The United States was elected to the World Heritage Committee, the governing body of the World Heritage Convention, in October 2005 and will serve until October 2009. Service on the Committee involves voting on such issues as international assistance to World Heritage Sites and the selection of new World Heritage Sites. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, no U.S. nominations will be made to the List during the U.S. tenure on the Committee.
Since the fall of 2006, the NPS Office of International Affairs (OIA) has cooperated with the George Wright Society in preparing a new U.S. list of candidate sites (also known as the Tentative List) that will subsequently be considered for nomination to the World Heritage List. A set of Frequently Asked Questions about this project appears here.
The National Park Service invited qualified property owners to submit applications for possible inclusion in the new “U.S. Tentative List,” a list of candidate sites that may qualify for nomination to the World Heritage List. Thirty Five applications were completed and submitted by the cut-off date of April 1, 2007.
Any property for which an Application was filed had to satisfy at least one of the World Heritage criteria, among other requirements. U.S. law also required that the property be nationally significant (i.e., formally designated as a National Historic Landmark or a National Natural Landmark, or be a Federal reserve of national importance, such as a National Park, National Monument, or Wildlife Refuge) and that all owners consent to the proposal and be willing to agree to protective measures for the property.
Applications were reviewed to determine whether the properties met the legal prerequisites for World Heritage nomination and other requirements, including stakeholder support. After additional reviews, a draft U.S. Tentative List was forwarded for approval to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior and then was transmitted by the U.S. Department of State to the World Heritage Centre.
Click here for a list of the 14 properties included in the New Tentative List and a list of an additional 11 properties that will be eventually be considered for possible inclusion.
Click here for the press release announcing the new list and including brief descriptions of the 14 sites.
Click here for the complete New Tentative List report document.
NOTE: Inclusion in the Tentative List or subsequent inscription on the World Heritage List does not affect the legal status of a property. Only U.S. laws remain applicable to it.
The new Tentative List, which was prepared with the involvement of property owners and other stakeholders, including the public, will help guide U.S. selection of World Heritage nominations during the next decade.
Click on these links for:
How to document World Heritage Outstanding Universal Values
Guide to U.S. World Heritage Program (MS Word Document, 3.3 MB)
For additional information, contact James Charleton, World Heritage Advisor, at james_charleton@contractor.nps.gov or Jonathan Putnam: jonathan_putnam@nps.gov .