The effort to stop a dragline mining project on the fragile fringes of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and its namesake blackwater swamp is just over five years old, and Alabama-based Twin Pines Minerals LLC already has draft mining permits in hand. Despite recent efforts from the U.S.

I’d be lying if I told you I love fly fishing during the winter. Maybe, in my teens or twenties, I loved the isolation and the challenge of fishing in harsh conditions. That’s not the case now. As my predecessors explained to me years ago, a cold environment and an aging body don’t mix well. My winter fishing has grown more painful with every lap around the sun. These days, winter also doesn’t provide the solitude it once did, as more anglers take up the sport and realize that good fishing can be had even when temperatures plummet.