I’m going to agree with something a supporter of the now bought-out mine said: we need better economic solutions for south Georgia forest owners. And beyond that, for south Georgia. So counties and cities won’t be tempted by jobs promised by mines, landfills, private prisons, and pellet plants.

Georgia needs better economics, for forestry & rural south Georgia, Drew Jones, Charlton Co. Commission, Okefenokee Swamp & blackwater rivers

Drew Jones wrote in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today, June 26, 2025, Okefenokee deal exposed how Georgia’s forest policy is flawed and needs reform,

I’ve spent my life working on Georgia forestland. Though much of my work now happens behind a desk, I still grade roads, harrow firebreaks, conduct controlled burns and fight wildfires.

Every time I’m out in the woods, I’m reminded how fragile it all is. Forests don’t take care of themselves — they survive because someone shows up, year after year, with care, commitment and the freedom to make long-term decisions.

The Conservation Fund’s purchase of the proposed Twin Pines mine site near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge may have resolved one local debate. But I hope it sparks a broader conversation about the growing economic challenges of owning forestland. These lands provide tremendous public value, while becoming increasingly unsustainable for private landowners to maintain.

More than 90% of Georgia’s forests are privately owned. That means the future of clean water, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, and thousands of rural jobs depends on decisions made not by government agencies, but by individuals and families — driven by values like stewardship, independence and legacy. But those values are under growing strain.

Other states have more favorable tax environments…

He proposes reforming Georgia forest taxes so harvested timber is not taxed at full value, and better conservation easements. I don’t know whether I support his specific solutions, but as a forest owner myself, I can attest this part is right:

At the same time, the environmental community wants to see these lands remain forested and undeveloped. But as ownership costs climb, even committed landowners are forced to consider options they’d rather avoid — selling, subdividing or converting forestland. And every acre lost means degraded water quality, fragmented habitat and the erosion of a rural way of life that has shaped Georgia for generations.

It’s hard to derive significant income outweighing costs for forests. Especially after Hurricane Helene knocked down a large percentage of our trees and depressed the timber market. Many forest landowners depend on hunting leases to try to make ends meet, but even that is often not enough.

I think he’s half right here:

There is a desperate cry from forestland owners across the country for a carrot, not a stick, approach to conservation. We don’t need more bans or restrictive laws. What we need are real, effective incentives that make it economically feasible to keep forestland intact and undeveloped.

We do need bans on mining, landfills, etc., too near waterways.

But we also need real, effective incentives for forestry.

And not just for forestry: for all of south Georgia.

Here I think he’s also half right:

We also need a more objective, science-based and consistent process for evaluating land-use proposals, whether they involve development or something in between. I strongly believe in private property rights and in assessing future projects with objectivity, not public pressure.

That would be great, if the laws and regulations were not tipped way towards developers, including miners.

I was told by someone at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD) that they could not reject the mining applcation, because Georgia does not have a bad actor law, despite a Florida Consent Order against those same miners, and despite their president have started to biomass plants in north Georgia, one of which caused a massive fish kill, and both of which caused the state to pass a law banning burning railroad ties.

But here he, ah, exaggerates:

During the Twin Pines permitting debate, I didn’t advocate for the project. I advocated for the right to apply and for the state to make a science-based, transparent decision. That nuance was often lost in some media coverage that reduced a call for fairness into a false narrative of support. In most interviews and articles, it described me as supporting the mine, when in fact I was supporting a fair and honest process.

In recent years there is some truth to that, such as when Drew Jones and his employer Joe Hopkins testified against the mine before the Georgia House Natural Resources and Environment subcommittee.

Audience, Joe Hopkins front left, Drew Jones speaking against the Okefenokee bills, 2025-03-03, GA House Natural Resources and Environment subcommittee

But it wasn’t the environmental community that started this wedge of which he speaks:

That kind of framing drives a wedge between rural communities and the broader conservation movement. It erodes trust in the conversations we need to have. It felt like David vs. Goliath: a few local landowners asking for objectivity up against national organizations with deep pockets and media reach. The goal wasn’t to guarantee approval — it was to ensure an honest, science-based process. That’s all any landowner or community should expect.

Drew Jones voted for the Charlton County Commission resolution supporting the mine, which said nothing about “a science-based, transparent decision.”

Attorney?, County Administrator Hampton Raulerson, Absent Jesse Crews (3), Vice Chair Alphya Benefield (1), Chair James E. Everett (2), Drew Jones (4), Luke Gowen (5), 2019-07-18, County Clerk Jenifer Nobles, Finance Coordinator Rebecca Harden, Charlton County Commission meeting

It was a full-throated endorsement of the mine based on promises of jobs and tax income: “NOW, THEREFORE, the Charlton County Board of Commissioners, subject to approval by any other authority having jurisdiction, hereby proclaims and expresses support of Twin Pine Minerals, LLC proposed heavy mineral sand mining.”

Twin Pines Materials, LLC

And it was the only county or city resolution supporting the mine. All the other resolutions about the mine opposed it.
https://wwals.net/?p=67201

Still, I agree with his conclusion:

As one neighboring landowner told me, “I love my trees, but love alone doesn’t pay the tax bill.” That’s the quiet, often painful truth behind many decisions being made today.

I urge lawmakers to collaborate with — not against — forest landowners to develop sustainable, workable solutions that support private ownership while respecting property rights. We don’t need more burdens. We need real partnership, practical incentives and a commitment to listening. Without it, we risk losing not just trees, but a way of life that sustains families, communities and the character of rural Georgia.

Something needs to be done. Not just for forest owners, but for everyone around the Swamp and in south Georgia.

Then we’d see less of this: “WHEREAS, the Charlton County Board of Commissioners finds and determines that the proposed operation of Twin Pine Minerals within Charlton County will result in economic development that is beneficial to all of Charlton County;”

Or like the Chesser Island Road Landfill.

Or like this, Tyler Davis, Georgia Recorder, June 11, 2025, Charlton County, ICE contract to expand processing center moves forward,

“Georgia’s Charlton County is set to become home to the largest immigrant detention facility in the United States following an agreement between county officials and the federal Department of Homeland Security.”

We need economic improvement legislation for south Georgia, in addition to merely continuing the same mining opposition bill.

We also need private economic initiatives, and we need a state constitutional amendment for Right to Clean Water, Air, and Soil (RTCW).

See previous post for more about these other things.
https://wwals.net/?p=67829

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

You can help with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable, water in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin in Florida and Georgia by becoming a WWALS member today!
https://wwals.net/donations/

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