#swamp conservation

[thatsleepymermaid]

On Friday, the Georgia EPD granted permits to Twin Pines to strip-mine three miles from Okefenokee Swamp. This will be a "demonstration mine" of 600 acres digging out titanium dioxide, staurolite, and zircon. I cannot state how disappointed I am in my own state's environmental department to approve something so damaging to our natural wetland. The Okefenokee is the largest blackwater swamp in North America and one of the most endangered rivers in America. Hopefully, John Ossoff will block it again as he did back in 2022.

If you are looking for ways to help go ahead and check out 100miles.org and Georgia River Network.

[reasonsforhope]

"When considering the great victories of America’s conservationists, we tend to think of the sights and landscapes emblematic of the West, but there’s also a rich history of acknowledging the value of the wetlands of America’s south.

These include such vibrant ecosystems as the Everglades, the Great Dismal Swamp, the floodplains of the Congaree River, and “America’s Amazon” also known as the “Land Between the Rivers”—recently preserved forever thanks to generous donors and work by the Nature Conservancy (TNC).

With what the TNC described as an “unprecedented gift,” 8,000 acres of pristine wetlands where the Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers join, known as the Mobile Delta, were purchased for the purpose of conservation for $15 million. The owners chose to sell to TNC rather than to the timber industry which planned to log in the location.

“This is one of the most important conservation victories that we’ve ever been a part of,” said Mitch Reid, state director for The Nature Conservancy in Alabama.

The area is filled with oxbow lakes, creeks, and swamps alongside the rivers, and they’re home to so many species that it ranks as one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, such that Reid often jokes that while it has rightfully earned the moniker “America’s Amazon” the Amazon should seriously consider using the moniker “South America’s Mobile.”

“This tract represents the largest remaining block of land that we can protect in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. First and foremost, TNC is doing this work for our fellow Alabamians who rightly pride themselves on their relationship with the outdoors,” said Reid, who told Advance Local that it can connect with other protected lands to the north, in an area called the Red Hills.

“Conservation lands in the Delta positions it as an anchor in a corridor of protected lands stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Appalachian Mountains and has long been a priority in TNC’s ongoing efforts to establish resilient and connected landscapes across the region.”

At the moment, no management plan has been sketched out, but TNC believes it must allow the public to use it for recreation as much as possible.

The money for the purchase was provided by a government grant and a generous, anonymous donor, along with $5.2 million from the Holdfast Collective—the conservation funding body of Patagonia outfitters."

Video via Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, August 7, 2020

Article via Good News Network, February 14, 2024

[wachinyeya]

'The Largest Environmental Restoration in History' Continues to Restart the Heart of the Everglades https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/the-largest-environmental-restoration-in-history-continues-to-restart-the-heart-of-the-everglades/

[rebeccathenaturalist]

My latest Rainy Rambles column in the Coast Weekend paper is a love letter to the various sorts of wetlands found around Willapa Bay. Even if you don't plan to visit them any time soon, come get a virtual glimpse of what makes me love these dynamic, essential ecosystems so much. (Bonus: you get to learn the difference between a swamp, a marsh, a bog, and a fen!)

[fluttermouse]

protect swamps

Looking out at the stars from inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Stephen C. Foster State Park sits inside the Refuge; it was designated as an International Dark Sky Park a few years ago. It's one of the best places in the Southeast for stargazing!

[bones-n-bookles]

Books from a lil bookstore! Went with @petrichorpaws and our friend who owns Nike, the Leonberger pictured <3

I bought;

The Beast You Are, by Paul Tremblay

> I want more fiction to read, and like. Look at it. Look at that title. I had to.

Soil: The Story of A Black Mother's Garden, by Camille T Dungy

> gardening, connecting with nature, diversity in nature, diversity in people, and learning more about POC are all things I love adding to my library and skill set. I'm slowly working on adding more non-animal focused books to my collection, currently primarily stuff on race and trans people

Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, The Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West, by Michael Punke

> conservation and American history book! While bison specifically aren't my interest, their history is incredibly worth studying and something I want to learn more about, and conservation books in general I always find something worthwhile and important in, even in animals and plants I have no particular interest in. History is another topic I'm slowly adding to my library, primarily focused on the Americas and Russia

Indigenous Continent, by Pekka Hämäläinen

> INCREDIBLY relatedly, looking at American history through a very different lens, focusing on indigenous perspective instead. Incredibly excited to read this one in particular

Fen, Bog, and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis, by Annie Proulx

> more conservation and history! I know very little about peatland, it's not something I've got much experience with being from central California, so eager to learn more

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

> petrichorpaws suggested this one and the blurb on the back immediately had my attention! I don't read much fiction, much less non-animal related fiction, but I want to make an effort to branch out to it, and a friend's suggestion is one of my favorite places to start <3

Nike's owner also insisted on buying us some candles, I got three of them (The Writer, Enemies to Lovers, and Book Boyfriend), and surprised me with getting a book me and petrichorpaws were both ogling but didn't buy;

Stories from Bird Banding; Comics and photographs from the field, by Aya Rothwell

[dendrochronologies]

an under-represented aspect of siblinghood is knowing that 5:20am isn't too early to argue over plant identification

[statelytrees]

Botany-Blitz at Kingsville Swamp

[thatsleepymermaid]

Hey y'all! The Twin Pines Mining company seems to be moving towards strip mining the Okefenokee for titanium. We have until April 9th to leave a public comment to save the swamp!!

