By David Pendered July 28 – The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the Okefenokee Swamp included “incomparably beautiful women” and “fierce men,” according to an account of the swamp published in 1791 by William Bartram, a Quaker natural scientist. Some 235 years after the book’s publication, UNESCO on July 25 added the swamp to the World […]
Short Takes
Okefenokee selected over B’ham church bombings for World Heritage ListBy David Pendered Jan. 13 – The Okefenokee Swamp was chosen over the site of the fatal bombing at Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church and 17 other sites for nomination to the United Nation’s World Heritage List. Advocates of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge helped sway the site-selection committee, which is overseen by the US […]
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
Ga River Network recognizes 25 years, battle over Okefenokee SwampBy David Pendered July 23 — The Georgia River Network is putting the weight of its 25th anniversary fundraising gala behind the effort protect land near the Okefenokee Swamp from construction of a proposed strip mine. The GRN is an Athens-based, clean-water nonprofit that has kept a laser focus on opposing the proposed extraction of […]
Environment
Okefenokee: Just say ‘No mine’By David Pendered Sept. 15 – The Georgia Water Coalition is trying to insert the proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp into the November gubernatorial campaign via a letter-writing campaign based on a survey released Thursday that shows a solid majority of Georgians oppose the mine. The coalition has launched an online campaign targeting the gubernatorial candidates, […]
Environment
Okefenokee mine back in playBy David Pendered Aug. 23 –The federal government has dropped its efforts that had the potential to delay a proposed mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, according to a paper filed Monday in federal court in Waycross. This leaves the State of Georgia as the sole arbiter of permits for the sand mine proposed by Twin Pines […]
