{"id":30388,"date":"2026-07-25T21:17:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T01:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=30388"},"modified":"2026-07-25T21:17:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T01:17:37","slug":"sen-ossoff-statement-on-designation-of-okefenokee-national-wildlife-refuge-as-georgias-first-unesco-world-heritage-site","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-ossoff-statement-on-designation-of-okefenokee-national-wildlife-refuge-as-georgias-first-unesco-world-heritage-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff Statement on Designation of Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as Georgia\u2019s First UNESCO World Heritage Site"},"content":{"rendered":"

In February 2023, Sen. Ossoff <\/em>led a bipartisan group<\/em><\/a> urging National Park Service to nominate the Okefenokee refuge for UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site list<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff has worked for years to protect the Okefenokee<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Okefenokee becomes Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2014 After years of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff\u2019s advocacy, UNESCO has designated the Okefenokee as Georgia\u2019s first World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s bipartisan push<\/a> over the last few years, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today<\/a> that the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has been designated as Georgia\u2019s first-ever UNESCO World Heritage Site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This announcement follows a bipartisan effort by Sen. Ossoff, who led a group of Georgia\u2019s Congressional delegation in 2023 urging the Department of the Interior<\/a> to pursue this prestigious designation. Following the group\u2019s urging, in September 2023, the National Park Service announced<\/a> it intended to nominate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site list, and then in December 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced<\/a> that it would nominate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for the UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to today\u2019s historic announcement, Sen. Ossoff released the following statement<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor years I\u2019ve worked to protect Georgia\u2019s beloved Okefenokee Swamp from dangerous strip mining, and now, following our bipartisan push, it\u2019s been named Georgia\u2019s first UNESCO World Heritage Site,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said.<\/strong> \u201cThe Okefenokee is an irreplaceable natural treasure in our state, and this significant designation will help protect this renowned natural treasure for generations to come, promote tourism, and support Southeast Georgia\u2019s economic growth.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Heritage designation places the Okefenokee alongside global landmarks such as the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. With its inscription, the Okefenokee becomes Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site and the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States to receive the prestigious designation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recognition is expected to boost environmental protection efforts and promote economic prosperity<\/a> through increased tourism and international recognition. According to a 2024 study<\/a>, the World Heritage Site designation by UNESCO could double visitation at the Okefenokee Swamp Park, create about 750 long-term jobs, and deliver $60 million in annual economic impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff has worked for years to protect the Okefenokee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2023, Sen. Ossoff led a bipartisan coalition<\/a> urging the U.S. Interior Department to nominate the Okefenokee Refuge for the honor, a crucial step in getting considered by UNESCO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following his urging, in September 2023, the National Park Service announced<\/a> it intended to nominate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site list, and then in December 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced<\/a> that it would nominate the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for the UNESCO World Heritage List.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2024, Sen. Ossoff submitted<\/a> formal public comments to Georgia\u2019s Environmental Protection Division opposing mining permits near the Okefenokee, citing the threat of \u201cirreversible damage\u201d to the swamp and surrounding ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In January 2025, following Sen. Ossoff\u2019s push<\/a>, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would expand<\/a> the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge\u2019s acquisition boundary by 22,000 acres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2025, Sen. Ossoff pressed<\/a> the Trump Administration\u2019s Department of the Interior in a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, securing a public commitment from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum that no part of the Okefenokee would be sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In June 2025, Sen. Ossoff welcomed<\/a> the announcement of a land acquisition deal in which The Conservation Fund will purchase roughly 8,000 acres from Twin Pines Minerals, as well as the underlying mineral rights \u2014 effectively halting the proposed titanium mine near the swamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2025, Sen. Ossoff passed<\/a> an amendment through the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee to encourage greater expanded protection of the Okefenokee Swamp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In February 2023, Sen. Ossoff led a bipartisan group urging National Park Service to nominate the Okefenokee refuge for UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage Site list Sen. Ossoff has worked for years to protect the Okefenokee Okefenokee becomes Georgia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site  Washington, D.C. \u2014 After years of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff\u2019s advocacy, UNESCO has designated the Okefenokee as Georgia\u2019s first […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30388","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30389,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/30388\/revisions\/30389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}