{"id":22714,"date":"2024-04-10T15:52:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=22714"},"modified":"2024-04-10T15:52:12","modified_gmt":"2024-04-10T19:52:12","slug":"sen-ossoff-reiterates-formal-opposition-to-strip-mining-near-okefenokee-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-ossoff-reiterates-formal-opposition-to-strip-mining-near-okefenokee-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff Reiterates Formal Opposition to Strip Mining Near Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Folkston, Ga. <\/strong>\u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is continuing his years-long push to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday, Sen. Ossoff submitted a comment to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) opposing permits for a strip mine near the Okefenokee during the agency\u2019s public comment period<\/a>, which concluded yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/em>, the agency received<\/a> over 77,000 comments during the 2-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his submission, Sen. Ossoff pointed to urgent analyses and warnings from leading environmental scientists and officials, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), that warn of potential harm to the wetland\u2019s ecosystem, the lack of adequate preparation for drought conditions, and severe damage to the area\u2019s air and water quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSimply put: the Okefenokee is irreplaceable. It is too precious to risk. Should EPD approve this mine, there is a clear and credible risk of severe and irreversible long-term damage to the Refuge,\u201d Sen. Ossoff wrote to Georgia EPD Director Jeff Cown.<\/strong> \u201cTo permit this mining operation risks irreversible damage to an irreplaceable natural resource beloved by Georgians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Okefenokee is the largest<\/a> blackwater swamp in North America. It contains a National Wildlife Refuge and U.S. Wilderness Area and is one of Georgia\u2019s top sites for outdoor recreation and tourism, drawing more than 600,000 visitors<\/a> per year, and one of Georgia\u2019s most beloved and environmentally significant wild places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Okefenokee holds significant cultural importance to Native American tribes, including the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The Refuge contains at least 74 Native American mounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff continues his strong advocacy to protect the Okefenokee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last October, Sen. Ossoff delivered<\/a> a $1.6 million Federal grant through the Land and Water Conservation Fund to improve safety and connectivity within the park, while also taking steps to improve preservation measures at the campgrounds within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last September, following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan push, the National Park Service announced<\/a> it intends to nominate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing warnings from leading scientists and experts, Sen. Ossoff submitted<\/a> in February 2023 his formal opposition to the proposed strip mine next to the Okefenokee Swamp during the previous round of public comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2022, at Sen. Ossoff\u2019s invitation, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland joined him to survey the Refuge<\/a> and meet with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials on the refuge\u2019s conservation status and environmental risks. They also heard directly from local leaders about the importance of protecting the refuge for the communities in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click aqu\u00ed<\/a> to read Sen. Ossoff\u2019s public comment submission to the Georgia EPD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Folkston, Ga. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is continuing his years-long push to protect the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Yesterday, Sen. Ossoff submitted a comment to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) opposing permits for a strip mine near the Okefenokee during the agency\u2019s public comment period, which concluded yesterday. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the agency received over 77,000 […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22714","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/22714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/22714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22716,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/22714\/revisions\/22716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}