"The National Park Service announced Friday that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge will be nominated as a World Heritage Site, which moves forward the proposal four decades after the refuge was first considered a contender for the honor.

If successful, the southeast Georgia refuge would become the first World Heritage Site in the state, and it would join the ranks of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite National Park. Right now, there are two dozen World Heritage Sites in the United States and 1,157 sites internationally.

“It really does put it on the global stage,” said Kim Bednarek, executive director of Okefenokee Swamp Park and Okefenokee Adventures.

“This is a great next step for the Okefenokee, a great next step for our community, and also a great next step for talking about why swamps, bogs, fens, wetlands are all really important components of our landscape,” she said."

Jill Nolin reports for States Newsroom September 22, 2023. [2]