FY2026 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant

About this opportunity

Historic battlefields and associated sites of armed conflict are powerful reminders of the shared heritage of all Americans. In an ongoing effort to extend the conservation of natural and cultural resources beyond our park boundaries, the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program (NPS ABPP) promotes the preservation and interpretation of these important places. NPS ABPP supports community-driven stewardship of historic resources through four grant opportunities: Preservation Planning, Battlefield Restoration, Battlefield Interpretation, and Battlefield Land Acquisition.NPS ABPP administers Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants (BLAG) to assist State and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations with the preservation of eligible Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War battlefield lands through acquisition of fee-simple or less-than-fee (easement) interests. Funding for the BLAG program is made available from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and is awarded competitively. Applications are accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis throughout the year. Each grant requires a dollar-for-dollar non-Federal match. Grants are available to acquire interests in eligible Civil War battlefields listed in the Civil War sites Advisory Commission's (CWSAC) Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields (1993) and in the principal battlefields of the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 identified in NPS ABPP"s Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007) (Survey Reports).As our nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, NPS ABPP encourages projects that promote and expand preservation as well as enhance our understanding of the origins of the United States. NPS ABPP BLAG funds may not be used to acquire land or interests in land within the legislative boundary of a unit of the National Park System. Grant recipients are required to provide for public access and enjoyment of lands or interests in lands acquired with NPS ABPP funds in a manner consistent with the preservation goals of the program. Land acquired with these funds will be subject to the LWCF non-conversion requirements. Grant recipients and their nonprofit partners who acquire an interest in eligible lands must convey a perpetual preservation easement on the land to the appropriate State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or to another organization acceptable to the National Park Service and SHPO.

Who can apply

Eligible Sites: Eligible battlefields: (1) have been assigned a battlefield or "survey" code in the Survey Reports; (2) are located on American soil, or within the boundaries of the United States; and (3) located outside the exterior boundaries of a unit of the National Park System. Eligible acquisitions should lie at least 50% within the battlefield boundaries of sites identified in the Survey Reports. Battlefield boundary maps are available free of charge through the NPS ABPP website at the NPS DataStore: (https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Collection/Profile/7874). If the property to be acquired overlaps the battlefield boundary, a majority (more than 50%) of the property must be within the boundary of an eligible battlefield for the application to be eligible for funding. Boundaries for most eligible battlefields are defined by NPS spatial data accompanying the Survey Reports. Applications for eligible sites without survey-defined boundaries, including sites identified as "Needing Further Study" in NPS ABPP"s Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007), must select defensible boundaries for the site according to guidelines provided in National Register Bulletin No. 40: Guidelines for Identifying, Evaluating and Registering America"s Historic Battlefields and/or National Register Bulletin No. 21: Defining Boundaries for National Register Properties. There are no limits to the number of applications an applicant may submit. Applications for renewal or supplementation of existing projects are eligible to compete with applications for new Federal awards

Related groups

• Small business grants
• Nonprofit grants

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