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Residents urge Ware County to oppose Okefenokee UNESCO nomination; refuge director offers counterpoint
Summary
Several residents urged the Ware County Board of Commissioners to adopt a resolution rejecting implementation of U.N. policies tied to a possible Okefenokee World Heritage designation; Michael Lusk, director of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, said past U.S. World Heritage sites have not reported adverse local effects and offered letters of political support.
Several residents asked the Ware County Board of Commissioners on May 12 to pass a resolution opposing the Okefenokee Swamp's nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status, saying the designation could bring unwanted U.N. policies and economic constraints.
Brooks Strickland, who spoke during the work session public comments, said UNESCO is part of the U.N. and in his view "its agenda is the opposite of U.S. rights," and urged the county to state it will not implement U.N. policy. Travis Sanctuary and Hamp Ammons echoed that request, warning that once a site is designated a World Heritage site it remains so and raising concerns about potential long-term economic changes to nearby communities.
Michael Lusk, director of the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, disagreed with those predictions and provided historical context. Lusk noted that the United States ratified the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972 and said past U.S. World Heritage designations — he cited Independence Hall, the Alamo and the Statue of Liberty as examples mentioned to the commission — did not require local communities to deal directly with UNESCO staff or remove local control. He said he has been in contact with staff at other U.S. World Heritage sites and that those communities did not describe the adverse effects the public commenters warned of; he also offered copies of letters from former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and Lt. Governor Burt Jones supporting the refuge's nomination.
Neither the work session nor the minutes show a formal motion or vote on a county resolution during this meeting. The speakers’ statements were recorded as public comment; the commission did not take formal action on a resolution at the May 12 work session.
