Nearly $9 million dollars in grant money is available 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.
Complete guidelines for grant eligibility and application forms are available online at: https://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/grants/LWCF/LWCFAcquisitionGrants.htm.
The National Park Service is now accepting applications and will continue to do so until all funds have been awarded. Last year, Land & Water Conservation Fund Civil War Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants funded 26 projects in six states totaling $8,995,628. The grants ranged in size from $14,000 for the preservation of the Bentonville battlefield in North Carolina, to a $1.9 million award which helped acquire 84 acres of the Spring Hill battlefield in Tennessee.
“These grants offer an opportunity for states and localities to preserve our nation’s threatened Civil War battlefields,” said Jonathan B. Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service. “We look forward to helping communities across the country preserve their historic resources as our nation begins the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.”
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.
