining in this location will threaten the water levels of the swamp and the two rivers it feeds, increasing wildfire risks, harming fish and wildlife and releasing toxic contaminants into nearby surface and groundwater.

Building a mine adjacent to one of the world’s most precious natural resources is all risk with no reward. There are countless titanium mines around the world—but there is only one Okefenokee Swamp. We have a responsibility—to nature, to Georgia and to ourselves—to preserve it.

Take action and join us today to protect this precious natural resource which is home to more than 1,000 species of plants and animals and attracts more than 600,000 visitors per year, sustaining a vibrant local economy.

Here’s what you can do today to make your voice heard:

• Send a message to Georgia's Environmental Protection Division stating your opposition to mining along the Okefenokee and sharing what makes the Okefenokee special to you. 
• Call the Office of Governor Brian Kemp and voice your support for protecting the Okefenokee. 
  • Sample message: “Hello, I’m a Georgia resident calling to ask the governor to publicly state his support for protecting the Okefenokee Swamp from the threat of mining. The economic and ecological benefits of a vibrant, healthy Okefenokee far outweigh the benefits of a mine that could destroy this natural treasure. If we lose it, we will never get it back. I hope I can count on Governor Kemp to join the countless Georgians who want to see the Okefenokee thrive not just for us, but for our children and for their children. Thank you.”