Three states will share $2.3 million in U.S. National Park Service (NPS) grants to protect nearly 500 acres of battlefields and landmarks from the American Revolutionary and U.S. Civil wars, the NPS announced earlier this month.
New Jersey, Mississippi and Virginia will receive Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants, which are administered by the NPS's American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), the NPS reports in the April 8 announcement. Funding for the grants comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, "which reinvests revenue from offshore oil and natural gas leasing to help strengthen conservation and recreation opportunities across the nation," the NPS states in the announcement.
“These grants to state and local governments represent an important investment in public-private conservation efforts across America,” NPS Director Chuck Sams said in the announcement. “They ensure that future generations have access to green spaces and can reflect on our collective history.”
NPS reports that Middlesex County Inc. in New Jersey will receive $1,086,306.25 for the 7.49-acre Metuchen Meeting House Battlefield; the Mississippi Department of Archives and History is slated to receive $692,450 for the 353.6-acre Champion Hill Battefield; and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is to get $71,567.50 for the 1.1-acre Sailors Creek Battlefield and another $496,756.64 to buy the 136.67-acre Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield. The total acreage purchased is 498.86 for $2,347.080.39, according to the NPS.
The American Battlefield Protection Program was created in 1991 to promote the preservation and interpretation of battlefield land and related landmarks, according to the NPS. The ABPP administers four grant programs - Preservation Planning, Battlefield Land Acquisition, Battlefield Restoration and Battlefield Interpretation. Grants are awarded to groups, institutions, organizations or governments for preservation projects and to state and local governments to purchase Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefield land.
State and local governments can obtain Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants through fee simple acquisition or through the purchase of an interest in the land through a preservation covenant.
