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National Park Service Awards Civil War Land Acquisition Grants

The National Park Service recently announced the award of more than $1.4 million in grants to help with land acquisition at five Civil War battlefields. Grant recipients include battlefields at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania ($217,000); Wilson’s Creek, Missouri ($400,000); Bentonville, North Carolina ($114,000); Cedar Creek, Virginia ($430,000); and Chancellorsville, Virginia ($246,425).

The grants were made from the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) to help states and local communities acquire and preserve threatened Civil War battlefield land outside the boundaries of National Park units. Priority was given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields (CWSAC Report). Funds were awarded based on the property’s location within CWSAC-defined core and/or study areas, the threat to the battlefield land to be acquired, and the availability of required non-Federal matching funds.

The grant funds were made available under the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-10), which appropriated $8,982,000 for the Civil War battlefield land acquisition grants program. Applications for the balance of the funds are accepted at any time. Criteria to consider in the applying for the Civil War Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants include:

The LWCF Civil War Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants are awarded through a competitive process to units of state and local governments.

    * Private non-profit groups may apply in partnership with state or local government sponsors;
    * Each grant requires a dollar-for-dollar non-Federal match.
    * Grants are available for the fee simple acquisition of land, or for the acquisition of permanent, protective interests in land at Civil War battlefields listed in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’s (CWSAC) 1993 Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields.
    * Higher consideration will be given to proposals for acquisition of endangered lands at battlefields defined as Priority I or II sites in the CWSAC report.

Complete guidelines for grant eligibility and application forms are available online at: www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp

For further information, contact Kristen McMasters, Grants Manager, at 202-354-2037 or kristen_mcmasters@nps.gov

Grantee, State and Amount Awarded:

    * Adams County, Pa. Gettysburg Battlefield, Bievenour Tract (Fee Simple)
      $135,000
    * Adams County, Pa. Gettysburg Battlefield, Nguyen Tract (Fee Simple)
      $82,000
    * Missouri Department of Natural Resources Wilson’s Creek, Keet Tract (Fee Simple)
      $400,000
    * North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, N.C. Bentonville Battlefield, Griffis Tract (Fee Simple)
      $41,000
    * North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, N.C. Bentonville Battlefield, Jackson Heirs Tract (Fee Simple)
      $73,000
    * Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Va. Cedar Creek Battlefield, Abel Tract (Fee Simple)
      $430,000
    * Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Va. Chancellorsville Battlefield, Partain Tract (Fee Simple)
      $246,425

Total = $1,407,425

Read entire article at Lee White at the National Coalition for History