Drafting of U.S. Nominations to the World Heritage List, 39036-39039 [E8-15402]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 8, 2008 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Drafting of U.S. Nominations to the
World Heritage List
Department of the Interior,
National Park Service.
ACTION: Second Notice and Request for
Comment
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice constitutes the
Second Notice referred to in Sec. 73.7(c)
of the World Heritage Program
regulations (36 CFR Part 73), and sets
forth the decision to request that draft
World Heritage nominations for
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Hawaii, and Mount Vernon,
Virginia, be prepared.
On March 19, 2008, the Department of
the Interior requested public comment
on whether any properties identified on
the U.S. Tentative List should be
nominated to the World Heritage List,
and in particular whether
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Hawaii, and Mount Vernon,
Virginia, should be nominated. After
review of the comments provided by the
public and consultation with the
Federal Interagency Panel on World
Heritage, the Department, in accordance
with 36 CFR part 73, has selected
Papahanaumokuakea National
Monument and Mount Vernon as
proposed nominations to the World
Heritage List. With the assistance of the
Department, the owners of these sites
are encouraged to prepare complete
nomination documents for the sites in
accordance with 36 CFR Part 73 and the
nomination format required by the
World Heritage Committee. A
discussion of the decision and
comments received follows.
DATES: Draft World Heritage
nominations for Papahanaumokuakea
Marine National Monument and Mount
Vernon must be prepared and submitted
in substantially complete draft form to
the National Park Service by July 15,
2008. (The World Heritage nomination
format may be found at the World
Heritage Centre Web site at https://
whc.unesco.org/en/nominationform.)
The National Park Service will
coordinate the review and evaluation of
the draft nominations.
Submission of interim draft
nominations to the World Heritage
Centre must be made by September 30,
2008. The Centre is to provide technical
comments by November 14, 2008. The
Federal Interagency Panel for World
Heritage will review draft nominations
in a phone conference tentatively
scheduled for November 19, 2008. The
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Interagency Panel will evaluate the
adequacy of the nominations, the
significance of the properties and
whether the nominations should be
forwarded to the World Heritage Centre
to be considered for listing. Final
submittal to the World Heritage Centre
by the Department of the Interior
through the Department of State is
required by January 30, 2009, if the
properties are to be considered in the
current cycle of nominations to the
World Heritage List. Submittal of final
nominations must be made no later than
that date for the World Heritage
Committee to be able to consider them
at its annual meeting in the summer of
2010.
Protective measures must be in place
before a property may be nominated. If
a nomination cannot be completed in
accordance with this timeline, work
may continue into the following year(s)
for subsequent submission to UNESCO.
The public is invited to comment on
the decision to nominate the two sites
up to and including 30 days from the
publication of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Please provide all
additional comments directly to
Jonathan Putnam, Office of International
Affairs, National Park Service, 1201 Eye
Street, NW., (0050) Washington, DC
20005 or by E-mail to:
jonathan_putnam@nps.gov. Phone:
202–354–1809. Fax 202–371–1446.
All comments will be a matter of
public record and, if received in a
timely manner, will be shared with
property owners to assist in preparing
the World Heritage nominations. Before
including your address, phone number,
e-mail address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jonathan Putnam, 202–354–1809 or
April Brooks, 202–354–1808. For
summary information on the U.S.
Tentative List and how it was
developed, please see the March 19,
2008, Federal Register notice (Volume
73, Number 54, pages 14835–14838).
Complete information about U.S.
participation in the World Heritage
Program and the process used to
develop the Tentative List is posted on
the Office of International Affairs Web
site at: https://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/
worldheritage/tentativelist.htm.
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Only the 14 properties currently
included in U.S. Tentative List are
eligible to be considered for nomination
by the United States to the World
Heritage List. Brief descriptions of the
properties appear in a copy of the press
release announcing the Tentative List,
which is linked to the site just noted
above. The U.S. Tentative List report on
the 14 sites in the form submitted to the
UNESCO World Heritage Centre on
January 24, 2008, appears in its entirety
on the Internet at https://www.nps.gov/
oia/topics/worldheritage/tentativelist/
WHTentList.doc. The full applications
submitted to the National Park Service
for the candidate sites can be viewed at
https://www.nps.gov/oia/NewWebpages/
ApplicantsTentativeList.html.) To
request paper copies of documents
discussed in this notice, please contact
April Brooks, Office of International
Affairs, National Park Service, 1201 Eye
Street, NW., (0050) Washington, DC
20005. E-mail: April_Brooks@nps.gov.
Summary of Public Comments: On
March 19, 2008, the Department
published the new Tentative List, which
consists of 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, in the Federal
Register (Volume 73, Number 54, pages
14835–14838), along with the request
for public comment on the
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Mount Vernon, and the
twelve other sites on the List. Comments
were accepted through April 3, fifteen
days after the date of publication of the
notice in the Federal Register.
