Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Georgia and Florida, United States
Nearest city	Folkston, Georgia
Coordinates	30°44′11″N 82°07′19″W / 30.7363429°N 82.1220627°W / 30.7363429; -82.1220627[1]
Area	402,000 acres (1,627 km2)
Established	1937
Visitors	400,000 (in 2007)
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Ramsar Wetland
Designated	18 December 1986
Reference no.	350[2]

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is a 402,000‑acre (1,627 km²) National Wildlife Refuge located in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties of Georgia, and Baker County in Florida, United States. The refuge is administered from offices in Folkston, Georgia. The refuge was established in 1937 to protect a majority of the 438,000 acre (1,772 km²) Okefenokee Swamp.^[3][4] Though often translated as "land of trembling earth", the name "Okefenokee" is likely derived from Hitchiti oki fanôːki "bubbling water".^[5]

Nearly 400,000 people visit the refuge each year, making it the 16th most visited refuge in the National Wildlife Refuge System.^[3] It is the largest in acreage of any that is not located in a western state. In 1999, the economic impact of tourism in Charlton, Ware, and Clinch Counties in Georgia exceeded $67 million.^[3] The refuge has a staff of 16 with a fiscal year 2005 budget of $1,451,000.^[6] The refuge also administers the Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge.