Georgia County Government - March 2009 - (Page 11)

SOUTHEAST GEORGIA continued from page 9 transportation access, lower costs, and good available workforce, leaders say. “Keeping Wal-Mart operational are some 2,500 trucks coming in and out of Douglas, without a single interstate directly on-site. But that’s OK, because there are several primary interstates within one hour going in most any direction. It’s called successful logistics,” notes Lace Futch, Southeast Georgia Regional Development Center (RDC) executive director of the past 18 years. Tecumseh Industries followed WalMart’s locating in Coffee County, but business took a different trajectory for Tecumseh, which closed operations to relocate overseas in 2003. The region still feels the negative impact that the loss of 1,000 Tecumseh jobs, but other opportunities have arisen. in Coffee County. Other firms have moved into Southeast Georgia from Florida, too, having found the Sunshine State too expensive. Elixar Industries, a major manufacturer of premium drinking water, shut down its Florida plant in favor of a move to Coffee County. Southeast Georgia has also benefitted as businesses have sought relief from the expense and congestion of major metro regions like Atlanta or Jacksonville. Mattress-maker Simmons moved operations to Waycross out of Atlanta and Jacksonville; Sherrod Vans moved from SOUTHEAST GEORGIA continued on page 13 Hard-to-Beat Benefits for Business Roger Boatright is the new chairman of Bacon County, but most local officials in the state know him as the longtime mayor of Alma and a former president of the Georgia Municipal Association. He points out that this region, as often as any in the Southeast, has seen northern firms shut down operations in their home states to “move south,” bringing jobs and investment. American Insulated Wire Corp. closed its Connecticut operations to open a 35,00-square-foot warehouse Okefenokee’s ‘Land of the Trembling Earth’ he term “swamp” is accurate, but hardly does the Okefenokee justice. The Okefenokee Swamp and National Wildlife Refuge is one of the oldest and best preserved freshwater wetlands in North America. Established in 1936 by the federal government to preserve the 438,000acre swamp and its unique habitat, the refuge encompasses approximately 402,000 acres outside Waycross, extending 38 miles nor t h to south and 25 miles east to west. In 1974, to further ensure its protection, the interior 353,981 acres of the refuge were designated a National Wilderness Area. The Okefenokee is best experienced by canoe; and a canoe trip through the swamp ranks as one of the most memorable adventures you can have in Georgia. A tremendous draw for tourism, it’s a popular attraction for outdoor enthusiasts, an educational field trip for students, and the ecosystem continues to be of ongoing interest to ecological research. Its scenic legacy is due in no small part to its semi-tropical flora and fauna. The Okefenokee is home to thousands of species of plants and animals unique to the fragile southeastern swamp ecosystem, many of which are protected and/or endangered. The swamp contains numerous islands and T lakes, vast areas of non-forested habitat and prairies covering about 60,000 acres. Once forested, these expanses of marsh grew during periods of drought when fires burned out vegetation and upper layers of peat. The prairies harbor a variety of wading birds: herons, egrets, ibises, cranes and bitterns. And, of course, the alligator is also among permanent residents. Ancient Beginnings Named “Okefenokee” – translated as “land of the trembling earth” – by native tribes hundreds of years prior to European settlements, the region is predominated by rich peat deposits, up to 15-feet thick and unstable in spots, causing trees and surrounding bushes to “tremble” if you employ a strong footfall. The reason for this is the swamp is an expansive “bog” lying within the boundaries of a large depression that was once part of the ocean floor. The slow-moving waters of the swamp derive their amber color, which looks black from the canoe, from tannic acid released by decaying vegetation. The swamp’s main outlet is the Suwannee River, beginning in the depths of the Okefenokee and flowing southwest into the Gulf of Mexico. Southeasterly, it drains to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Mary’s River. Indigenous people inhabited the Okefenokee region as early as 2500 B.C., and the last Native American tribe to seek sanctuary here was the Seminole. Troops led by Gen. Charles R. Floyd during the Second Seminole War, 183842, ended the age of the Native Americans as the primary inhabitants of the Okefenokee. The Suwannee Canal Company purchased 238,120 acres of the Okefenokee Swamp from the State of Georgia in 1891 to drain it to cultivate rice, sugar cane and cotton. When this failed, the company began industrial wetland logging, resulting in crews digging the Suwannee Canal 11.5 miles into the swamp. Economic depression led to the company’s bankruptcy and eventual sale in 1901. Cypress logging 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. ■ MARCH 2009 www.accg.org 11 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2009

Georgia County Government - March 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Focus on Southeast Georgia The Georgia Public Service Commission Jerry R. Griffin MPA Scholarship Recipients Named Extension News Research Corner Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2009

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