Notice2024-31121
Submission of U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNational Park Service
Abstract
The Department of the Interior has submitted a nomination to the World Heritage List for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This is the third notice required by the Department of the Interior's World Heritage Program regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 106569-106570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31121]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-WASO-OIA-DTS-39203; PPWODIREI0-PIN00IO15.XI0000]
Submission of U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior has submitted a nomination to
the World Heritage List for Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This
is the third notice required by the Department of the Interior's 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 send electronic mail (Email) to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a7c6d7d5cecbf8c5d5c8c8ccd4e7c9d7d489c0c8d1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c2a3b2b0abae9da0b0adada9b182acb2b1eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Putnam, Acting Chief, Office
of International Affairs, at 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: This constitutes the official notice of the
decision by the United States Department of the Interior to submit a
nomination to the World Heritage List for Okefenokee National Wildlife
Refuge, as enumerated in the Summary above, and serves as the Third
Notice referred to in 36 CFR 73.7(j) of the World Heritage Program
regulations (36 CFR part 73).
The nomination was submitted through the U.S. Department of State
to the World Heritage Centre of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for consideration by the
World Heritage Committee, which will likely occur at the Committee's
48th annual session in mid-2026.
This property has been selected from the U.S. World Heritage
Tentative List, which comprises properties that appear to qualify for
World Heritage status, and which may be considered for nomination by
the United States to the World Heritage List, as required by the World
Heritage Committee's Operational Guidelines.
The U.S. World Heritage Tentative List appeared in a Federal
Register notice on June 7, 2023 (88 FR 37270), as required by 36 CFR
73.7(c)) with a request for public comment on possible nominations from
the 19 sites on the Tentative List. A summary of the comments received,
the Department of the Interior's responses to them and the Department's
decision to request preparation of this nomination appeared in a
subsequent Federal Register notice published on September 25, 2023 (88
FR 65748-65749). These are the First and Second Notices required by 36
CFR 73.7(c) and (f).
In making the decision to submit this U.S. World Heritage
nomination, pursuant to 36 CFR 73.7(h) and (i), the Department's
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks evaluated
[[Page 106570]]
the draft nomination and the recommendations of the Federal Interagency
Panel for World Heritage. She determined that the property meets the
prerequisites for nomination by the United States to the World Heritage
List that are detailed in 36 CFR part 73. The property is nationally
significant, being a National Natural Landmark designated by the
Department of the Interior. The owner of the property has concurred in
writing with the nomination, and the property is well protected legally
and functionally as documented in the nomination. It appears to meet
two of the World Heritage criteria for natural properties.
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is nominated under World
Heritage natural criteria (ix) and (x), as provided in 36 CFR
73.9(c)(1), as a property that appears to justify criterion (ix) as a
diverse mosaic of wetlands, savannas, forests, and prairie ecosystems
and ecotones with a unique reliance on the natural interplay between
fire and precipitation. The property also justifies criterion (x) as it
is uniquely situated to be a thriving habitat for many important and
rare plant and animal species. The refuge also meets the World Heritage
requirements for integrity.
The World Heritage List is an international list of cultural and
natural properties nominated by the signatories to the World Heritage
Convention (1972). The World Heritage Committee, composed of
representatives of 21 nations elected as the governing body of the
World Heritage Convention, makes the final decisions on which
nominations to accept on the World Heritage List at its annual meeting
each summer. There are 1,223 World Heritage sites in 168 of the 196
signatory countries. The United States has 26 sites inscribed on the
World Heritage List.
U.S. participation and the role of the Department of the Interior
are authorized by title IV of the National Historic Preservation Act
Amendments of 1980, Public Law 96-515, 94 Stat. 2987, 3000, codified as
amended at 54 U.S.C. 307101, and conducted by the Department through
the National Park Service in accordance with the regulations at 36 CFR
part 73 which implement the Convention pursuant to the 1980 Amendments.
Neither inclusion in the Tentative List nor inscription as a World
Heritage Site imposes legal restrictions on owners or neighbors of
sites, nor do they 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. federal and local laws, as applicable.
Authority: 54 U.S.C. 307101; 36 CFR part 73.
Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2024-31121 Filed 12-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
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