According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Suwannee River Basin
starts in Waycross, Georgia, around a line south down Gibbs Street, east on Walker Road, south on Gilmore Street, south down Swamp Road, then east along Washington Drive.
Veronica Kelly-Summers, a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge,
talked about the Okefenokee Swamp, its history, significance, places to go, things to do, and what’s next,
in this largest and best-preserved freshwater wetland in the U.S.
The Swamp is the headwaters of two rivers: the St. Marys that forms the border between Georgia and Florida,
and the Suwannee, which flows through Georgia and the Florida state song.
Here is the WWALS video of Veronica’s webinar, from noon-1 PM, Thursday, September 11, 2025:
https://youtu.be/pvLU8wPLsZc
The WWALS
campout at Floyd’s Island
in the middle of the Okefenokee Swamp
has unfortunately been cancelled due to low water.
So you can watch Veronica’s presentation instead.
WWALS Board Member Janet Martin gave a brief introduction.
In questions and answers at the end,
Veronica elaborated on what it means
for the Okefenokee NWR to become a World Heritage Site:
more visibility, more visitors, but no additional federal funding.
Veronica Kelly-Summers is a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
over 15 years of experience in protecting natural resources and
connecting people with nature. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s
degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University with a focus on
forest recreation and wildlife habitat management. Her career with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken her to eight national
wildlife refuges from the woods and swamps of southern Illinois to
the Loess Bluffs of Iowa and Missouri, the Florida Everglades, and
she’s now stationed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in
Georgia. She works closely with staff and partners to provide
leadership and strategic direction for the Visitor Services program
including managing visitor facilities and recreational opportunities
for camping, boating, interpretation, environmental education,
special events, outreach, hunting, fishing, managing volunteers, and
much more. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her
husband, Jacob, and their pets, a yellow lab named Charlie and a
spicy tuxedo cat named Tino.
Discover all that Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has to offer in our upcoming presentation focused on things to see and do around the 407,000-acre national wildlife refuge. From camping under the stars to paddling scenic water trails, the refuge is a haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Learn about wildlife watching ethics, areas for hiking and biking, guided boat tours, overnight excursions, hunting and fishing opportunities, and so much more. Whether you’re seeking outdoor adventure or a peaceful connection with nature, this presentation will showcase how Okefenokee has something for everyone.
Veronica Kelly-Summers is a dedicated Visitor Services Manager with
over 15 years of experience in protecting natural resources and
connecting people with nature. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s
degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University with a focus on
forest recreation and wildlife habitat management. Her career with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has taken her to eight national
wildlife refuges from the woods and swamps of southern Illinois to
the Loess Bluffs of Iowa and Missouri, the Florida Everglades, and
she’s now stationed at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in
Georgia. She works closely with staff and partners to provide
leadership and strategic direction for the Visitor Services program
including managing visitor facilities and recreational opportunities
for camping, boating, interpretation, environmental education,
special events, outreach, hunting, fishing, managing volunteers, and
much more. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her
husband, Jacob, and their pets, a yellow lab named Charlie and a
spicy tuxedo cat name Tino.
Very good news today!
The coal miners from Alabama have been bought out,
ending mining on their specific property.
First, the thanks. Then the rest of the story.
Many thanks to The Conservation Fund for buying out Twin Pines Minerals, LLC (TPM),
and to the James M. Cox Foundation and the Holdfast Collective (Patagonia)
for helping fund that acquisition.
Thanks to everyone who helped,
and to everyone who has opposed this bad mining proposal since at least 2019.
But this land acquisition is not the end of the mining story.
There is much more we can do to protect the entire Okefenokee Swamp,
the blackwater rivers of south Georgia, and to pass a constitutional amendment for
Right to Clean Water, Air, and Soil.
Directly to the north of TPM’s parcels is much more land, Continue reading →
It was harder to get to Floyd’s Island in the Okfonok back then:
several weeks bushwhacking,
climbing on water lily roots,
through bamboo briars (palmettos) and mosquitoes,
on trails made by bears and wildcats.
The author’s tree-cutting camping method would not be allowed in the swamp these days,
and his attitude towards native Americans was a product of his times.
So was his urge to drain and “root” the swamp
to turn it to “valuable account.”
The Times., VALDOSTA GA., FEB. 8, 1890,
THE OKEFENOKEE: CHARLES R. PENDLETON ON “THE TREMBLING EARTH.”
Explanation of the Unknown Land of Georgia—The Constitution’s Hunting Party—Incidents Connected With the Swamp.
From the Atlanta Constitution,
VALDOSTA GA.,
Feb, 1.—I have
been watching with a great deal of
interest the discussion in regard to
the sale of the Okefenokee Swamp. I
have followed, step by step, all the
developments in the case. The mistaken opinions of so many people,
especially in middle and north Georgia, about this swamp
surprises me more than anything else. Those who
have written and spoken most seem
to know least about it.
