[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 33 (Friday, February 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10376-10377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03327]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-WASO-OIA-DTS-35126; PPWODIREI0-PIN00IO15.XI0000-234P104215]


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 ``Moravian Church Settlements,'' jointly 
with the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom. It consists of 
the main part of the Historic Moravian Bethlehem National Historic 
Landmark District in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as well as Moravian 
settlements in Herrnhut, Germany, and Gracehill in the United Kingdom. 
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 sending electronic mail (Email) to: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Morris, Chief, Office of 
International Affairs at (202) 354-1803 or Jonathan Putnam, 
International Cooperation Specialist, at (202) 354-1809. Complete 
information about U.S. participation in the World Heritage Program and 
the process used to develop the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List is 
posted on the National Park Service, Office of International Affairs 
website 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 ``Moravian Church 
Settlements,'' 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

[[Page 10377]]

the Committee's 45th annual session in mid-2024.
    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 January 11, 2021 (86 FR 1999), 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 February 1, 2022 (87 FR 
5498-5499). 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 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 properties are nationally 
significant, being part of a National Historic Landmark district 
designated by the Department of the Interior. The owners of the 
properties have concurred in writing with the nomination, and each 
property is well protected legally and functionally as documented in 
the nomination. It appears to meet two of the World Heritage criteria 
for cultural properties.
    ``Moravian Church Settlements'' are nominated under World Heritage 
cultural criteria (iii) and (iv), as provided in 36 CFR 73.9(b)(1), as 
a group, or ``series,'' that collectively appears to justify criterion 
(iii) as an exceptional testimony to the Moravian Church's distinct 
religious and social ideals which are expressed in the towns' layouts, 
architecture, and craftsmanship, as well as the fact that numerous 
buildings are still used either for their original function or the 
continuation of Moravian Church activities and traditions. The series 
also justifies criterion (iv) as an outstanding example of intentional 
religious town planning within the Protestant tradition; each 
settlement bears witness to the Moravian Church vision of a unified and 
coherent urban design, inspired by ancient and biblical concepts of the 
`ideal city' and anticipating Enlightenment ideals of equality and 
social improvement that became a reality only much later in many 
places. The settlements, both individually and as a group, also meet 
the World Heritage requirements for integrity and authenticity.
    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. Although the United States is not a member of UNESCO, it 
continues to participate in the World Heritage Convention, which is an 
independent treaty. There are 1,154 World Heritage sites in 167 of the 
194 signatory countries. The United States has 24 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. 2023-03327 Filed 2-16-23; 8:45 am]
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