Mining next to the #Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge would irrevocably damage this natural treasure. Yet #Georgia 's Environmental Protection Division just issued draft permits -- bringing the start of strip mining one step closer.
Imagine: Dump trucks carve deep ruts into once unspoiled #wetlands. Giant excavators rip through matted layers of ground-hugging plants.
The sound of bellowing #alligators is replaced by the industrial hum of the #mine 's new processing plant.
The Okefenokee is teeming with life: Cypress trees adorned with veils of long-hanging moss rise above shadowy waters filled with American alligators and wading birds like blue herons. The #OkefenokeeNationalWildlifeRefuge is a sprawling wilderness area on the #Florida - #Georgia border that protects over 630 square miles of biologically rich #swamps and #waterways.