The Okefenokee is one of the last pristine Black Water Swamps in America. This strip mine will spell disaster for the wildlife and the people in the swamp.

Please please please leave a public comment about this and please visit this website for a list of things you can do to save the swamp.

[kisstheashes]

I keep thinking about how cool the Dead City prologue will be rewritten to be in the hot, humid bayous rather than the dead of winter in Britian.

But, uh, does anyone have any videos/documentaries ect about the wildlife in the Louisiana bayous? I prefer video for this so I can actually SEE what is being talked about, so I can describe it better.

[environmentalwatch]

Okefenokee Swamp At Risk, Says Lawsuit

Army Corps of Engineers Bends to Private Drilling Demands in Okefenokee

An Okefenokee mine in Georgia is the center of a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers over lax oversight. Twin Pines Minerals intends to move ahead with mining titanium dioxide near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, a large nature refuge in Georgia. The refuge includes most of the Okefenokee Swamp, which sits in a large geological ‘bowl’ formed by the rock beneath the swamp, rock…

[love-elizabeth]

Perfect skies over the wetlands. 💙 🐊 💚 #explorida #roamflorida #igersflorida #southflorida #pureflorida #florida #passionpassport #travelawesome #fun_in_florida #LoveFL #nature #naturelovers #nature_brilliance #delraybeach #floridainside #wakodahatcheewetlands #swamp #wetlands #conservation #wildlife #soflo #travelstoke #worldplaces #beautifuldestinations #visitdelraybeach #worldcaptures #outsideisfree #ExploreSouthFlorida https://www.instagram.com/p/Biu2BzigL1Z/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[fluttermouse]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kyle Morgan (@k.morganartistry)

protect swamps

[liberalsarecool]

When MAGA/GOP talk about Deep State corruption or DC swamps to drain, they are talking about the Roberts' conservative justices.

These are not impartial legal minds. They are Republican operatives bought and paid for.

[deconstructthesoup]

Personal Ranking of the Fantasy High Moms, From Worst to Best:

Arianwen Abernant: -19999/10. She's not as bad as Angwyn, since she's convinced herself she's a good mother, but her "I just want the best for you" shtick isn't any better, and the fact that she's ignorant about how horrible she is doesn't make up for years of neglect. And she also attempted to rope her daughters into raising a being of pure nightmares because she lost her status, so.

Donna Applebees: 0/10. Conservative, racist, judgmental, only loves her kids conditionally... you get the gist. Also, she's absolutely a Karen.

Hallariel Seacaster: 3/10. Yes, I know, she's a MILF, she's got such an iconic vibe, she's a badass with a sword, but none of that excuses years of being emotionally absent from your son's life. She's not a bad person, but she unfortunately doesn't know how to be a mom. Sorry, Hallariel. I wish I could rank you higher.

The Last Phoenix: 5/10. Bird. She's a bird. We don't know enough about her except for the fact that she is the last phoenix, she started out as a "haha Arthur Aguefort is a crazy motherfucker" gag, and she gave us the incredible gift that is Ayda. I cannot rank her fairly, but given that she is Ayda's mom, she goes on the list.

Roz Last-Name-Unknown: 6/10. Same deal with Gorbag---we don't know enough about her for me to properly rank her, but we do know that she was a teen mom, and she's made the choice to reconnect with her son and be in his life. Props for that.

Sandralynn Faeth: 7.5/10. I am ranking her realistically, but let it be known that I love her so much. She is such a beautiful example of a flawed person who consistently tries to be better, and even though she does relapse into old behaviors, she's still growing---and outside of the serial cheating (that is a response to trauma, by the way) and occasional lapses in social skills, she's a pretty damn good mom, all things considered.

Cathilda Ceili: 8/10. She's the parent that Fabian needed, even if he didn't always realize it. She's sweet, she's caring, and if anybody hurts her boy, she will fucking rock your shit. (Also, the reveal of Cathilda being an incredibly fearsome and ruthless pirate outside of Solace was one of my favorites.)

Wilma Thistlespring: 9/10. She's a caring and supportive mom who writes songs, is sex-positive, and loves her son! Again, she does need to recognize when she's embarrassing Gorgug, and she needs to recognize that he's gotta learn how to be angry, but still! We all love her!

Lydia Barkrock: 9.6/10. While she doesn't quite get the full score due to the fact that her son was briefly an ass, it clearly was not her fault, and from what we've seen of her, she is a fantastic mom. She's a badass disabled powerhouse who cooks incredible spreads and cares about her son and his friends a lot. I love her a lot. She's amazing.

Sklonda Gukgak: 10/10. She took that spot in her very first scene, where she poured water in her cereal so Riz could have milk in his, and she's been holding it up ever since. Despite the fact that she's constantly swamped with work, Sklonda is literally one of the best moms you could ever ask for. She deserves the world and it's a constant injustice that she's not getting it.

Bonus: Garthy O'Brien, while having transcended gender and therefore not being able to fit into either of the "mom/dad" rankings, is an 11/10 parent---not just to Ayda, but to everyone younger than them who they've essentially adopted. Words cannot express my adoration for this person.