Facing significant public opposition and concerns from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Twin Pines Minerals of Alabama announced on February 10 that it was withdrawing its proposal for a massive, 12,000-acre titanium and zirconium strip mine on thousands of acres next to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness in southern Georgia. The 354,000-acre Okefenokee Wilderness makes up almost 90 percent of the Refuge and is one of the largest Wildernesses in the East.
The Okefenokee Swamp is one of the world’s largest still intact blackwater swamp ecosystems, and provides important habitat for native wildlife such as black bears, American alligators, and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Last September, Wilderness Watch members and supporters sent over 14,000 emails to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging them to reject the Twin Pines Minerals strip mine proposal. Undoubtedly, all of your collective voices of opposition had an impact, so thank you!
Unfortunately, Twin Pines has said it's not abandoning the mining proposal and that a revised application is in the works. So we’ll need to stay vigilant to protect and defend clean water and the extraordinary wildlife in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness.
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