FOLKSTON—The 402,000-acre Okefenokee Swamp—land of the trembling earth—is a remarkable treasure but its pristine heritage is being threatened by corporate greed.

Unfortunately, corporate greed has an impressive track record.  It often is undefeated.  Careless corporations, bent on reaping profits no matter the cost to the environment, have polluted our rivers and streams, the air we breathe, and the soil we cultivate.

It is important that we establish a disclaimer here.  I am not a scientist, I have done no research, but I can read.  I have tried to do as much of that as I can and as a result have concluded that the swamp is in danger—if Twin Pine Minerals of Birmingham are allowed to do as they wish. 

Recently, I came here to meet with Kim Bednarek, Executive Director of the Swamp, who seeks, as does anybody with a modicum of good environmental sense, to thwart the mining objectives.

Kim and her associate Deb Harrison took my wife and me on a tour of the Okefenokee.  It was a pleasant day, somewhat lazy which was in keeping with the pace of several of the 15,000 alligators which call the Okefenokee home.

Alligators don’t seem to get into a hurry, floating about without rush or alacrity.    As we cruised about with a casual tempo, you just felt good being ensconced in nature’s wonderment.  It was a soul cleansing experience.

Things could get better for our swamp if the Okefenokee becomes a World Heritage Site.  That would make Kim Bednarek’s day along with the many scientists who ask why risk anything in favor of the mining company’s agenda?

If you were told that a fruit or vegetable you are eating carried a 1% chance of giving you deadly cancer, more than likely you would not take that risk and change your diet.  

As we glided about the waterways and the engrossing prairies, there was plenty of flora to enjoy.  The fauna was not so visible, but the Okefenokee is home to countless black bear, deer, and other species which should not be molested or threatened.

Some facts about the Okefenokee that are worthy of embracing. 

•  Native Americans inhabited the swamp as early as 2500 BC.  Let’s keep it like they found it.
• The Seminoles hung out in the swamp until they were forced to abandon the Okefenokee, resettling in the Everglades following their leader Billy Powell, better known as Chief Osceola. 
• A Cornell professor years ago found a family of Aboriginals surviving in the swamp but they died out, owing to inbreeding and disease. 
• Scientists say the refuge has wetlands footprint largely undisturbed since prehistoric times.
• More than 90% of Georgians, according to one survey think that protecting the swamp should take precedent over the mining interest.

We have been down this road before.  In 1970 the state legislature passed the Coastal Marshlands Protection Act thwarting a mining objective that would have caused problems for the barrier islands on the state’s coast.  That was a signature moment for one of Georgia’s most prominent citizens—Dr. Eugene Odum, known as the father of modern ecology.  I remember how ecstatic he was when the legislature saved the day.  Now we need the members of that body to belly up for an encore.

Even Georgia Governor at the time, Lester Maddox, joined the fight against the mining interests.  Let’s pray that our Legislature will do the right thing again and deny the mining efforts that put the Okefenokee at risk.

After my Okefenokee excursion, I am resolved to spend more time there, but I’ll never challenge the record of a longtime friend Frank Barron of Rome.   Frank has spent more than 40 nights in the Okefenokee over the years and estimates that he has paddled more than 400 miles during that time.

Frank is perhaps the state’s leading aficionado, aside from the scientists and researchers, of the swamp, and he senses that the mining objective would do irreputable harm to the Okefenokee.  “I’m pulling hard for Kim and her associates to win this battle and hope that our friends in the state house will listen up,” he says.

“At some point the mining interests if allowed to disrupt the harmony of the swamp,” Barron adds, “will play out. Somebody will make a lot of money and take away a treasure that should be here for generations to come.  The short-term gain for a very few would be allowed to take away something great for all Georgians to enjoy deep into the future.  There won’t be anything left but a big hole.”

After a pause, he had an addendum.  “Not just for Georgians but the entire world.  We can’t let the pristine Okefenokee be disrupted.”

Frank, a successful businessman with statewide connections, is now 93 and can’t paddle the prairies of the Okefenokee anymore, but his memories are indefatigable.  Like the time a flock of sandhill cranes—more like a murmuration—thundered into flight.  “It sounded like a thousand motorboats going full throttle at the same time,” he remembers.

There have been many nights when he went to sleep in his tent to the sounds of countless bullfrogs and other swamp creatures calling out to him, “thanks for being our friend.”

The mining interests have no regard for those who want to enjoy that experience.  Let’s help nature trump greed.