Introduction
Okefenokee Swamp, located on the southeastern border of Georgia, is a vast
bog inside a huge, saucer-shaped depression that was once part of the ocean floor.
Okefenokee was the early European settler’s translation of the Native American words
meaning “Land of Trembling Earth.” It was named this because of the peat deposits, up
to fifteen feet thick, that cover much of the swamp floor. These deposits are so
unstable in spots that one can cause trees and surrounding bushes to tremble by
stomping on the surface.
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The Okefenokee Swamp formed thousands of years ago, and for many of those
years it was a natural, untouched habitat for a variety of plants and animals.
Initially the swamp was settled and used by early Native Americans but the
encroachment of European settlers and industry began to threaten the swamp’s
existence. From 1891 till 1895 the Suwannee Canal Company unsuccessfully
attempted to drain the swamp and from 1908 to 1927 the Hebard Cypress Company
cut down many of the swamp’s 400-900 year old cypress trees. This extreme
habitat disruption combined with exhaustive hunting forced many native birds,
reptiles, and animals out of the swamp.
In order to prevent further destruction and preserve the 438,000 acre
Okefenokee Swamp, U.S. Congress established the Okefenokee National Wildlife
Refuge in 1937. Presently, the refuge encompasses approximately 396,000 acres.
In 1974, to further ensure the protection of this unique ecosystem, Georgia
Congressmen W.S. (Bill) Stuckey and Ronald (Bo) Ginn were able to pass a bill
that designated the interior 353,981 acres of the refuge a National Wilderness
Area. The swamp remains one of the oldest and most well preserved freshwater
areas in America and extends 38 miles north to south and 25 miles east to west.
Logging and Government Response
The Suwanee Canal Company Purchased 238,120 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp
from the State of Georgia in 1891. The aim of the company was to drain the
swamp for rice, sugar cane, and cotton plantations. The project failed due to
bad engineering, inclement weather, and a poor labor force. The company then
began industrial wetland logging as a source of income. Captain Henry Jackson
and his crews spent three years years digging the Suwanee Canal 11.5 miles into
the swamp. Economic recessions led to the company’s bankruptcy and eventual sale
to Charles Hebard in 1901. Logging operations, focusing on the cypress, began
in 1909 after a railroad was constructed on the northwest area of the swamp.
More than 431 million board feet of timber were removed from the Okefenokee by
1927, when logging operations ceased. In 1937 President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and the U.S. Congress successfully established the Okefenokee National Wildlife
Refuge in order to preserve the 438,000 acre Okefenokee Swamp.
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In 1967 the federal government proposed a bill that would turn the Okefenokee
Wildlife Refuge into a Wilderness Area, which would impose stricter rules for
visitors and surrounding areas of the swamp. At that time the federal government
already owned 300,000 acres but this bill included the additional purchase of 75,000
acres that constituted a number of timber and revenue producing land. Although
most Georgians accepted the inclusion of the initial 300,000 acres in the
Wilderness Area, many opposed incorporation of the additional 75,000 acres. The
bill underwent numerous revisions before it was signed into law. Lawmakers
sought a balance between protecting nature and providing access to the public,
for example, the final bill required that motorboats in the swamp to be low
powered in order to cut down on noise pollution and potential harm to plants and
wildlife, but also ensured that tourists could visit the park. Congressman W.S.
(Bill) Stuckey and Ronald (Bo) Ginn worked with Congress to refine and perfect
the language of the bill. Today, approximately 80 percent of the swamp is
federally protected as the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness
Area, and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
