{"id":28005,"date":"2025-06-20T13:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=28005"},"modified":"2025-06-20T13:01:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T17:01:59","slug":"sen-ossoff-statement-on-okefenokee-swamp-land-deal","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-ossoff-statement-on-okefenokee-swamp-land-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff Statement on Okefenokee Swamp Land Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/a>: \u201cHistoric land deal halts mine planned next to Georgia\u2019s Okefenokee Swamp\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atlanta, Ga.<\/strong> \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released the following statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis step toward protecting the Okefenokee Swamp is great news for all Georgians and our beloved natural treasure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor years, I\u2019ve been sounding the alarm that strip mining near the Okefenokee Swamp poses irreversible damage to an irreplaceable natural resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will continue to champion efforts to protect Georgia\u2019s beloved natural resources and beloved outdoor spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Sen. Ossoff has championed efforts to protect the Okefenokee Swamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies hearing last month, Sen. Ossoff secured a commitment<\/a> from U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to not pursue any sale of any part of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This January, following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s push<\/a>, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced<\/a> progress to expand protections of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last December, following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan push<\/a>, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced<\/a>that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge would be nominated to join the UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

In October 2023, Sen. Ossoff delivered a $1.6 million Federal grant<\/a> 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

In September 2023, following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan push, the National Park Service announced it intended to nominate<\/a> 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 in February 2023 his formal opposition<\/a> to the proposed strip mine next to the Okefenokee Swamp during a public comment period.<\/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

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

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: \u201cHistoric land deal halts mine planned next to Georgia\u2019s Okefenokee Swamp\u201d Atlanta, Ga. \u2014 U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff released the following statement. \u201cThis step toward protecting the Okefenokee Swamp is great news for all Georgians and our beloved natural treasure. \u201cFor years, I\u2019ve been sounding the alarm that strip mining near the Okefenokee […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28005","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/28005","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\/57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/28005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28006,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/28005\/revisions\/28006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}