Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp Becomes Newest U.S. Site Added UNESCO's World Heritage List
UNESCO cited the swamp’s 856 plant species and 44-year campaign for protection, while U.S. officials said ownership and management stay unchanged.
- On Saturday, a United Nations committee in Busan, South Korea, designated Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, making it the state's first and the 27th in the United States.
- The designation concludes a 44-year journey beginning in 1982 when the site was first identified as a potential nominee. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retains full ownership and management authority over the swamp.
- UNESCO recognized the Okefenokee as "one of the largest and most intact ecosystems within the North American Coastal Plain global biodiversity hotspot." The wetland preserves 5,000 years of environmental history in its peat layers.
- Kim Bednarek, executive director of Okefenokee Swamp Park, said "receiving World Heritage status affirms what those of us who know and love the Okefenokee have always believed: this place is special." Swamp tourism currently supports $79 million in economic output for surrounding counties.
- Amid concerns over potential mining, the Conservation Fund negotiated a land deal earlier this month to protect portions of the swamp. The Okefenokee has faced threats from proposals to mine heavy minerals nearby in recent years.
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UNESCO Just Added 25 New World Heritage Sites—Including This Vast U.S. Wildlife Refuge Filled With Alligators
Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge joined iconic destinations in France, Greece, Jordan, and Tunisia on the prestigious list.Mytikas the highest peak of Mount Olympus, Greece.Credit: wabeno/Getty ImagesThe World Heritage Committee added 25 sites to the World Heritage List during their annual meeting in July, including one newly inscribed site in the U.S. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia and northeastern…
This Alligator-Infested Swamp in the American South Just Joined the UNESCO World Heritage List, Along With the Home of the Greek Gods
The 25 new locations, determined to bear "outstanding universal value" for the world, also include the D-Day landing site in Normandy, France
Georgia’s Okefenokee swamp becomes UNESCO World Heritage site
A sprawling swamp in Georgia on Saturday joined Yellowstone National Park, the Great Barrier Reef, the Taj Mahal and other iconic places around the globe as the latest UNESCO World Heritage site.
🐊 Okefenokee x UNESCO
Swampy Monday, July 27 — Today is the 30th anniversary of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which killed two people and injured 111 others during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Security guard Richard Jewell, who first discovered the bomb, was wrongly suspected before being cleared, and bomber Eric Rudolph was captured in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison. Scattered thunderstorms and 89° today. The Okefenokee Swamp officially became a UNESCO W…
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