By Logan C. Ritchie
Oh, Okefenokee
Adamah, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America, is celebrating a small victory after the announcement that Twin Pines Minerals, the company trying to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp, has agreed to sell its land in South Georgia to The Conservation Fund for $60 million.
Adamah ATL Advisory Board Member Josh Marks has been instrumental in mobilizing Jewish Georgians to protect the swampland. As the president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, Marks collaborated with local students, rabbis, and families to campaign for this water protection win.
Marks said the fight is not over.
“There are still more than 20,000 acres of land along the swamp’s edge that are vulnerable to mining and which need to be protected. The best way to accomplish that is for the legislature to finally pass the Okefenokee Protection Act, which would prohibit the issuance of mining permits along the entirety of the swamp’s eastern boundary. Citizens should contact their state legislators and urge them to support the OPA during the next session,” he said.
Adamah’s Clara Camber added: “Jewish texts tell us how important it is to protect the natural world and prevent needless destruction and waste (bal tashchit).”