By David Pendered Harkers Island, NC – June 28 – Sometimes dredging operations are simple. That seems to be the case with the project that reopened Cape Lookout to the boating public. The federal government has completed a dredging operation to deepen the channel that provides access from a protected waterway to the cape, lighthouse […]

Environment
Monarch’s migration begins life cycle anewBy David Pendered June 16 – This Spring’s migration of monarch butterflies from Mexico to their summer camps in the north occurs amid a glimmer of hope for their continued existence. Scientists with the University of Georgia published a paper in 2022 that indicates the monarch butterflies’ population growth in the summer may compensate for […]

Environment
Scotus ruling on Texas water case may resonate at OKEBy David Pendered MARCH 24 –As the federal government lays claim to the waters and aquifer of the Okefenokee Swamp, the Supreme Court is deciding a case involving the waters and aquifer of the Rio Grande River Basin, in Texas. The point of considering the two situations together is the rise in the nationalization of discussion […]

Environment
OKE mining permits have roots in water war rulingBy David Pendered Feb. 28 – Georgia is citing a tool used in its victory in the Supreme Court in the water rights dispute with Florida as grounds to issue draft permits to allow a company to excavate sand from Trail Ridge, near the southeastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp. The citation may be the […]

Environment
Saving the Okefenokee with new song at Mardi Gras partyBy David Pendered Jan. 30 – Michelle Malone’s performance of the song “Okefenokee” is one of the highlights of the Save the Swamp Mardi Gras Party, a fundraiser to be hosted on Feb. 13 in North Buckhead by the Georgia River Network. Lyrics of “Okefenokee” are provided at the end of this story. They can […]

Environment
Grain of salt for Biden’s climate resiliency planBy David Pendered Oct. 16 – David Kyler suggests a grain of salt to go with the Biden administration’s new strategic plan to adapt to climate change. “We cannot allow adaptation to give the false promise that adaptation will save us,” said Kyler, the cofounder and director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, on […]

Environment
Feds set the bar for phase-out of single-use plasticsBy David Pendered Sept. 28 – Governments really do have the ability to phase out single-use plastics, the head of Environment Georgia said Thursday as the U.S. Interior Department announced its new final plans. “This announcement is proof positive that phasing out single-use plastics is possible,” said Jennette Gayer, Georgia state director of Environment Georgia, […]

Environment
200-plus ducks? ‘Creek Rising’ must be upon usBy David Pendered Sept. 5 – Even without the rubber ducks, the Sept. 14 party hosted by the South Fork Conservancy would be a special occasion. But this is the 16th Anniversary Creek Rising party and there will be ducks. More than 200 rubber ducks are to race down the South Fork of Peachtree Creek […]

Environment
Wind farm leases in Gulf of Mexico snubbed by marketBy David Pendered Sept. 2 – The proposed wind farms on three sites in the Gulf of Mexico failed to attract much interest from bidders on Aug. 29, with only one of three lease areas receiving a bid. No bids were received on two sites totaling 199,266 acres off the coast of Galveston, Texas. One […]

Environment
Wind turbine plans advance as GAO announces impact studyBy David Pendered ST. ANDREWS, Fl., Aug. 6 — In the Gulf of Mexico, the Biden administration is fast-tracking offshore wind lease sales even as a federal agency has announced its upcoming study of potential harm offshore wind turbines could cause to wildlife, people and military training missions along the Northeast coast. The federal Bureau […]