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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 [www.gpo.gov]
[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: [email protected].

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: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/worldheritage.htm.

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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