EARLY DAYS IN THE SWAMP.
A half dozen years of my boyhood
were spent within an hour’s ride of
the swamp, and I have sat by the
hour and listened to the tales Continue reading →
Unfortunately, that was just a hearing, and the Committee did not vote on those bills in any later meeting, either.
Which means they did not get a chance for a vote by the full House before Crossover Day.
Crossover Day was Thursday, March 6, 2025,
after which any bills that passed in one house crossed over to the other
house for their consideration.
The good news is that it is a two-year session, so these bills are already introduced for next year: HB 561 and HB 562. Continue reading →
This is the committee where previous bills have died.
So this is a very important meeting.
Please contact your Georgia Statehouse Representative.
Feel free to mention that many city councils and county commissions have passed resolutions
supporting the Okefenokee Swamp against mining.
And all the Riverkeepers of Georgia and Waterkeepers of Florida have written letters.
https://wwals.net/pictures/okefenokee-resolutions/
Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends, relatives, and business associates to do the same.
And you can contact those Representatives directly.
Part of the Okefenokee Swamp is in Florida,
and all of it is upstream from Florida,
on the St. Marys River and the Suwannee River, of the Florida state song.
Floridians, please ask your Georgia friends and relatives to do that.
And you can contact those Representatives directly.
Part of the Okefenokee Swamp is in Florida,
and all of it is upstream from Florida,
on the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.
Soon these bills will be heard in the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment (HNRE).
Not this afternoon, despite an earlier rumor.
Maybe as early as Monday.
Continue reading →
These bills will not stop the current mining application before the
Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GA-EPD).
But they can stop further applications for expansion,
which will make the current application much less valuable.
And they can stop other mining applications, including by other companies using other mining methods.
The focus of these bills is Trail Ridge east of the Okefenokee Swamp,
which is in the St. Marys River Basin.
But there is no dam in the Swamp between that Basin
and the watershed of the Suwannee River, which drains about 85% of the Swamp.
Floridians, please urge your Georgia friends and family to do so.
And you can call or write the Georgia State Representatives yourself.
Remember: this is all upstream from Florida.
The company that proposes to strip mine too near the Okefenokee Swamp for titanium dioxide, which is primarily used for white paint,
is still under
a Florida Consent Order
for violations it caused when it was processing tailings at one of Chemours’ Florida mines.
So please ask your Georgia State Representatives to support these bills, and other methods of preventing mining near the Okefenokee Swamp. Continue reading →
At least The Great Swamp called Owaquaphenogaw is pretty obvious: the Okefenokee Swamp.
Since the only river that is shown running south from the swamp is the one under the E in East Florida, which goes by a town called S. Juan, that looks like a good bet.
But maybe not.
![[Where does southwest Waycross drain? Through Lees Branch, into Middle Fork, Suwannee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-23--waycross-sw-drain/fbmany.jpg)
![[Map: SW from Brunel Street --SRWT 2025-11-23]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-11-23--waycross-sw-drain/2025-11-23--map-sw-from-brunel-st-srwt.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Swamp by Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, 2025-09-11]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-webinar-video/fbmany.jpg)
![[Explore the Okefenokee NWR, Veronica Kelley-Summers, a WWALS Webinar by Zoom, Thursday, September 11, noon-1 PM]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-09-11--okefenokee-swamp-unique-headwaters/many.jpg)
![[Miners bought out near Okefenokee Swamp 2025-06-20, Twin Pines Minerals, by The Conservation Fund]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-06-20--okefenokee-land-deal-tpm-conservation-fund/fbmany.jpg)
![[The Okefenokee: C.R. Pendleton on The Trembling Earth, The Times, Valdosta, Ga. 1890-02-08]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1890-02-08--okefenokee-pendleton/many.jpg)
![[Speakers on Okefenokee Bills, GA HNRE Comm. 2025-03-03, No action by Crossover Day, But already introduced for 2026]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-03-03--ga-hnre-committee-okefenokee-bills-pictures/fbmany.jpg)
![[Georgia House Committee Meeting 2025-03-03 1 PM, on Okefenokee Bills, Natural Resources and the Environment]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-03-03--ga-hnre-okefenokee-bills/fbmany.jpg)
![[Okefenokee Bills, city & county resolutions, GA House Committee, Natural Resources & Environment]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-02-26--ga-hnre-okefenokee-bills/fbmany.jpg)
![[Two Georgia House bills introduced to protect the Okefenokee Swamp, February 20, 2025]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2025-02-20--ga-okefenokee-bills/fbmany.jpg)
![[Where is the Suwannee River? Map of East and West Florida, An account ...natural history of Florida, by William Roberts, 1763]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1763-01-01--florida-map/fbmany.jpg)