One month before leaving office, the Biden administration’s Interior Department – without consulting local officials or residents – nominated the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to be designated as a World Heritage Site under the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Seven months later, in July 2025, the Trump administration announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, a step that goes into effect on Dec. 31, 2026.

“The Okefenokee landgrab by UNESCO is not America-First,” said Gabriella Hoffman, host of CFACT’s video series, Conservation Country, and award-winning outdoor journalist. “All three counties bordering Okefenokee Swamp have voted against UNESCO coming into their backyard. Public lands access and property rights would be infringed if this action proceeds.

Indeed, the IUCN is hardly a disinterested party when it comes to setting global conservation priorities. On its website, the group posts a blog saying, “Over the past several years, IUCN Member EARTHDAY.ORG has led a campaign to embed climate education in countries’ [Nationally Determined Contributions], the core climate pledges under the Paris Agreement that guide policy, investment, and long-term planning.” The Trump administration, it is worth remembering, has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement.

That is why Interior Secretary Burgum should rescind the nomination and keep the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge safely within the America-First fold. This would align nicely not only with the exit from UNESCO; it would complement the Trump administration’s recent withdrawal from 66 international organizations, including the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Trump’s Board of Peace — originally created to oversee the American-mediated ceasefire in Gaza and since expanded to cover other conflicts the U.N. has failed to resolve — is further proof that alternatives to sclerotic, self-serving international bodies exist.

UNESCO is just such an outfit and should not be allowed anywhere near the majestic Okefenokee.