BUSAN, South Korea — When the quest to add the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to the World Heritage List began in 1982, no one could have predicted it would take more than four decades to complete.
But Saturday night, the long endeavor culminated in a celebration in a hotel ballroom overlooking one of Asia’s most popular beaches.
It was clear the Georgia contingent that traveled to South Korea to get the Okefenokee’s bid over the line felt that they — and the swamp — were finally where they were meant to be.
“After 44 years, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is where it belongs,” Kim Bednarek, the driving force behind the nomination, told a room of swamp lovers, scientists and board members of the nonprofit she leads, Okefenokee Swamp Park.
Credit: Hwawon Ceci Lee
Credit: Hwawon Ceci Lee
The World Heritage Committee added the Okefenokee to its distinguished list Saturday afternoon at its annual meeting in Busan, a city of more than 3 million on South Korea’s southeast coast.
In joining the list, the Okefenokee enters the rarified air of iconic places like the Galápagos Islands and the pyramids of Giza. The designation also gives Georgia its first World Heritage site and the U.S. its first natural site added in more than 30 years.
But those who pushed for the designation are not declaring “mission accomplished.”
They say their journey, both to protect the refuge and deliver on their vision of the swamp as a regional economic driver, is only just beginning.
The Okefenokee is one of the best preserved wetland ecosystems on Earth, but it does not enjoy the name-brand recognition of many of its peers on the list — especially outside of Georgia and North Florida.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Advocates for World Heritage believe the swamp’s new status as one of the planet’s premier wildlife destinations can bring new visitors and dollars to a part of the state that badly needs both.
But accomplishing that goal, without compromising the pristine nature that draws people to the swamp in the first place, will require balancing economic and ecological interests, along with concerns of some local residents. And as they embark on their new quest, it’s also possible old foes — namely mines — could rear their heads once again.
Those with experience around other World Heritage sites say now is when the hard work begins.
“There’s an enormous amount to do and a real challenge to keep this place the way it is,” Cyril Kormos, a consultant on the Okefenokee’s nomination team, said in a speech at the celebration Saturday in Busan.
Aiming to bring prosperity
It’s no secret rural parts of the Peach State have faced economic headwinds. But few areas have struggled more in recent years than Charlton, Clinch and Ware counties, the three southeast Georgia counties that contain portions of the Okefenokee.
All three counties rank in the bottom third of the state for per capita income, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey from 2024, the most recent year available.
At the same time, their populations have not grown like in other parts of the state. U.S. Census data shows that while Georgia’s population statewide grew 16% between 2009 and 2024, the three counties grew at a combined rate of just 1.2%.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The combination of lagging incomes and scant population growth is in part why some locals embraced a mine proposed on the Okefenokee’s doorstep. Before the land owned by an Alabama company behind the mining proposal was acquired last year, the project had promised to bring hundreds of full-time jobs to the area.
The leaders behind the World Heritage initiative also aim to bring prosperity to the region, but to do it far differently, through tourism and education with the Okefenokee at the center.
With its new World Heritage status, the the Conservation Fund nonprofit has projected the Okefenokee could see annual visitors rise to between 1.4 million and 1.6 million by 2035, up from about 800,000 a year today.
But getting there will not be easy.
None of the three entrances to the swamp are located near a major highway, meaning a visit requires a detour for many travelers. There’s also the heat and the bugs, which can be unpleasant in the summer months.
Meanwhile, others have questioned whether increased tourism will alter what has drawn visitors to the swamp for generations: its remote, unspoiled nature.
Josh Howard, who’s been visiting the swamp since he was a child and now works for the refuge’s official concessionaire partner in Folkston, also believes the refuge can handle more visitors without losing its untamed beauty. Today, only a tiny fraction of the refuge’s roughly 400,000 acres are accessible, even by boat or canoe.
“None of us want to see so many people in the swamp that it takes away from it,” Howard said.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Jonathan Putnam, a retired National Park Service official who helped shepherd U.S. nominations to the World Heritage List for years, said he’s seen other sites manage to harness their newfound prominence. He cited as a success story the San Antonio Missions, which after its addition to the World Heritage List created its own World Heritage Center to offer tours and educational programs.
“It’s up to them, but I think they can look around the globe and find examples,” Putnam said.
As they try to deliver on their promises, the Okefenokee’s World Heritage leaders say they are not starting from scratch.
Bednarek, the executive director of both Okefenokee Swamp Park and Okefenokee Adventures, said a regional brand is in development for the tricounty swamp region.
At the same time, plans are already underway to expand visitor capacity and educational offerings around the swamp. Her team is also raising funds to build a new nature center in Waycross on the swamp’s north end, and exploring other renovations and expansions near the refuge’s eastern and western entrances.
Bednarek said she and her partners are committed to keeping the Okefenokee wild while ensuring the region maintains its small-town culture.
“This is not the finish line,” she said.
Specter of mining remains
While World Heritage can raise the profile of a site, the fact remains it provides no new legal protections. In the Okefenokee’s case, the threat of mining remains urgent to many conservationists.
Over the years, the swamp has faced two attempts to mine the sand dunes on its eastern flank known as Trail Ridge — first in the 1990s, then again as recently as last year. Both were beaten back by determined environmental opposition and conservation funding.
No new proposals have emerged since then, but tens of thousands of acres next to the swamp are privately owned and could, in theory, be mined if a company were to clear necessary state or federal permitting hurdles.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Joe Hopkins, the president of Toledo Manufacturing Co., a prominent timber company that has flirted in the past with mining land it owns near the swamp, said he hopes World Heritage brings the economic growth to the region that’s been advertised.
“Only time will tell,” Hopkins said.
But environmentalists are already plotting to head off any plans to mine, should they emerge.
Josh Marks, a longtime opponent of mining near the refuge and the president of Georgians for the Okefenokee, said state legislators and Gov. Brian Kemp need to back a ban on new mining on Trail Ridge.
“Our country’s newest World Heritage Site deserves nothing less,” Marks said.
A spokesperson for Kemp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
— Data reporter Jennifer Peebles contributed to this report.
A note of disclosure
The James M. Cox Foundation, the charitable arm of Cox Enterprises, is providing financial and logistical support for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge’s UNESCO World Heritage bid. The foundation was also part of a group of philanthropic organizations that helped finance the acquisition of property owned by Twin Pines Minerals, which had planned to mine the eastern edge of the swamp. Cox Enterprises owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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