Respondents were asked to address the
qualifications of the Tentative List
properties for nomination by the United
States to the World Heritage List.
A summary of the 19 public
comments on the proposal to prepare
nominations of sites from the Tentative
List in 2008 appears below, along with
the Department’s responses as
appropriate. The comments were also
available to the Federal Interagency
Panel on World Heritage and to the
Department of the Interior officials who
have selected the initial U.S. World
Heritage nominations. The full texts of
all the comments are available upon
request.
In some cases, respondents offered
site-specific or general comments that
addressed other issues, such as the
merits of particular properties and
advice on and priorities for revision of
the Tentative List. Those comments
have been retained and will remain on
file to be considered in due course.
Sites on the Tentative List for which
no specific comments were received
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 8, 2008 / Notices
regarding their nomination this year are
not discussed.
Cultural Sites
Mount Vernon, Virginia
The Accokeek Foundation, a Virginia
State Senator and two members of the
Virginia House of Delegates expressed
their strong support of the proposed
nomination. US/ICOMOS expressed
doubts about the prospects that the
World Heritage Committee will find that
the Mount Vernon site meets the World
Heritage criteria. The Department
acknowledges this concern and has
provided Mount Vernon management
with the comments.
Poverty Point National Monument and
State Historic Site, Louisiana
Four Members of Congress wrote to
recommend that this site be nominated
this year. The Department believes that
the two other sites being proposed for
this year would better diversify the
portfolio of United States sites.
US/ICOMOS recommended that this
site be considered as part of a serial or
joint nomination with other similar
sites.
San Antonio Franciscan Missions,
Texas
The San Antonio Conservation
Society wrote in strong support of this
site being nominated.
US/ICOMOS proposed this site as an
alternative nomination to Mount
Vernon. The Department will consider
this recommendation for future years.
One respondent expressed concerns
about the name of this proposed
nomination and desires that the Native
American role at the missions be fully
and sensitively emphasized in any
nomination, including in its name. This
recommendation will be taken into
account. Another respondent expressed
his concern that the Alamo not come
under United Nations authority. The
United Nations does not have any role
in the management of existing or
potential U.S. World Heritage sites.
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Mixed Natural and Cultural Site
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Hawaii
Strongly supportive comments for this
site were received from US/ICOMOS,
the Trust for Public Land and several
individuals. US/ICOMOS also
recommended that consideration be
given to treatment of the Battle of
Midway and its associated shipwrecks
and aircraft. This important history will
be included in appropriate descriptive
and historical sections of the
nomination but will not be treated as a
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primary basis for nomination under the
World Heritage cultural criteria.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery
Management Council (WPRFMC)
recommended that Papahanaumokuakea
not be nominated, based on their
concerns that World Heritage
designation would lead to increased
tourism and associated impacts on the
Monument’s natural resources. The
Department understands that the
Monument does not plan to increase
visitation to the site, nor does World
Heritage designation require public
access.
WPRFMC also expressed concerns
about the National Park Service
becoming involved in the management
of the Monument. The National Park
Service will not be involved in the
Monument’s management.
WPRFMC requested additional time
for comment and stated doubts
regarding the extent of support in
Hawaii for the proposed nomination.
The Department anticipates that the
co-trustees of the Monument (the State
of Hawaii, the U.S. National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration and
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will
address the concerns raised by the
WPRFMC during the balance of the year
as the World Heritage nomination is
being prepared. Also, as noted
elsewhere, the National Park Service
will continue to take comments on the
two proposed draft nominations up to
and including 30 days from the
publication of this notice.
Recommendations of the Federal
Interagency Panel for World Heritage
The Federal Interagency Panel for
World Heritage assists the Department
of the Interior in implementing the
Convention by making
recommendations on U.S. World
Heritage policy, procedures, and
nominations. The Panel is chaired by
the Assistant Secretary for Fish and
Wildlife and Parks and includes
representatives from various Federal
Departments and agencies with Federal
land management and policymaking
responsibilities. The Panel made its
recommendations to the Department on
the U.S. Tentative List in a conference
call on April 8, 2008.
The Panel agreed by consensus to
support the preparation of a nomination
this year for Papahanaumokuakea
Marine National Monument. It took note
of the comments and concerns raised by
the Western Pacific Regional Fishery
Management Council and were
informed that those comments would be
shared with the co-trustees of the site
who intend to draft a nomination.
