Georgia’s former governor has thrown his clout behind the environmental movement to protect the Okefenokee Swamp, a move observers say will have political ramifications even though the legal impacts are probably minimal.
Sonny Perdue, a cabinet member during President Donald Trump’s first term, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior two weeks ago urging support for a years-long effort to get the national wildlife refuge designated as a United Nations World Heritage Site. The April 17 letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum cites a study by an environmental conservation group that said the designation would be an economic boon for the area around the Okefenokee.
The letter did not mention the controversy surrounding one of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystems: draft permits the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has given to Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals for a titanium mine along the southeastern border of the swamp.
