Proposed Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge expansion could lead to buyout of mining project

Associated Press

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A federal agency is proposing an expansion of the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge. That could lead to a buyout offer for property that would otherwise be used for mining project conservationists have fought for years. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that it’s considering a potential 22,000-acre expansion of the National Wildlife Refuge at the Georgia-Florida line. The agency said this would include land held by Twin Pines Minerals. The company is close to obtaining a permit to mine minerals to produce titanium dioxide just outside the swamp’s edge. Conservationists say this could do irreparable harm.