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Regarding Mount Vernon, the Panel
acknowledged that it shared the
concerns voiced by a few public
respondents about the prospects for
completing a nomination of Mount
Vernon this year that would
successfully address the World Heritage
criteria. The World Heritage
Committee’s practice of generally
discouraging the listing of sites
associated with prominent individuals
was referenced in that regard. It was
agreed that those concerns would be
shared with the Mount Vernon staff who
are working on the proposed
nomination. It was also noted that the
property has considerable importance as
an historic landscape important in
colonial history and as a prime
illustration of plantation life and
economy, but that more documentation
may be needed to establish its
preeminence in that regard. After
discussion, the Panel concurred in the
effort to draft a nomination for Mount
Vernon.
The Panel reviewed the public
suggestions for nominations for other
properties this year from the U.S.
Tentative List but did not recommend
the preparation of nominations for any
additional or alternate properties. It was
acknowledged that, although the United
States is eligible to nominate two sites
this year, it might be preferable to
submit only one nomination. Panel
members emphasized concern that it
would be undesirable to have any of the
first nominations made by the United
States since 1994 be unsuccessful.
The Panel’s next meeting this fall
(tentatively scheduled for November 19,
2008) will review and recommend on
draft nominations for
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument and Mount Vernon, if they
are completed on schedule.
In addition, in response to certain
public comments and the opinions of
Panel members, the Panel agreed to
place the topic of the process for future
revisions of the U.S. Tentative List,
noting specific comments in that regard
by US/ICOMOS, on the agenda for the
Panel’s next meeting.
Decision To Encourage the Preparation
of Two U.S. World Heritage
Nominations
The Department considered both
public comments received during the
comment period and the advice of the
Federal Interagency Panel for World
Heritage in making the decisions to draft
two U.S. World Heritage nominations.
Both properties meet the initial
prerequisites for nomination by the
United States to the World Heritage List.
They appear to meet one or more of the
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 8, 2008 / Notices
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World Heritage criteria and all owners
support the nomination of these
nationally significant properties to the
World Heritage List.
Brief descriptions are provided for
these potential nominations. The
Department will make final decisions on
whether to nominate these two sites to
the World Heritage List based on
complete draft World Heritage
nominations for them. The Department
encourages all interested parties to
comment and make recommendations
as the nomination process continues.
Draft World Heritage nominations
will be requested for the following sites:
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Hawaii
This 1,200-mile-long string of islands,
atolls, coral reefs and adjacent waters,
running northwest from the main
Hawaiian islands and encompassing
over 89 million acres, is one of the
world’s largest and most significant
marine protected areas. Scattered in the
deep ocean are some 10 small islands
along with extensive reefs and shoals. In
this remote and still relatively pristine
part of the Pacific, marine life
flourishes, and the area is home to a
large number of species found nowhere
else in the world, including a wide array
that are threatened and endangered.
Large populations of seabirds nest on
isolated sandy shores and the waters
harbor impressive numbers of large
predatory fish. The geology of the
islands is also highly significant—the
chain represents the longest, clearest,
and oldest example of island formation
and atoll evolution in the world.
Native Hawaiians reached these
islands at least 1,000 years before any
other people and established
settlements on some of them. The
islands, along with their significant
archeological sites, retain great cultural
and spiritual significance to Native
Hawaiians. Midway Atoll and its
environs was also the site of a major
battle of World War II.
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument is selected for nomination
because, among other factors, it will, as
a marine site and a mixed cultural and
natural site in the Pacific, fill
conspicuous gaps in the United States
portfolio of World Heritage Sites.
Similar gaps likewise exist in the World
Heritage List as a whole, wherein few
marine, Pacific, or mixed sites are listed.
Its merits on both cultural and natural
criteria are regarded as particularly
outstanding. In addition, its co-trustees
(the State of Hawaii, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and the U.S. National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) strongly support its
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nomination and have assembled a team
to prepare the documentation.
Mount Vernon, Virginia
George Washington’s long-time home,
with its associated gardens and grounds,
forms a remarkably well-preserved and
extensively documented example of a
plantation landscape of the 18th-century
American South. Mount Vernon also
has importance in the history of
agronomy.
It was based on English models but
modified and adapted to its American
context, which included slave labor as
an economic basis. There is a core of 16
surviving 18th-century structures set in
a landscape of gardens, fences, lanes,
walkways, and other features, situated
along the Potomac River, that changed
and developed over many years in
Washington’s family. The Mount
Vernon Ladies’ Association, which has
owned and maintained the property for
150 years, is strongly supportive of the
site’s nomination to the World Heritage
List.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon
is being selected for the drafting of a
World Heritage nomination primarily
because it likewise could fill a
significant gap in the U.S. cultural site
list. Colonial expressions of architecture
and landscape are also poorly
represented on the World Heritage List
as a whole. Mount Vernon is a
particularly outstanding example of a
type of colonial landscape that was tied
to the plantation economy based on
slavery that prevailed in the American
South during the colonial and early
Federal periods. It is also the primary
illustration of the early historic
preservation movement in the United
States.
