The Okefenokee Swamp is dear to Larry Woodward, deputy manager of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, even though he has only spent three of his 30-year career on its waters.
“It is beautiful, unique, and pristine,” he says. “It is still in its natural state, with the hydrology intact like it was 7,000 years ago when the ocean waters receded.” It’s pristine because of its clean water, and the peat below, which is a big carbon sink. “The amount of carbon stored in the peat-filled depths is monumental, the peat encapsulating over 140 million metric tons of carbon and 514 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, comparable to almost 8% of the annual U.S emissions of CO2.”
“Over 620 plant species demonstrate that it is intact and clean,” Woodward says. “Fall is spectacular with all the cypress trees turning brilliant orange.”
Woodward gets out of the office as much as he can, taking bird surveys, checking trails, and managing projects. When he does, he takes his camera. Woodward is soft-spoken, but his photos speak volumes.
“If you are patient and observant, you will see so much,” he says.
Surprises abound, a small green anole hiding in a carnivorous pitcher plant Woodward photographed recently. “It was in the middle of the swamp, in the middle of a prairie. How did it get all the way out there? That is why I love taking photos,” he says.
