Agency approves expanding Okefenokee wildlife refuge, setting up possible buyout of mining project

A federal agency has approved an expansion of the Okefenokee Swamp's vast wildlife refuge. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's announcement Friday could lead to a buyout offer for property that would otherwise be used for mining project that conservationists have fought for years. The agency said it's approved plans for a 22,000-acre expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge at the Georgia-Florida line. The plan includes land held by Twin Pines Minerals. The company is close to obtaining a permit to mine minerals to produce titanium dioxide just outside the swamp's edge. Conservationists say this could do irreparable harm.