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 the preservation
of natural and cultural heritage sites of
global significance proposed by
President Richard M. Nixon in 1972,
and the United States was the first
nation to ratify it. In 2005, the United
States was elected to a fourth term on
the World Heritage Committee and will
serve until 2009. The 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
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Heritage List at its annual meeting each
summer.
There are 851 sites in 140 of the 185
signatory countries. Currently there are
20 World Heritage Sites in the United
States.
U.S. participation and the roles of the
Department of the Interior and the
National Park Service are authorized by
Title IV of the Historic Preservation Act
Amendments of 1980 and conducted in
accordance with 36 CFR 73—World
Heritage Convention. The National Park
Service provides the technical and staff
support to the Assistant Secretary for
Fish and Wildlife and Parks, who has
the lead role for the U.S. Government in
the implementation of the Convention.
The National Park Service manages all
or parts of 17 of the 20 U.S. World
Heritage Sites currently listed, including
Yellowstone National Park, Everglades
National Park, and the Statue of Liberty.
A Tentative List is a national list of
natural and cultural properties
appearing to meet the World Heritage
Committee eligibility criteria for
nomination to the World Heritage List.
A country cannot nominate a property
unless it has been on its Tentative List
for a minimum of a year. Countries are
limited to nominating no more than two
sites in any given year.
Neither inclusion in the Tentative 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 exclusively to U.S. law.
Inclusion in the Tentative List merely
indicates that the property may be
further examined for possible World
Heritage nomination in the future.
The World Heritage Committee’s
Operational Guidelines ask participating
nations to provide Tentative Lists,
which aid in evaluating properties for
the World Heritage List on a
comparative international basis and
help the Committee to schedule its work
over the long term. The Guidelines
recommend that a nation review its
Tentative List at least once every
decade.
In order to guide the U.S. World
Heritage Program effectively and in a
timely manner, the National Park
Service prepared and submitted
(through the Secretary of the Interior
and the Secretary of State) a new
Tentative List to the World Heritage
Centre of UNESCO on January 24, 2008.
Submittal of nominations must be made
no later than January 30, 2009, for the
World Heritage Committee to be able to
consider them at its annual meeting in
the summer of 2010.
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 8, 2008 / Notices
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 470 a–1, a–2, d; 36
CFR 73.
Lyle Laverty,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and
Parks.
[FR Doc. E8–15402 Filed 7–7–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–52–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Federal Land Managers’ Air Quality
Related Values Work Group (FLAG)
National Park Service, Interior.
Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
ebenthall on PRODPC60 with NOTICES
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The National Park Service, in
cooperation with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Forest
Service, is announcing the availability
of, and accepting comments on, the
draft FLAG Phase I Report—REVISED.
The Federal Land Managers’ Air
Quality Related Values Work Group
(FLAG) was formed (1) to develop a
more consistent and objective approach
for the Federal Land Managers (FLMs),
i.e., National Park Service, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and U.S. Department
of Agriculture Forest Service, to
evaluate air pollution effects on their air
quality related values (AQRVs); and (2)
to provide State permitting authorities
and potential permit applicants
consistency on how to assess the
impacts of new and existing sources on
AQRVs. The FLAG effort focuses on the
effects of the air pollutants that could
affect the health and status of resources
in areas managed by the three agencies,
primarily such pollutants as ozone,
particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide,
sulfur dioxide, nitrates, and sulfates.
FLAG formed subgroups that
concentrated on four issues: (1)
Terrestrial effects of ozone; (2) aquatic
and terrestrial effects of wet and dry
pollutant deposition; (3) visibility; and
(4) process and policy issues. In
December 2000, after undergoing a
public review and comment process that
included a 90-day public comment
period announced in the Federal
Register and a public meeting, the FLMs
published a final Phase I report (FLAG
2000), along with an accompanying
‘‘Response to Public Comments’’
document.
FLAG 2000 has been a useful tool to
the FLMs, State permitting authorities,
and permit applicants. It was intended
to be a working document that would be
revised as necessary as the FLMs learn
more about how to better assess the
health and status of AQRVs. Based on
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knowledge gained and regulatory
developments since FLAG 2000, the
FLMs believe certain revisions to FLAG
2000 are now appropriate. The draft
revised report now available for public
review and comment (FLAG 2008)
reflects those changes. The most
significant changes proposed in the
draft FLAG 2008 revision are
summarized as follows:
• Adopts similar criteria derived from
EPA’s 2005 Best Available Retrofit
Technology (BART) guidelines for the
Regional Haze Rule to screen out from
AQRV review those sources with
relatively small amounts of emissions
located a large distance from a Class I
area (i.e., Q/D ≤ 10).
