The recent listing of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a UNESCO World Heritage Site marks the 27th U.S. location to receive this designation, but experts warn it may be the last for some time. The U.S. played a leading role in establishing the World Heritage concept when the World Heritage List was launched in 1978. Despite this history, progress on future nominations has stalled amid political shifts and administrative changes.
The Okefenokee nomination was officially approved in 2023 and submitted to UNESCO during the final days of the Biden administration. The United States currently has a list of 16 potential sites under consideration for World Heritage recognition. However, no further nominations have been advanced since the previous administration took office.
The Trump administration, which announced a formal withdrawal from UNESCO effective December 31, 2023, has maintained the country’s status as a party to the World Heritage Convention, meaning the U.S. can technically continue submitting nominations. Yet, according to former National Park Service official Stephen Morris, who led the agency’s Office of International Affairs, significant disruptions have undermined these efforts.
Morris noted that the office responsible for managing U.S. World Heritage nominations was substantially weakened under the Trump administration, with many experienced staff members departing. This depletion of institutional knowledge and capacity threatens to halt future nominations and deprive eligible sites of international recognition and the accompanying economic and tourism benefits.
The future of the U.S. involvement in UNESCO and its World Heritage program remains uncertain. Without efforts to rebuild the necessary administrative capacity within the National Park Service, the pace of designating new World Heritage Sites in the United States could slow considerably, limiting the country’s engagement in this global conservation and cultural preservation initiative.