Breaking News – Land Deal Protects Swamp from Twin Pines Mine!
Great news!! A land deal has been made for purchase of property near the Okefenokee Swamp where Twin Pines Minerals was planning a mine. This mine could have irreparably damaged North America’s largest blackwater swamp.
The Conservation Fund will acquire the 600 acre tract of land where the mine was planned, along with other land holdings in the area and the underlying mineral rights, for just under $60 million dollars.
Read more about the land deal in the Associated Press, Georgia Recorder and see more news articles on our Georgia Rivers in the Newspage.
“Sometimes it takes almost losing something to realize what you have. Sometimes it takes a crisis to pull people together to save a valuable piece of nature and ourselves. While raising the visibility of the Okefenokee with songs and movies and lobbying down at the Capitol is exciting, the most rewarding work is taking people boating on the Okefenokee Wilderness Canoe Trail and recruiting conservation buyers for protecting the swamp forever.” – Rena Ann Peck, Executive Director of Georgia Rivers
Georgia Rivers & GCA thank all of YOU who have spoken out and donated to protect the swamp. This is a huge win!
Activating people to raise their voice, from letters to phone calls, is what created the public outcry. Your voice was so loud that it scared Chemours off from buying out Twin Pines to mine and spurred Georgia leaders to get behind a conservation buyout. No other conservation project in Georgia state history garnered this much support. Now all citizens can celebrate this first step to protect all of Trail Ridge!
Next Steps for Full Okefenokee Protection
The post Breaking News – Land Deal Protects Swamp from Twin Pines Mine! appeared first on Georgia Canoeing Association.
While the immediate threat of mining on Okefenokeee Trail Ridge has been prevented, there remains unprotected land on Trail Ridge that is closer to the swamp and lower in elevation.
Mining on this land would be even more hazardous to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Georgia Rivers will continue to advocate to protect the tens of thousands of acres on Trail Ridge that remain at risk.
Click here to donate directly to Georgia Rivers to protect the Okefenokee and fund other conservation and educational project