• Utilizes the most recent EPA
estimates to determine average annual
and 20% best natural visibility
conditions for Class I areas, using the
new EPA-approved algorithm.
• Adopts criteria derived from the
2005 BART guidelines that utilizes
monthly average relative humidity
adjustment factors to minimize the
affects of weather events (i.e., short-term
meteorological phenomena) on modeled
visibility impacts.
• Adopts criteria derived from the
2005 BART guidelines that sets a 98th
percentile value to screen out roughly
seven days of haze-type visibility
impairment per year.
• Includes deposition analysis
thresholds and concern thresholds for
nitrogen and sulfur deposition impacts
on vegetation, soils, and water.
• Increases transparency and
consistency of factors considered for
adverse impact determinations.
The agencies are soliciting comments
on the merits of adopting the EPA BART
approach in assessing new source
impacts to the federal lands that they
administer. For example, the agencies
are soliciting comments on exclusively
using monthly relative humidity
adjustment factors (parallel to Method 6
in the CALPUFF post processor) or also
allowing an option for the use of shortterm average relative humidity
adjustment factors (parallel to Method 2
in the CALPUFF post processor used in
FLAG 2000).
DATES: Written comments on the FLAG
2008 draft report must be received by
September 8, 2008.
If there is sufficient interest, the FLMs
will conduct a public meeting to discuss
the proposed changes to the FLAG
report. Please contact John Bunyak at
the address below if you would like the
FLMs to conduct such a public meeting.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the draft FLAG
Phase I Report—Revised can be
obtained from John Bunyak or
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39039
downloaded from the Internet at:
https://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/
permits/flag/index.cfm.
Mail comments to: John Bunyak, Air
Resources Division, National Park
Service, P.O. Box 25287, Denver,
Colorado 80225. E-mail comments can
be sent to john_bunyak@nps.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
John
Bunyak at the above address or by
calling (303) 969–2818.
Dated: June 26, 2008.
John Bunyak,
Acting Chief, Air Resources Division.
[FR Doc. E8–15397 Filed 7–7–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312–25–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places;
Notification of Pending Nominations
and Related Actions
Nominations for the following
properties being considered for listing
or related actions in the National
Register were received by the National
Park Service before June 21, 2008.
Pursuant to § 60.13 of 36 CFR Part 60
written comments concerning the
significance of these properties under
the National Register criteria for
evaluation may be forwarded by United
States Postal Service, to the National
Register of Historic Places, National
Park Service, 1849 C St., NW., 2280,
Washington, DC 20240; by all other
carriers, National Register of Historic
Places, National Park Service, 1201 Eye
St., NW., 8th floor, Washington, DC
20005; or by fax, 202–371–6447. Written
or faxed comments should be submitted
by July 23, 2008.
J. Paul Loether,
Chief, National Register of Historic Places/
National, Historic Landmarks Program.
ARKANSAS
Arkansas County
Crocketts Bluff Hunting Lodge, End of dirt
Rd. N. of pt. at which Hwy. 153 turns S.,
Crocketts Bluff, 08000723.
Miller County
Adams, Wallace, Service Station (Historic
Buildings of Texarkana, Arkansas, MPS),
523 E. 23rd St., Texarkana, 08000726.
Cotton Belt Railroad Office Building,
(Historic Buildings of Texarkana, Arkansas,
MPS), 312 E. Broad St., Texarkana,
08000727.
East Broad Street Historic District (Historic
Buildings of Texarkana, Arkansas, MPS),
100 block E. Broad St., Texarkana,
08000729.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 8, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39036-39039]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15402]
[[Page 39036]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
Drafting of U.S. Nominations to the World Heritage List
AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service.
ACTION: Second Notice and Request for Comment
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice constitutes the Second Notice referred to in Sec.
73.7(c) of the World Heritage Program regulations (36 CFR Part 73), and
sets forth the decision to request that draft World Heritage
nominations for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii, and
Mount Vernon, Virginia, be prepared.
On March 19, 2008, the Department of the Interior requested public
comment on whether any properties identified on the U.S. Tentative List
should be nominated to the World Heritage List, and in particular
whether Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii, and Mount
Vernon, Virginia, should be nominated. After review of the comments
provided by the public and consultation with the Federal Interagency
Panel on World Heritage, the Department, in accordance with 36 CFR part
73, has selected Papahanaumokuakea National Monument and Mount Vernon
as proposed nominations to the World Heritage List. With the assistance
of the Department, the owners of these sites are encouraged to prepare
complete nomination documents for the sites in accordance with 36 CFR
Part 73 and the nomination format required by the World Heritage
Committee. A discussion of the decision and comments received follows.
