LAKE CITY, Fla. -- Conservationists say a proposed mining project near the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge poses a real risk for the more than 400,000-acre protected area.

It's the largest wildlife refuge east of the Mississippi, and it protects thousands of species.

A Trump administration rollback of federal wetland and waterway protections has removed a hurdle for Twin Pines Minerals, which intends to mine roughly 8,000 acres of the Trail Ridge for titanium.

But Christian Hunt, southeast representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said the Trail Ridge is a natural dam that plays a critical hydrological role, ensuring water is stored and flowing.

"It would result in a degradation of air and water quality," Hunt contended. "It would impact the wilderness and recreational appeal of one of our last great places here in the Southeast."

Hunt explained the Okefenokee is the last self-sustaining, large-scale wetland in the lower 48 states.

He added other wetlands, such as the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina and the Everglades in Florida, have been compromised by industrial and agricultural development.

The Trump rollbacks removed protections for roughly 400 acres of Okefenokee-adjacent wetlands previously covered under the Clean Water Act.

This means Twin Pines' mining project requires no federal oversight, although Hunt pointed out they do still need state permits. Hunt remarked the company has a history of environmental noncompliance.

"Twin Pines, in short, is trying to avail itself of illegal rollbacks under the Trump administration," Hunt contended.

Hunt said the Okefenokee, located in North Florida and Southeastern Georgia, is among the top ten most-visited wildlife refuges in the country, and an economic anchor, contributing millions of dollars to the four counties surrounding it, including Baker County in Florida.

He urged concerned citizens to reach out to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD).

"Hold the Trump administration accountable," Hunt emphasized. "And then also encourage Georgia EPD to do right by this project, and to take action that's commensurate with the value of the resource at stake."

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- A federal court agreed with conservationists this week, ordering winter feeding of elk on the Bridger-Teton National Forest requires additional environmental review.

The court ruled that two feedgrounds were not properly permitted, in part because the U.S. Forest Service had not evaluated the potential for disease transmission when large numbers of animals congregate in close quarters.

Connie Wilbert, director of the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, explained the growing concern.

"Chronic wasting disease has now been documented in mule deer and elk right around these feedgrounds," Wilbert reported. "It's literally on the doorstep."

Chronic wasting disease affects the central nervous system of deer, elk and moose, and is always fatal.

Wyoming's powerful livestock industry pushed to keep winter feedgrounds as a tool to mitigate against encounters with wildlife in low-elevation ranges, and to protect hay stores. Some outfitters also see feedgrounds as a way to keep herd numbers high.

Wilbert countered reliance on feedgrounds is both outdated and risks outbreaks of chronic wasting disease throughout the Yellowstone ecosystem, which could wipe out entire herds.

She noted there are proven alternatives, including fencing, to keep elk away from hay stores.

"They want to reduce competition from wildlife for forage," Wilbert contended. "And it's important to know that a lot of that is on public land, and we believe that wildlife should be allowed to access historic winter range."

The court found the Forest Service improperly permitted feeding elk at Alkali Creek and Dell Creek, and the claims made by the agency in defending its decisions were "implausible" and "unreasonable." The court also ruled feeding must stop at Dell Creek, which has been operating without a valid permit since 2017.

MONTEREY BAY, Calif. - This week, conservation groups are celebrating Sea Otter Awareness Week with online and in-person events across the state.

Historically, the Pacific Rim supported between 150,000 and 300,000 sea otters, but the population is now estimated at about 106,000.

Andrew Johnson, California representative with the nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife, said 16,000 endangered southern sea otters once roamed the California coast. Now, only about 3,000 animals are left, mostly between Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

"But they're still struggling," said Johnson. "Their numbers are stagnant. They aren't expanding their range north or south, and haven't for the last two decades."

Great white sharks are a threat to the sea otter. But Johnson said human activity does more harm, especially the pollutants and agricultural runoff that end up in the ocean.

You can check out the list of sea otter events this week online, at 'Defenders.org.'

Sea otters were all but wiped out from Northern California waters during the fur trade of the 1800 and 1900s.

Johnson said sea otters are a keystone species - without them, the ecosytem is thrown out of balance. And climate change is warming the ocean, exacerbating the problem.

"Over the last seven or eight years with the warming ocean waters, the so-called 'blob' along the West coast," said Johnson, "sea star die offs, urchin overgrowth, overgrazing on kelp - the system along our shoreline in California is in a rough spot."

Conservation groups are hoping to expand a successful program pioneered at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where biologists rescued abandoned or orphaned sea otter pups, raised them with a surrogate mother, and released them into Elkhorn Slough.

In the future they hope to jumpstart new colonies in Northern California.

TUCSON, Ariz. - The battle against copper mining the Santa Rita Mountains outside of Tucson continues - even though the feds just handed a victory to environmental groups.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just rejected a bid by a Canadian mining company, Hudbay Minerals, to remove critical-habitat designation for jaguars from 50,000 acres - the proposed site of the company's open-pit Rosemont mine.

Gayle Hartmann, president of the nonprofit Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, said Hudbay now plans to explore the other side of the mountain - the west side.

"The biggest problem on the west side is that it's largely not public land, it's private land," said Hartmann. "It's their mining claims, and they have bought more private land. So, they're trying to avoid federal law by sticking to their private lands."

In 2019, Hudbay lost a court case that halted preparations for the Rosemont mine, but that is now under appeal. The company, which did not respond to a request for comment by deadline, has invested tens of millions of dollars in its mining claims in the Santa Rita Mountains.

Hartmann said she wants to see the area returned to the Coronado National Forest in pristine condition.

"What we're looking forward to ultimately is that there would be sufficient funds," said Hartmann, "through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, perhaps - to buy out their private land and turn this back into a national forest without mining claims on it."

Only a handful of jaguars still remain in the mountains of southern Arizona. Sportsmen and ranchers have hunted them almost to extinction.

The area is considered an important wildlife corridor to lure the Mexican jaguar population back into their historic range.

Robert Peters, southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said he sees jaguars as an iconic part of the American West.

"They're a charismatic, vital part of our natural heritage that was lost," said Peters. "And it's essential that we reintroduce top predators, like the Mexican wolf and the jaguar, because they're key components to keeping ecosystems functioning well."

Peters coauthored two recent scientific papers on jaguars - one on the feasibility of reintroducing them in Arizona, and one that identifies 20 million acres of possible jaguar habitat in Arizona, much of it north of Interstate 10.