I was rather happy to have received a very fast response from UNESCO in Paris regarding the designation of the Erie Canal as a World Heritage site. It turns out that it has not never been recommended to UNESCO by the U.S. Department of State for consideration. I was given a contact at the State Dept. and I have already written to that individual.
Here is the response I received from UNESCO:
Dear Mike Wrona,
First, I would like to thank you for your e-mail and your interest in World Heritage. For a site to be inscribed on the world Heritage List, it must first be inscribed by the Member State on what is called the Member State’s Tentative List. This list is an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination during the following years.
You can see these Tentative Lists on our website, by following this link:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists
If you wish, you can contact the National Commission for UNESCO of the United States of America who would be better placed to give you information about why this site has not yet been considered for World Heritage status, and also take your comments into account.
Here are the contact details you can use:
United States of America
Executive Director : Mr Eric Woodard
U.S. National Commission for UNESCO
Address : Department of State
2121 Virginia Ave.
Suite 6200
Washington DC 20037
USA
Phone : (1.202) 663 0026
Fax : (1.202) 663 0035
E-mail : DCUNESCO@state.gov; WoodardEW@state.gov (SG);
Web site : http://www.state.gov/p/io/unesco/I hope this helps,
Kind regards,
Romain Debuys
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre
If you would please write or email Mr. Woodward at the State Dept, cut and paste this post if easier for you. It would help. Ask that the Erie Canal be nominated as a World Heritage Site. Maybe something good will come of it. At the least this is a case of “Nothing ventured, Nothing gained.”