DATES: Draft World Heritage nominations for Papahanaumokuakea Marine
National Monument and Mount Vernon must be prepared and submitted in
substantially complete draft form to the National Park Service by July
15, 2008. (The World Heritage nomination format may be found at the
World Heritage Centre Web site at https://whc.unesco.org/en/
nominationform.) The National Park Service will coordinate the review
and evaluation of the draft nominations.
Submission of interim draft nominations to the World Heritage
Centre must be made by September 30, 2008. The Centre is to provide
technical comments by November 14, 2008. The Federal Interagency Panel
for World Heritage will review draft nominations in a phone conference
tentatively scheduled for November 19, 2008. The Interagency Panel will
evaluate the adequacy of the nominations, the significance of the
properties and whether the nominations should be forwarded to the World
Heritage Centre to be considered for listing. Final submittal to the
World Heritage Centre by the Department of the Interior through the
Department of State is required by January 30, 2009, if the properties
are to be considered in the current cycle of nominations to the World
Heritage List. Submittal of final nominations must be made no later
than that date for the World Heritage Committee to be able to consider
them at its annual meeting in the summer of 2010.
Protective measures must be in place before a property may be
nominated. If a nomination cannot be completed in accordance with this
timeline, work may continue into the following year(s) for subsequent
submission to UNESCO.
The public is invited to comment on the decision to nominate the
two sites up to and including 30 days from the publication of this
notice.
ADDRESSES: Please provide all additional comments directly to Jonathan
Putnam, Office of International Affairs, National Park Service, 1201
Eye Street, NW., (0050) Washington, DC 20005 or by E-mail to:
jonathan_putnam@nps.gov. Phone: 202-354-1809. Fax 202-371-1446.
All comments will be a matter of public record and, if received in
a timely manner, will be shared with property owners to assist in
preparing the World Heritage nominations. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Putnam, 202-354-1809 or April
Brooks, 202-354-1808. For summary information on the U.S. Tentative
List and how it was developed, please see the March 19, 2008, Federal
Register notice (Volume 73, Number 54, pages 14835-14838). Complete
information about U.S. participation in the World Heritage Program and
the process used to develop the Tentative List is posted on the Office
of International Affairs Web site at: https://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/
worldheritage/tentativelist.htm.
Only the 14 properties currently included in U.S. Tentative List
are eligible to be considered for nomination by the United States to
the World Heritage List. Brief descriptions of the properties appear in
a copy of the press release announcing the Tentative List, which is
linked to the site just noted above. The U.S. Tentative List report on
the 14 sites in the form submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre
on January 24, 2008, appears in its entirety on the Internet at https://
www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/tentativelist/WHTentList.doc. The
full applications submitted to the National Park Service for the
candidate sites can be viewed at https://www.nps.gov/oia/NewWebpages/
ApplicantsTentativeList.html.) To request paper copies of documents
discussed in this notice, please contact April Brooks, Office of
International Affairs, National Park Service, 1201 Eye Street, NW.,
(0050) Washington, DC 20005. E-mail: April_Brooks@nps.gov.
Summary of Public Comments: On March 19, 2008, the Department
published the new Tentative List, which consists of 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, in the
Federal Register (Volume 73, Number 54, pages 14835-14838), along with
the request for public comment on the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, Mount Vernon, and the twelve other sites on the List.
Comments were accepted through April 3, fifteen days after the date of
publication of the notice in the Federal Register. Respondents were
asked to address the qualifications of the Tentative List properties
for nomination by the United States to the World Heritage List.
A summary of the 19 public comments on the proposal to prepare
nominations of sites from the Tentative List in 2008 appears below,
along with the Department's responses as appropriate. The comments were
also available to the Federal Interagency Panel on World Heritage and
to the Department of the Interior officials who have selected the
initial U.S. World Heritage nominations. The full texts of all the
comments are available upon request.
In some cases, respondents offered site-specific or general
comments that addressed other issues, such as the merits of particular
properties and advice on and priorities for revision of the Tentative
List. Those comments have been retained and will remain on file to be
considered in due course.
Sites on the Tentative List for which no specific comments were
received
[[Page 39037]]
regarding their nomination this year are not discussed.
Cultural Sites
Mount Vernon, Virginia
The Accokeek Foundation, a Virginia State Senator and two members
of the Virginia House of Delegates expressed their strong support of
the proposed nomination. US/ICOMOS expressed doubts about the prospects
that the World Heritage Committee will find that the Mount Vernon site
meets the World Heritage criteria. The Department acknowledges this
concern and has provided Mount Vernon management with the comments.
Poverty Point National Monument and State Historic Site, Louisiana
Four Members of Congress wrote to recommend that this site be
nominated this year. The Department believes that the two other sites
being proposed for this year would better diversify the portfolio of
United States sites.
