Data Center Threat Puts Manassas Battlefield on Nation’s Most Endangered Public Lands List

Today, Outside Magazine and RE:PUBLIC Lands Media published their list of America’s Most Endangered Public Lands for 2026, spotlighting the imminent threat the Prince William Digital Gateway poses to Manassas National Battlefield Park. The looming data center project would permanently alter the historic Manassas Battlefield, raising concern from both heritage and environmental advocates. 

“Outside and RE:PUBLIC have joined the ranks of national groups and local citizens sounding the alarm to this dire threat on an irreplaceable historic landscape,” said American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan. “The inclusion of Manassas National Battlefield Park on their endangered public lands list underscores the catastrophic effect the Prince William Digital Gateway would have on this treasured hallowed ground.” 

RE:PUBLIC interviewed various experts, professors, conservationists and policy advisors to develop the list. "We asked each of them: 'What keeps you up at night? What brings you hope? And what motivates people to act?’” reads the list’s introduction. 

The legal fight to stop the Digital Gateway is ongoing. Last month, lawyers for the Trust, the Oak Valley Homeowners Association, and other plaintiffs argued to the Virginia Court of Appeals that the rushed rezoning vote in Prince William County to make way for the world’s largest data center complex alongside Manassas National Battlefield Park was improper and should be voided. The Court’s decision is still pending. 

The attorneys pointed to insufficient notice given by the County ahead of the December 2023 rezoning vote, which was hastily pushed through by a lame-duck Board of Supervisors. The 4-3 vote, with one abstention, came amid overwhelming public opposition and contrary to the recommendations of County’s professional planning staff.  

Already, taxpayers have been saddled with more than $1.6 million in legal fees to defend the improper Board of Supervisors’ zoning vote for the data center campus. 

The Prince William Digital Gateway — with 37 proposed data center buildings, roughly the equivalent of 144 Walmart Supercenters — would require 14 onsite electrical substations for operation. These data centers are expected to consume up to 9 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power over 2 million homes, and to require hundreds of miles of high voltage transmission lines over Manassas’ hallowed grounds and amid the private residences of Prince William County. 

In further support of the case brought by the American Battlefield Trust and several Gainesville residents, six leading national and regional conservation organizations with more than 1 million combined members and supporters filed an amicus curiae brief with the court, stressing their concern the project “would inevitably lead to the irreversible and irreparable desecration of hallowed ground and the despoiling of the natural and cultural resources” in historic Prince William County. 

Manassas National Battlefield Park commemorates two critical battles of the American Civil War, the Battles of First and Second Manassas (sometimes referred to as Bull Run). Together, the battles resulted in nearly 27,000 casualties. While the presence of a national park demonstrates the significance of these battles, important historical events occurred beyond its modern boundaries, some of which are slated to be the site of the Digital Gateway. Additionally, the proposed complex threatens the remains of those who fell and were laid to rest on the field in unknown, unmarked graves.   

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America’s hallowed battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 60,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War across 160 sites in 25 states. Learn more at www.battlefields.org.