Trust Testifies in Support of American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act

Soon thereafter, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) met with Trust President David Duncan and Trustee Barbara Stewart to discuss the bill – and the urgent need to protect historic landscapes against ever-increasing development pressures.  

The bipartisan legislation was introduced last December by Senators Dave McCormick (R-PA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA). The House companion bill, sponsored by U.S. Representatives Jen Kiggans (R-VA) and Seth Magaziner (D-RI), co-chairs of the Congressional Battlefields Caucus, passed the House by a 404-14 margin in June. 

The bill seeks to reauthorize the hugely successful American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) which includes the Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants (BLAG) initiative, administered by the National Park Service (NPS). Since FY1999, this public-private partnership program has been the primary mechanism for saving historic battlefields outside National Park Service boundaries.  

The BLAG Program has been utilized in 20 states to preserve nearly 40,000 acres of hallowed ground from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War, acquiring properties from willing sellers on the private sector real estate market. Its matching-grants formula, which encourages private sector and state investment in battlefield preservation, is the key to its success. In fact, it is often referenced as a model for cooperative conservation partnerships between the federal government and the private sector 

S. 3524 is bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize ABPP at its current level of $20 million per year through 2035, plus create efficiencies in two smaller grant programs for interpretation and restoration of America’s battlefields.  

It also directs NPS to investigate the feasibility of expanding eligibility for BLAG grants to battlefields associated with the French and Indian War and the Mexican-American War. The process is aided because a Battlefield Preservation Planning Grant awarded Michigan State University and the American Battlefield Trust completed a landmark preservation and mapping study in 2020. All that would be necessary is internal NPS review of the results, determination that these battlefields meet NPS criteria for preservation of nationally and regionally significant historic landscapes, and formal department approval of the expansion.  

This is a modest, natural continuation of the program’s growth from its origins as a Civil War-specific effort. It would add just 29 battlefields (17 from the Mexican-American War and 12 from the French and Indian War, several of which overlap with each other or with Revolutionary War battlefield footprints.) to the 626 battlefields currently eligible for BLAG awards.