US/ICOMOS recommended that this site be considered as part of a
serial or joint nomination with other similar sites.
San Antonio Franciscan Missions, Texas
The San Antonio Conservation Society wrote in strong support of
this site being nominated.
US/ICOMOS proposed this site as an alternative nomination to Mount
Vernon. The Department will consider this recommendation for future
years.
One respondent expressed concerns about the name of this proposed
nomination and desires that the Native American role at the missions be
fully and sensitively emphasized in any nomination, including in its
name. This recommendation will be taken into account. Another
respondent expressed his concern that the Alamo not come under United
Nations authority. The United Nations does not have any role in the
management of existing or potential U.S. World Heritage sites.
Mixed Natural and Cultural Site
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii
Strongly supportive comments for this site were received from US/
ICOMOS, the Trust for Public Land and several individuals. US/ICOMOS
also recommended that consideration be given to treatment of the Battle
of Midway and its associated shipwrecks and aircraft. This important
history will be included in appropriate descriptive and historical
sections of the nomination but will not be treated as a primary basis
for nomination under the World Heritage cultural criteria.
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC)
recommended that Papahanaumokuakea not be nominated, based on their
concerns that World Heritage designation would lead to increased
tourism and associated impacts on the Monument's natural resources. The
Department understands that the Monument does not plan to increase
visitation to the site, nor does World Heritage designation require
public access.
WPRFMC also expressed concerns about the National Park Service
becoming involved in the management of the Monument. The National Park
Service will not be involved in the Monument's management.
WPRFMC requested additional time for comment and stated doubts
regarding the extent of support in Hawaii for the proposed nomination.
The Department anticipates that the co-trustees of the Monument
(the State of Hawaii, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) will address the
concerns raised by the WPRFMC during the balance of the year as the
World Heritage nomination is being prepared. Also, as noted elsewhere,
the National Park Service will continue to take comments on the two
proposed draft nominations up to and including 30 days from the
publication of this notice.
Recommendations of the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage
The Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage assists the
Department of the Interior in implementing the Convention by making
recommendations on U.S. World Heritage policy, procedures, and
nominations. The Panel is chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Fish
and Wildlife and Parks and includes representatives from various
Federal Departments and agencies with Federal land management and
policymaking responsibilities. The Panel made its recommendations to
the Department on the U.S. Tentative List in a conference call on April
8, 2008.
The Panel agreed by consensus to support the preparation of a
nomination this year for Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. It
took note of the comments and concerns raised by the Western Pacific
Regional Fishery Management Council and were informed that those
comments would be shared with the co-trustees of the site who intend to
draft a nomination.
Regarding Mount Vernon, the Panel acknowledged that it shared the
concerns voiced by a few public respondents about the prospects for
completing a nomination of Mount Vernon this year that would
successfully address the World Heritage criteria. The World Heritage
Committee's practice of generally discouraging the listing of sites
associated with prominent individuals was referenced in that regard. It
was agreed that those concerns would be shared with the Mount Vernon
staff who are working on the proposed nomination. It was also noted
that the property has considerable importance as an historic landscape
important in colonial history and as a prime illustration of plantation
life and economy, but that more documentation may be needed to
establish its preeminence in that regard. After discussion, the Panel
concurred in the effort to draft a nomination for Mount Vernon.
The Panel reviewed the public suggestions for nominations for other
properties this year from the U.S. Tentative List but did not recommend
the preparation of nominations for any additional or alternate
properties. It was acknowledged that, although the United States is
eligible to nominate two sites this year, it might be preferable to
submit only one nomination. Panel members emphasized concern that it
would be undesirable to have any of the first nominations made by the
United States since 1994 be unsuccessful.
The Panel's next meeting this fall (tentatively scheduled for
November 19, 2008) will review and recommend on draft nominations for
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument and Mount Vernon, if they
are completed on schedule.
In addition, in response to certain public comments and the
opinions of Panel members, the Panel agreed to place the topic of the
process for future revisions of the U.S. Tentative List, noting
specific comments in that regard by US/ICOMOS, on the agenda for the
Panel's next meeting.
Decision To Encourage the Preparation of Two U.S. World Heritage
Nominations
The Department considered both public comments received during the
comment period and the advice of the Federal Interagency Panel for
World Heritage in making the decisions to draft two U.S. World Heritage
nominations. Both properties meet the initial prerequisites for
nomination by the United States to the World Heritage List. They appear
to meet one or more of the
[[Page 39038]]
World Heritage criteria and all owners support the nomination of these
nationally significant properties to the World Heritage List.
Brief descriptions are provided for these potential nominations.
The Department will make final decisions on whether to nominate these
two sites to the World Heritage List based on complete draft World
Heritage nominations for them. The Department encourages all interested
parties to comment and make recommendations as the nomination process
continues.
