[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 21 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5498-5499]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-01952]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-OIA-DTS-32490; PPWODIREI0-PIN00IO15.XI0000]


U.S. Nomination to the World Heritage List: Moravian Church 
Settlements (Historic Moravian Bethlehem District)

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the decision to request that the 
Historic Moravian Bethlehem District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 
contribute to a serial transnational (multi-country) draft nomination 
of Moravian Church Settlements for inclusion on the United Nations 
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World 
Heritage List. 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 an earlier notice. 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, National 
Park Service, 1849 C St. NW, Room 2415, Washington, DC 20240 (202) 354-
1808, or sending electronic mail (Email) to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Putnam, 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:

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. 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. There are 1,154 sites in 167 countries. Currently there 
are 24 World Heritage Sites in the United States. U.S. participation 
and the roles of the Department of the Interior (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 part 73--World Heritage Convention. Each State Party to the 
Convention maintains a Tentative List, periodically updated, of 
properties that are considered suitable for nomination. Only properties 
on the Tentative List are eligible to officially prepare nominations 
that the Department may consider for submission. The Historic Moravian 
Bethlehem District was included on the U.S. Tentative List on April 11, 
2017. 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.
    The Department's Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and 
Parks (Assistant Secretary) initiates the process to nominate U.S. 
sites to the World Heritage List by publishing a notice in the Federal 
Register seeking public comment regarding which properties on the U.S. 
Tentative List should be nominated next by the United States. The first 
notice (81 FR 89143, as required by 36 CFR 73.7(c)) was published on 
January 11, 2021. Following the publication of the first notice, the 
Assistant Secretary convened the Federal Interagency Panel to review 
the public comments submitted and make a recommendation. The Federal 
Interagency Panel for World Heritage is chaired by the Assistant 
Secretary and assists the Department in implementing the Convention by 
making recommendations on U.S. World Heritage policy, procedures, and 
nominations. If the Panel recommends that a property be nominated and 
the recommendation is accepted by the Assistant Secretary, a second 
notice is issued. This is the second notice as required by 36 CFR 
73.7(f) on the proposed nomination.

Decision To Request the Preparation of a New U.S. World Heritage 
Nomination

    The Department received more than 80 comments in response to the 
first notice, including 63 concerning the Historic Moravian Bethlehem 
District, all of which were expressions of support from the property 
owners, elected representatives at local, State, and Federal levels, 
individuals, institutions, and museums. There were no comments against 
nominating any property. Most of the other comments were in support of 
or discussions of other properties, including Okefenokee National 
Wildlife Refuge in Georgia.
    The Department considered all comments received as well as the 
advice of the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage, which met 
on June 15, 2021. The Panel agreed by consensus to recommend 
authorization at this time for the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District 
to contribute as a component to a serial transnational nomination of 
Moravian Church Settlements.
    The Department has selected the Historic Moravian Bethlehem 
District as a proposed U.S. component of a serial transnational 
nomination of Moravian Church Settlements to the World Heritage List. 
With the assistance of the Department, including the completion of 
appropriate consultation with Native American Tribal governments, the 
owners of property in this district are encouraged to contribute to a 
complete nomination, in coordination with other participating 
countries, in accordance with 36 CFR part 73 and the nomination format 
required by the World Heritage Committee.
    The Historic Moravian District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a 
National Historic Landmark, is a mid- and late-18th century planned 
community created in conjunction with the larger Moravian congregation 
in Herrnhut, Germany. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, became the religious and 
administrative

[[Page 5499]]

center of Moravian activities in North America. It consists of 
religious, domestic, and industrial components, reflecting Moravian 
principles of urban planning and the full scope of Moravian community 
life in a North American context. The Moravian settlement of 
Christiansfeld in Denmark was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 
2015. The government of the German state of Saxony has proposed 
including the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut along with Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania, as a ``serial transnational'' group nomination to extend 
the Danish listing, possibly including Moravian settlements in other 
countries as well.

Next Steps

    A draft World Heritage nomination for Moravian Church Settlements 
that includes the Historic Moravian Bethlehem District may now be 
prepared, in consultation with the National Park Service's Office of 
International Affairs. The NPS will coordinate the review and 
evaluation of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, portion of the draft 
nomination to ensure it meets the requirements of 36 CFR 73, and will 
cooperate with the governments of other countries participating in this 
nomination to complete and submit it to the World Heritage Committee. 
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 and recommend to the Department whether the 
nomination should be formally submitted for consideration by the World 
Heritage Committee. 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 would then consider the 
nomination at its annual meeting in the summer of the following year, 
after an evaluation by an official Advisory Body to the Committee.
    Authority: 54 U.S.C. 307101; 36 CFR part 73.

Shannon A. Estenoz,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks.
[FR Doc. 2022-01952 Filed 1-31-22; 8:45 am]
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