Preserve
America News |January 2009
Senate Passes PA/SAT Bill
The
U.S. Senate passed S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act,
which contained the Preserve America/Save America's Treasures
legislation that has been in the legislative process for months. The
bill passed by a margin of 73-21 on Jan. 15. The bill is now
awaiting action in the U.S. House of Representatives. It
contains provisions to permanently authorize both Preserve
America and Save America’s Treasures.
Both
programs promote the enhancement of heritage tourism and
public-private partnerships in historic and cultural preservation.
Preserve America also fosters reuse and interpretation of cultural
resources that form the social, educational and economic fabric of
communities. The Save America’s Treasures grant program funds
“bricks and mortar” improvements to historic structures and
assets.
736 Communities Designated; Applications
Available
Just
before leaving the White House, former First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush
designated 23 more Preserve America Communities, bringing the total
number of designated communities to 736. These include Preserve
America Communities across all 50 United States and its
territories. The program continues, and the next quarterly deadline
for designation is March 1. Click here
for more information.
This
most recent designation round included the following: Valley, Ala.;
Tombstone, Ariz.; Batesville, Ariz.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Hot
Springs, Ark.; North Little Rock, Ark.; Randolph County, Ark.;
Tyronza, Ark.; Livermore, Calif.; Bloomington, Ind.; Greensburg,
Ind.; Logansport, Ind.; Wabash, Ind.; Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; Miles
City, Mont.; Halfmoon, N.Y.; North Castle, N.Y.; Waterford,
N.Y.; Lancaster, Penn.; Blythewood, S.C.; Austin, Texas; Belton,
Texas; and Bryan, Texas.
Monroe County Courthouse, Bloomington, Ind.
Preserve America Stewards Honored
Eleven Preserve
America Stewards were officially designated and recognized for their
exemplary volunteer efforts. In mid-January, former First Lady Mrs.
Laura Bush, former Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett,
and ACHP Chairman John L. Nau, III made the announcement of this
first round of designations.
The
Preserve America Stewards program recognizes programs at the state,
tribal, local or regional level that have demonstrated a successful
use of volunteer time and commitment in order to help care for our
shared cultural heritage. The program is administered
by the ACHP in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management.
The
following were named Preserve America Stewards: Alutiiq Museum
(Kodiak, Alaska); Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (near Pagosa
Springs, Colo.); Cornerstones Community Partnerships (in New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, Texas and California); Glasco Community
Foundation (Glasco, Kan.); InfoAge Science-History Center (Wall
Township, N.J.); Monterey State Historic Park (Monterey, Calif.);
New Mexico SiteWatch (statewide); Oberlin Heritage Center (Oberlin,
Ohio); San Juan Mountains Association (Southwestern
Colorado); U.S. Forest Service Passport in Time
program (nationwide); United States Lighthouse Society (near
Annapolis, Md.).
Read
about the honored projects and Stewards details here.
Don't delay; download an application here to
nominate a worthy stewards group in your community for national
recognition!
Stewards at the Alutiiq Museum, Kodiak,
Alaska
Preserve America Grants Announced
The
first round of Preserve America Grants for FY 2009 was announced in
mid-January and includes 31 projects in 17 states and one tribe
totaling nearly $3 million. The Preserve America Grant program
is administered by the Department of the Interior’s National Park
Service (NPS) in partnership with the ACHP. The competitive
matching grants fund Preserve America Communities, State Historic
Preservation Offices and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices to
support their preservation efforts through heritage tourism,
education and historic preservation planning.
Over
the course of seven competitive rounds since 2006, just over $20
million in Preserve America Grants has been awarded to 259 projects
in 49 states. In FY 2006 and 2007, just under $5 million was
available. In FY 2008, a total of $7.2 million was available. In
all, the NPS has received 619 applications requesting more than $58
million. Each project requires a 50/50 match leveraging more
than $40 million for heritage tourism and related work at the
local level.
Read
more about the grants here.
Vizcaya's Maze Garden. The city of Miami,
Fla., received a $50,000 Preserve America Grant to produce
a multilingual audio tour of Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. (photo
courtesy Vizcaya Museum and Gardens)
Register Now for Section 106 Courses
Preserve
America Practitioners: Sign up now for training in Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act. Courses are taught by
skilled historic preservation specialists from the ACHP, the
only federal agency responsible for administering the National
Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 review process. This is
useful for community leaders and members of the public who are
dealing with projects in your community that involve any sort of
federal involvement.
Click
here
to find out about the courses, offered nationwide throughout
2009.
|