Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge Nears UNESCO World Heritage Site Status

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, an expansive preserve spanning more than 400,000 acres, has recently received an invitation to prepare a nomination for inscription as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. As the proud neighbor of the national park, The Farm at Okefenokee, in collaboration with our partners, eagerly anticipates the next steps and the potential positive impact such a prestigious designation would bring to south Georgia and the surrounding community.

As announced by the Associated Press in late 2023, conservation groups emphasize that the UNESCO designation would elevate the Okefenokee’s profile, recognizing it as “one of the world’s last intact blackwater swamps.”

Currently, there are 1,199 UNESCO World Heritage Sites across 168 countries. If the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge attains this distinction, it will become the 26th site in the U.S..

Kim Bednarek, executive director of the Okefenokee Swamp Park, the nonprofit organization collaborating with the federal government on the park’s nomination entry, highlighted to AP News, “It would join a long list of iconic American landscapes – the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite.”

We invite you to learn more about the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and other UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Explore the unique characteristics that make this blackwater swamp a potential addition to the prestigious list.

Credit: Photo by Jim Still-Pepper/iStock