Secretary Zinke Announces $859,321 in Grants to Protect Historic Battlefields in New York
President Trump’s Salary and Matching Funds will go to Restoration Projects at Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke today announced $7.2 million ingrants to help identify, preserve, and protect America’s battlefields, including $175,523 to the Town of Fort Ann for restoration of Fort Ann Battlefield in partnership with the Civil War Trust and Agricultural Stewardship Association, Inc. This grant also includes $683,798 to New York State for restoration of the Sackets Harbor Battlefield in partnership with the Civil War Trust. Secretary Zinke made the announcement while visiting Antietam National Battlefield, where he also stated that President Donald J. Trump's first quarter salary donation of $78,333 would go toward the restoration of two projects at the fabled Western Maryland battlefield.
After President Trump donated his first quarter salary to the National Park Service, an anonymous donor pledged $22,000 to bring the President's donation to an even $100,000. The Civil War Trust and the National Park Foundation, and Save Historic Antietam Foundation have also pledged funds bringing the total gift to $263,545. The donation will restore the historic Newcomer House on the Antietam Battlefield, and will underwrite the replacement of 5,000 linear feet of deteriorated rail fencing along the Hagerstown Turnpike where some of the most intense fighting of the battle occurred.
"As both the Secretary of the Interior and a military veteran, I'm deeply honored and humbled to deliver the donation to Antietam National Battlefield on behalf of President Trump," said Secretary Zinke. "Visiting the hallowed ground the day after Independence Day is incredibly moving and it underscores the importance of why we must preserve these historic grounds. The President's donation will allow generations of Americans to learn about our history and heritage on this sacred site."
The $7.2 million will preserve nearly 1,200 acres at Civil War battlefields as part of the Battlefield Land Acquisition grants. The grant projects are located at 23 battlefields threatened with damage or destruction by urban and suburban development in Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
“These lands were once the stages of our nation’s most pivotal conflicts,” Zinke said. “Working with the state and local communities, we must preserve these battlefields for future generations of Americans to remember and understand the impact of sacrifices of those who fought on these hallowed grounds. This grant program, along with President Trump's donation will help ensure just that.”
The grants are funded from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses revenue from federal oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf to purchase land, water, and wetlands for the benefit of all Americans. Since its establishment in 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has conserved land in every state and supported tens of thousands of state and local projects. The fund does not use taxpayer dollars; the primary source of income derives from fees paid by oil and gas companies drilling offshore in waters owned by the American people.
The grants are administered by the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), one of more than a dozen programs administered by the NPS that provide states and local communities technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities. Consideration for the battlefield land acquisition grants is given to battlefields listed in the National Park Service’s Civil War Sites Advisory Commission’s 1993 Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields and the ABPP’s 2007 Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States.
Grants are awarded to units of state and local governments for the fee-simple acquisition of land, or for the non-federal acquisition of permanent, protective interests in land (easements). Private non-profit groups may apply in partnership with state or local government sponsors. Those non-profit partners are listed along with the government sponsors below.
Complete guidelines for grant eligibility and application forms are available online at www.nps.gov/abpp.
For the complete list of battlefield grants to states, click here.
