The Okefenokee Swamp is one of America’s most treasured wetlands—but the debate over mining on its edge is about more than conservation headlines. It’s about private property rights, rural livelihoods, and the families who have stewarded this land for generations. In this episode, host Michelle Cain sits down with Joe Hopkins of Toledo Manufacturing, a multigenerational forest company managing land near the swamp for over a century. From wildfire battles and timber markets to the tensions between environmental advocacy and local realities, Joe offers a rare, ground-level perspective on what it means to be a forest landowner in the shadow of the Okefenokee.