GEORGIA RIVERS BLOG
Georgia Rivers Supports Okefenokee World Heritage Nomination
October 23, 2025
Georgia Rivers supported IUCN experts determining next steps for World Heritage designation.
Georgia Rivers executive director Rena Ann Peck spent a week at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge with experts from International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Together they toured the swamp by boat on the Okefenokee Wilderness Canoe Trails, hiked through longleaf pine forest, and studied the science of the unique ecosystem of this natural wonder.
Georgia Rivers presented new scientific research on peat within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.
Rena Ann Peck and retired Okefenokee NWR biologist Sarah Aicher dove into deeper research and calculated new estimates on the volume of peat in the Okefenokee and its significant carbon storage.
Peck and Aicher estimate a wet volume of 2 billion cubic meters of peat exists within the Okefenokee Swamp, (USFWS Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Nomination to the World Heritage List by the United States of America, 2025). This is FIVE TIMES as much as previous calculations of 401 million m3 by Cohen et al (1984)! Peck and Aicher estimate this peat stores 13 million metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of over 414 million metric tons of C02 equivalent.
We knew the Okefenokee is one of America’s largest and most important carbon sinks, and are still discovering more about the power of this peat. It is vital we protect Okefenokee’s Trail Ridge as a vital recharge source for the Okefenokee Swamp, by keeping it in forestry.
Later in the week, Rena Ann Peck joined fellow scientists to relay successful Okefenokee longleaf pine forest management. In addition to its vast size, the Okefenokee has global outstanding value, its ecosystem processes are still intact – namely water and fire.
Scientists assessed the integrity of the ecosystem and its sustainable management. At more than 400,000 acres, the size of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is certainly outstanding!
Georgia Rivers wrote a letter that highlights the overwhelming public support for World Heritage inscription, the vast biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity.