"SAVANNAH, Ga. — A federal agency said Friday that it has approved a plan to expand the Okefenokee Swamp’s vast wildlife refuge, setting up a potential buyout offer for land intended for a private company’s mining project that conservationists have fought for years.
The plan approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service could add 22,000 acres (8,900 hectares) along the boundaries of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest federal refuge east of the Mississippi River. The service manages the refuge and is part of the Interior Department.
“This minor expansion will help further conservation efforts for the swamp along with the threatened and endangered species that inhabit it,” Michael Lusk, the Okefenokee refuge manager, said in a news release.
Owners of private land included in the expansion plan would first have to agree to sell or donate their property to the federal government. That includes land owned near the swamp’s edge by Twin Pines Minerals, which is on the cusp of obtaining state permits to mine minerals for producing titanium dioxide. The compound is used to whiten paints, paper and toothpaste."
Russ Bynum reports for the Associated Press January 3, 2025.
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