The Okefenokee is the first World Heritage site in Georgia.

Join us for an AMA on the Okefenokee Swamp at 10 a.m. on Thursday, August 20.

During severe droughts, alligators like this one in the Okefenokee Swamp dig deep holes to hold water. “Gator holes” mean survival not only for the alligator, but for many other plants and animals as well. (Photo: Charles Seabrook)

By AJC

1 hour ago

Late last month in South Korea, after more than four decades, Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, joining the likes of Yellowstone, Machu Picchu and the Great Barrier Reef.

“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.

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.

The journey to protect the refuge and deliver on supporters’ vision of the swamp as a regional economic driver, is only just beginning.

On Thursday, August 20, the AJC will host an AMA on r/OkefenokeeSwamp to talk about the swamp and its journey to become a World Heritage site. AMA’s (Ask Me Anything) are an hourlong live chat where Redditors can get answers to their questions on specific topics or stories in real-time.