Last week during an extended swing through South Georgia, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff surveyed the Okefenokee Swamp and was briefed by senior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials on the swamp’s conservation status, biological and hydrological conditions, and ongoing efforts to assess the potential environmental impact of proposed mining developments on the wetland wildlife refuge’s periphery.
In late April, Sens. Ossoff and Warnock wrote to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressing their support for a thorough and rigorous assessment of the environmental impacts that could result from a mining development proposed along the edge of the refuge.
“The Okefenokee is a sacred natural resource,” Sen. Ossoff said. “I am grateful to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for their diligent protection of this precious wildlife refuge, and last week’s briefings affirmed my conviction they must participate intensively in the ongoing effort to assess damage that could result from proposed mining activity around the edge of the swamp.”