Interior secretary backs World Heritage proposal

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar is expected to announce today that he has approved the nomination of the San Antonio missions as a World Heritage site. Salazar, speaking at Mission San José late Thursday at a dinner of the 15th annual international symposium of the U.S. International Council on Monuments and Sites, surprised guests by revealing he decided to support the nomination. Salazar's action would send the nomination to a committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for approval. Salazar said he believes the five Spanish missions already comprise a World Heritage site, even though there currently is no designated site in Texas. “It already is, and now we're going to try to get this done,” Salazar told about 350 people, including some 200 delegates from Italy, Egypt, Cuba and other nations. In comments to the crowd, Salazar spoke of the missions as a reminder that regardless of ethnicity, language, religion and other cultural factors, “we are all one people all over this world.” “No matter what part of the planet you are from, we are all God's people,” he said...more