[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24337-24338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11363]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-OIA-WASO-23628; PIN00IO14.XI0000]


U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: Hopewell Ceremonial 
Earthworks

AGENCY: Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

ACTION: Second notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the decision to request that a draft 
nomination of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks for inclusion on the 
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 
(UNESCO) World Heritage List be prepared. 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 earlier notices. 
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, NPS, 
1849 C St. NW, Room 3313, Washington, DC 20240. Email: 
[email protected]. Information on the U.S. World Heritage program 
can be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/worldheritage.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Putnam, 202-354-1809 or April 
Brooks, 202-354-1808.

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 proposed 
by President Richard M. Nixon, and the U.S. was the first nation to 
ratify it. 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 at its annual meeting each summer.

[[Page 24338]]

    There are 1,052 sites in 165 of the 192 signatory countries. 
Currently there are 23 World Heritage Sites in the United States. U.S. 
participation and the roles of the 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 73--
World Heritage Convention. The NPS serves as the principal technical 
agency for World Heritage in the Department, which has the lead role 
for the U.S. Government in the implementation of the Convention and 
manages all or parts of 18 of the 23 U.S. World Heritage Sites, 
including Yellowstone National Park, the Everglades, and the Statue of 
Liberty.
    Each State Party to the Convention maintains a Tentative List, 
periodically updated, of properties that are considered suitable for 
nomination. Only properties on the official Tentative List are eligible 
to officially prepare nominations that the Department may consider for 
submission. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks have been included on 
the U.S. Tentative List since January 24, 2008. 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.
    NPS regulations at 36 CFR part 73 establish the process for making 
nominations to the World Heritage List. This is the second notice as 
required by 36 CFR 73.7(f) on the proposed nomination of the Hopewell 
Ceremonial Earthworks. On December 9, 2016, the Department requested 
public comment on which property or properties on the U.S. World 
Heritage tentative list should be nominated next by the United States 
to the World Heritage List. This was the First Notice in the Federal 
Register (81 FR 89143), as required by 36 CFR 73.7(c).
    The Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage assists the 
Department 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 policy-making responsibilities.
    Decision to Request the Preparation of a New U.S. World Heritage 
Nomination: The Department received a large number of comments on this 
proposal, including those made in response to previous opportunities 
for public comment. These included approximately 80 expressions of 
support for a nomination by the property owners and managers, non-
profit organizations, elected officials at the local, state, and 
Federal levels, representatives of Indian tribes, universities, and 
individuals, as well as an internet petition with over 800 signatures. 
Some earlier comments also suggested that the nomination be made in 
combination with North American earthworks of other periods, but the 
Department has determined that such an approach would be too broadly 
defined to present a clear justification to meet the World Heritage 
criteria. There were no comments against nominating the properties. 
There were no comments made in the current comment period recommending 
the nomination of any other properties on the Tentative List. The 
Department considered all comments received as well as the advice of 
the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage. The Panel made its 
recommendations to the Department on the next U.S. World Heritage 
nomination at a meeting on January 6, 2017. The Panel agreed by 
consensus to support the preparation of a nomination at this time for 
the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks.
    The Department has selected the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a 
proposed nomination to the World Heritage List. With the assistance of 
the Department, the owners of this group of sites are encouraged to 
prepare a complete nomination document in accordance with 36 CFR part 
73 and the nomination format required by the World Heritage Committee.
    Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Ohio includes:

 Hopewell Culture National Historical Park, including the Mound 
City Group, Hopewell Mound Group, Seip Earthworks, High Bank 
Earthworks, and Hopeton Earthworks
 Newark Earthworks State Memorial, including the Octagon 
Earthworks, Great Circle Earthworks, and Wright Earthworks
 Fort Ancient State Memorial

    Dating from the middle Woodland period (1,500-2,200 years ago) the 
Hopewell people built enormous, landscape-scale geometric earthwork 
sites over a large area of southern Ohio, in an extraordinary 
expression of pre-Columbian ritual cultural activity which was at the 
center of a tradition that interacted with people as far away as the 
Yellowstone basin and Florida. The circles, squares and octagons are 
intricately related by precise and standard units of measure. They also 
demonstrate sophisticated astronomical observation, and contain 
extensive deposits of artifacts that are among the most outstanding art 
objects produced in pre-Columbian North America. The property includes 
below-ground evidence as well.
    Next Steps: A draft World Heritage nomination for the Hopewell 
Ceremonial Earthworks may now be prepared, in consultation with the 
National Park Service's Office of International Affairs. The World 
Heritage nomination format may be found at the World Heritage Centre 
website in Annex 5 of the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage 
Convention at http://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines. The NPS will 
coordinate the review and evaluation of the draft nomination and will 
establish in consultation with the property owners and managers a 
memorandum that describes the roles, responsibilities, and process to 
be followed in developing a nomination, including the documentation of 
protective measures as provided for in 36 CFR 73.13. 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. The 
Interagency Panel will evaluate the adequacy of the nomination, the 
significance of the property and whether the nomination should be 
formally submitted to the World Heritage Centre for consideration by 
the World Heritage Committee, and will make a recommendation to the 
Department. 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 will then consider the nomination at its 
annual meeting in the summer of the following year, following an 
evaluation by an official Advisory Body to the Committee.

    Authority: 54 U.S.C. 307 101; 36 CFR part 73.

    Dated: April 24, 2018.
Susan Combs,
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Exercising the Authority of the 
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2018-11363 Filed 5-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P