Yellowstone Invites Public Comment On Draft Progress Report To UNESCO World Heritage Committee

The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a draft report on progress made addressing threats to Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1978. The World Heritage Committee placed Yellowstone on its List of World Heritage in Danger in 1995. This is the sixth report to the World Heritage Committee on the conditions of the park since the park was removed from the list in 2003. It includes plans and actions currently underway that specifically seek to redress the 1995 threats and dangers. The report follows a visit this past summer from the Director of the World Heritage Centre and a representative of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), during which they observed the state of the park's resources and progress in a addressing conservation challenges. All member nations of the World Heritage Convention voluntarily nominate their own sites embracing outstanding natural or cultural values. Member nations retain complete sovereignty over each site and over the operation of locations added to the World Heritage List.

The draft progress report is available for public review and comment from January 3-20, 2012 through the National Park Service Planning, Environment and Public Comment web site at http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm?projectID=39938.

All comments will be reviewed by the National Park Service and transmitted, in their entirety, along with the final report to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre for consideration by the World Heritage Committee at its 36th session in 2012.