Dear Editor,
With great interest, the articles concerning the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge written by the columnist Dick Yarbrough have been followed by our family. Many do not realize that a native of Jones County, Joe Morton, was the manager from the mid ’50s until his retirement in the 1960s.
During that time land was purchased to build the perimeter road around the swamp to hold fire within the government property and protect the adjoining landowners’ homes and timber. Part of that road is the trail ridge referred to in his columns. Even though the swamp has been designated a UNESCO Heritage site, the adjoining landowners can still affect the swamp by how the land is used. It’s not just the swamp that is influenced by this but the Suwanee and Saint Mary’s Rivers whose headwaters are the Okefenokee.
Sincerely, Marguerite M. May
