Notice2022-01952
U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: Moravian Church Settlements (Historic Moravian Bethlehem District)
Primary source
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Published
February 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
This notice announces the decision to request that the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, contribute to a serial transnational (multi-country) draft nomination of Moravian Church Settlements for inclusion on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The decision is the result of consultation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage and the review of public comments submitted in response to an earlier notice. This notice complies with applicable World Heritage Program regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5498-5499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01952]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-OIA-DTS-32490; PPWODIREI0-PIN00IO15.XI0000]
U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: Moravian Church
Settlements (Historic Moravian Bethlehem District)
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the decision to request that the
Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
contribute to a serial transnational (multi-country) draft nomination
of Moravian Church Settlements for inclusion on the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World
Heritage List. The decision is the result of consultation with the
Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage and the review of public
comments submitted in response to an earlier notice. This notice
complies with applicable World Heritage Program regulations.
ADDRESSES: To request paper copies of documents discussed in this
notice, contact April Brooks, Office of International Affairs, National
Park Service, 1849 C St. NW, Room 2415, Washington, DC 20240 (202) 354-
1808, or sending electronic mail (Email) to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#533223213a3f0c31213c3c3820133d23207d343c25"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="432233312a2f1c21312c2c2830032d33306d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Putnam, 202-354-1809.
Information on the U.S. World Heritage program can be found at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/worldheritage.htm">https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/worldheritage.htm</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The World Heritage List is an international list of cultural and
natural properties nominated by the signatories to the World Heritage
Convention (1972). The United States was the prime architect of the
Convention, an international treaty for preservation of natural and
cultural heritage sites of global significance. The World Heritage
Committee, composed of representatives of 21 nations periodically
elected as the governing body of the World Heritage Convention, makes
the final decisions on which nominations to accept on the World
Heritage List. There are 1,154 sites in 167 countries. Currently there
are 24 World Heritage Sites in the United States. U.S. participation
and the roles of the Department of the Interior (Department) and the
National Park Service (NPS) are authorized by Title IV of the Historic
Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 and conducted in accordance with 36
CFR part 73--World Heritage Convention. Each State Party to the
Convention maintains a Tentative List, periodically updated, of
properties that are considered suitable for nomination. Only properties
on the Tentative List are eligible to officially prepare nominations
that the Department may consider for submission. The Historic Moravian
Bethlehem District was included on the U.S. Tentative List on April 11,
2017. Neither inclusion in the list nor inscription as a World Heritage
Site imposes legal restrictions on owners or neighbors of sites, nor
does it give the United Nations any management authority or ownership
rights in U.S. World Heritage Sites, which continue to be subject only
to U.S. law.
The Department's Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks (Assistant Secretary) initiates the process to nominate U.S.
sites to the World Heritage List by publishing a notice in the Federal
Register seeking public comment regarding which properties on the U.S.
Tentative List should be nominated next by the United States. The first
notice (81 FR 89143, as required by 36 CFR 73.7(c)) was published on
January 11, 2021. Following the publication of the first notice, the
Assistant Secretary convened the Federal Interagency Panel to review
the public comments submitted and make a recommendation. The Federal
Interagency Panel for World Heritage is chaired by the Assistant
Secretary and assists the Department in implementing the Convention by
making recommendations on U.S. World Heritage policy, procedures, and
nominations. If the Panel recommends that a property be nominated and
the recommendation is accepted by the Assistant Secretary, a second
notice is issued. This is the second notice as required by 36 CFR
73.7(f) on the proposed nomination.
Decision To Request the Preparation of a New U.S. World Heritage
Nomination
The Department received more than 80 comments in response to the
first notice, including 63 concerning the Historic Moravian Bethlehem
District, all of which were expressions of support from the property
owners, elected representatives at local, State, and Federal levels,
individuals, institutions, and museums. There were no comments against
nominating any property. Most of the other comments were in support of
or discussions of other properties, including Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.
The Department considered all comments received as well as the
advice of the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage, which met
on June 15, 2021. The Panel agreed by consensus to recommend
authorization at this time for the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District
to contribute as a component to a serial transnational nomination of
Moravian Church Settlements.
The Department has selected the Historic Moravian Bethlehem
District as a proposed U.S. component of a serial transnational
nomination of Moravian Church Settlements to the World Heritage List.
With the assistance of the Department, including the completion of
appropriate consultation with Native American Tribal governments, the
owners of property in this district are encouraged to contribute to a
complete nomination, in coordination with other participating
countries, in accordance with 36 CFR part 73 and the nomination format
required by the World Heritage Committee.
The Historic Moravian District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a
National Historic Landmark, is a mid- and late-18th century planned
community created in conjunction with the larger Moravian congregation
in Herrnhut, Germany. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, became the religious and
administrative
[[Page 5499]]
center of Moravian activities in North America. It consists of
religious, domestic, and industrial components, reflecting Moravian
principles of urban planning and the full scope of Moravian community
life in a North American context. The Moravian settlement of
Christiansfeld in Denmark was inscribed on the World Heritage List in
2015. The government of the German state of Saxony has proposed
including the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut along with Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, as a ``serial transnational'' group nomination to extend
the Danish listing, possibly including Moravian settlements in other
countries as well.
Next Steps
A draft World Heritage nomination for Moravian Church Settlements
that includes the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District may now be
prepared, in consultation with the National Park Service's Office of
International Affairs. The NPS will coordinate the review and
evaluation of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, portion of the draft
nomination to ensure it meets the requirements of 36 CFR 73, and will
cooperate with the governments of other countries participating in this
nomination to complete and submit it to the World Heritage Committee.
Following NPS review of a complete draft nomination, the Department may
submit it to the World Heritage Centre for technical review by
September 30 of any year. The Centre will then provide comments by
November 15 of that year. The Federal Interagency Panel for World
Heritage will review a draft nomination following receipt of the
Centre's comments and recommend to the Department whether the
nomination should be formally submitted for consideration by the World
Heritage Committee. Submittal to the World Heritage Centre by the
Department through the Department of State can be made by February 1 of
any year; the World Heritage Committee would then consider the
nomination at its annual meeting in the summer of the following year,
after an evaluation by an official Advisory Body to the Committee.
Authority: 54 U.S.C. 307101; 36 CFR part 73.
Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2022-01952 Filed 1-31-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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