More than 600,000 people visit the Okefenokee Swamp annually, and the number of visitors and residents is on the rise. This growth is critical for thriving communities but can result in unintended negative impacts on wildlife and their habitats. As part of our work in the Okefenokee Swamp with the iconic American alligator, we are committed to taking proactive measures to encourage social and economic prosperity while protecting our beautiful and uniquely biodiverse ecosystem. To be successful in this commitment, it will take the support of stakeholders and communities to ensure that it can all grow in parallel and balanced ways. When this balance is lost, our large wildlife predators, who are simultaneously feared and admired, tend to be the ones displaced. Removal of our ecosystem’s natural predators is often due to a misunderstanding that this elimination is necessary for people’s safety. However, it leaves us with irreparable changes to our ecosystem’s balance, and we lose an incredible and unique aspect of our natural, southern heritage.
In this episode of Brave Wilderness, Keeva Kase and the Communities of Coastal Georgia are credited with providing funds for the GPS tracker.