The true influence is AIPAC. Look for their quotes at the end of most articles about this.

Short statement from "World Heritage Ohio"

"We want to share important information related to our efforts to add the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks in Licking County, Ross County and Warren County to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. As you may have heard, the State Department has confirmed that the U.S. plans to withdraw from UNESCO on December 31, 2018.

That said, we are optimistic that our work to add the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to the World Heritage List will not be impacted. Earlier today the Department of the Interior indicated that the U.S. will still participate in World Heritage. There is precedent for this: during the Reagan Administration, the U.S. withdrew its UNESCO membership but still participated in the World Heritage Committee. During the next 19 years (1984-2002) when the U.S. remained a non-member, a substantial number of U.S. sites were inscribed."

For over a decade we have worked to recognize these unquestionably worthy Ohio American Indian earthworks on the World Heritage List. American Indian Tribal Nations and national and international cultural heritage experts consistently affirm the global cultural significance of these sites. We remain optimistic that the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks will be the next U.S. World Heritage nomination. Our work continues toward bringing this prestigious recognition to Ohio."

self interested :)

I hope, not want to wait years to see sites like Chicago registered.

I'm glad the US and Israel World Heritage Sites are here to stay for now and that the Department of Interior plans to stay involved with world heritage, although the UNESCO decision is still frustrating.

However, what if the US and/or Israel would decide to no longer be part of the World Heritage Convention, especially with some of the rhetoric in the US that labels the UN as land thieves and a evil foreign influence? Would the US and/or Israel lose sites then?

"The nomination of buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, which was referred back to the US by the World Heritage Committee in 2016, is being revised with the intent to re-submit it before 2019." NPS

Does this mean more than likely 2020 FLW nomination?

The indicated timeline for US nominations are:

Masterworks of Frank Lloyd Wright 2019 or 2020
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks' 2020 or 2021

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/story/news/local/2017/10/17/hopewell-world-heritage-pur suit-still-track/771198001/

ITs difficult to determine at this point ff a nomination for 2019 will be submitted. However, its clear the FLW re-nomination will come before Hopewell.

It looks like the National Park Service is investigating raising entrance fees to $70 for its most popular parks. Though I do note the annual all parks pass looks set to remain at $80

I understand the reasoning, but this does make the US a less attractive destination to visit as a WHS enthusiast. Especially galling as I was on a trip to visit many of these parks a few years back but the government shutdown closed them all (sorry my own personal gripe on that).

Nice overview of current and tentative US sites:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/north-america/united-states/us -unesco-world-heritage-photos/

Interesting article about the challenges of US nominations trying to get the green light from the Department of the Interior. No nomination can move foreward with the support from the Department of the Interior and that right now is problematic with the current administration.

"We seek the Department of the Interior's official invitation for the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks to be the next World Heritage nomination prepared by the U.S. That is the next official milestone."

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/supporters-push-dayton-warren-county-sites- for-world-heritage-status/eoveYG4Xcu576UsxaZoD4I/

Thanks winterkjm for the recent review of the Chicago Skyscrappers. I dug out my guidebooks the other day and fully intended to finally write up that Chicago one which I feel is one of the best t-list sites.

It is interesting to note which buildings have dropped off though. I was especially interested that The Reliance Building isn't included anymore. That was going to be my go to example, I will have to ferret around and look for why some of the buildings were dropped.

Hope you enjoyed Chicago though, it is a very enjoyable city and one I love going back to.

I agree -- that was a great review of the skyscrapers, and I liked the extra pictures winterkjm had on Flickr. Chicago is one of my favorite cities to visit in the US, and buildings like the Rookery and the Monadnock Building (the former fully and the latter partially designed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root) are worth the visit. For anyone interested in learning more about Daniel Burnham's influence on architecture and the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, I highly recommend Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City.

Thank you. I would agree, a worthy addition and one of the best cultural nominations from the US indeed.

Of the cultural sites on the US Tentative list, it would be fantastic to see a submitted dossier and inscription for the Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings and the Early Chicago Skyscrapers nominations.

For the natural nominations, ideally White Sands National Monument and the California Current Conservation Complex dossiers would move forward first.

Interior Proposes Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as Nomination to World Heritage List - No date, but this will be the next US nomination to the world heritage list.

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-proposes-hopewell-ceremonial-earthworks-no mination-world-heritage-list

That's great news! I suppose this gives me one less reason to dislike Zinke, though he'll have to change his views and actions a lot more for me to actually have a positive opinion of his tenure; I'm still pretty upset about his attacks on national monuments.