Draft World Heritage nominations will be requested for the
following sites:
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Hawaii
This 1,200-mile-long string of islands, atolls, coral reefs and
adjacent waters, running northwest from the main Hawaiian islands and
encompassing over 89 million acres, is one of the world's largest and
most significant marine protected areas. Scattered in the deep ocean
are some 10 small islands along with extensive reefs and shoals. In
this remote and still relatively pristine part of the Pacific, marine
life flourishes, and the area is home to a large number of species
found nowhere else in the world, including a wide array that are
threatened and endangered. Large populations of seabirds nest on
isolated sandy shores and the waters harbor impressive numbers of large
predatory fish. The geology of the islands is also highly significant--
the chain represents the longest, clearest, and oldest example of
island formation and atoll evolution in the world.
Native Hawaiians reached these islands at least 1,000 years before
any other people and established settlements on some of them. The
islands, along with their significant archeological sites, retain great
cultural and spiritual significance to Native Hawaiians. Midway Atoll
and its environs was also the site of a major battle of World War II.
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is selected for
nomination because, among other factors, it will, as a marine site and
a mixed cultural and natural site in the Pacific, fill conspicuous gaps
in the United States portfolio of World Heritage Sites. Similar gaps
likewise exist in the World Heritage List as a whole, wherein few
marine, Pacific, or mixed sites are listed. Its merits on both cultural
and natural criteria are regarded as particularly outstanding. In
addition, its co-trustees (the State of Hawaii, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) strongly support its nomination and have assembled a
team to prepare the documentation.
Mount Vernon, Virginia
George Washington's long-time home, with its associated gardens and
grounds, forms a remarkably well-preserved and extensively documented
example of a plantation landscape of the 18th-century American South.
Mount Vernon also has importance in the history of agronomy.
It was based on English models but modified and adapted to its
American context, which included slave labor as an economic basis.
There is a core of 16 surviving 18th-century structures set in a
landscape of gardens, fences, lanes, walkways, and other features,
situated along the Potomac River, that changed and developed over many
years in Washington's family. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association,
which has owned and maintained the property for 150 years, is strongly
supportive of the site's nomination to the World Heritage List.
George Washington's Mount Vernon is being selected for the drafting
of a World Heritage nomination primarily because it likewise could fill
a significant gap in the U.S. cultural site list. Colonial expressions
of architecture and landscape are also poorly represented on the World
Heritage List as a whole. Mount Vernon is a particularly outstanding
example of a type of colonial landscape that was tied to the plantation
economy based on slavery that prevailed in the American South during
the colonial and early Federal periods. It is also the primary
illustration of the early historic preservation movement in the United
States.
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 the preservation of natural and
cultural heritage sites of global significance proposed by President
Richard M. Nixon in 1972, and the United States was the first nation to
ratify it. In 2005, the United States was elected to a fourth term on
the World Heritage Committee and will serve until 2009. The 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 851 sites in 140 of the 185 signatory countries.
Currently there are 20 World Heritage Sites in the United States.
U.S. participation and the roles of the Department of the Interior
and the National Park Service are authorized by Title IV of the
Historic Preservation Act Amendments of 1980 and conducted in
accordance with 36 CFR 73--World Heritage Convention. The National Park
Service provides the technical and staff support to the Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, who has the lead role for
the U.S. Government in the implementation of the Convention. The
National Park Service manages all or parts of 17 of the 20 U.S. World
Heritage Sites currently listed, including Yellowstone National Park,
Everglades National Park, and the Statue of Liberty.
A Tentative List is a national list of natural and cultural
properties appearing to meet the World Heritage Committee eligibility
criteria for nomination to the World Heritage List. A country cannot
nominate a property unless it has been on its Tentative List for a
minimum of a year. Countries are limited to nominating no more than two
sites in any given year.
Neither inclusion in the Tentative 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 exclusively to U.S. law. Inclusion in the Tentative List merely
indicates that the property may be further examined for possible World
Heritage nomination in the future.
The World Heritage Committee's Operational Guidelines ask
participating nations to provide Tentative Lists, which aid in
evaluating properties for the World Heritage List on a comparative
international basis and help the Committee to schedule its work over
the long term. The Guidelines recommend that a nation review its
Tentative List at least once every decade.
In order to guide the U.S. World Heritage Program effectively and
in a timely manner, the National Park Service prepared and submitted
(through the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of State) a
new Tentative List to the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO on January
24, 2008. Submittal of nominations must be made no later than January
30, 2009, for the World Heritage Committee to be able to consider them
at its annual meeting in the summer of 2010.
[[Page 39039]]
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 470 a-1, a-2, d; 36 CFR 73.
Lyle Laverty,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. E8-15402 Filed 7-7-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4312-52-P
