The undersigned organizations appreciate the opportunity to provide input on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) proposed expansion of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) Boundary. Our organizations represent a large and diverse cross-section of America’s agriculture, construction, energy, forestry, manufacturing, and mining sectors. Our members are vital to building a thriving national economy and are essential to achieving the nation’s critical infrastructure, supply chain, transportation, and energy goals. Our members also create much needed and good-paying jobs in communities across the country. Our members are committed to both protecting the environment and ensuring responsible development.  The proposal is the latest step in the Service’s efforts to stop a development project that it opposes but has no authority to explicitly disapprove. As such, the proposal’s finalization will set a harmful precedent by creating significant regulatory uncertainty for businesses that operate within proximity of a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The potential impacts could be significant as there are more than 571 national wildlife refuges across the country encompassing 95 million land acres and 760 million marine acres. With national refuges found in all 50 states, the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) recent blog post correctly noted that “national wildlife refuges are found from sea to shining sea, spanning almost every type of habitat imaginable.”