FY2024 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant | P24AS00517

Opportunity Information: Apply for P24AS00517

The FY2024 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant (BLAG) is a competitive National Park Service program run through the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) that helps protect historically significant battlefield lands tied to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. The basic purpose is straightforward: keep these places from being lost to development or incompatible land uses by helping communities permanently secure key parcels and preserve them as cultural and historic resources. This opportunity sits alongside ABPPs other grant areas (Preservation Planning, Battlefield Restoration, and Battlefield Interpretation), but BLAG is specifically focused on acquiring land or property interests so the battlefield landscape can be conserved long term.

Funding supports acquisition either through fee-simple purchase (full ownership) or less-than-fee interests such as conservation easements, depending on what makes the most sense for protecting the resource. The money comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and awards are made through a competitive process rather than by formula. A central requirement of the program is cost sharing: every BLAG award must be matched dollar-for-dollar with non-Federal funds, meaning applicants need to bring an equal amount of eligible matching funds to the table to complete the acquisition.

Eligibility is limited by law to state and local governments. In practice, that means state governments and local units such as counties and city or township governments can apply directly. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply on their own, but they can still participate by partnering with a state or local government that has jurisdiction over the property interest being acquired. In that arrangement, the government agency submits the application, serves as the official grant recipient, and can pass the federal funds through to the nonprofit partner under applicable federal grant rules. This structure allows land trusts and preservation nonprofits to be deeply involved in negotiating, holding, or managing the acquisition while still meeting the statutory requirement that the award goes to a governmental entity.

Another key feature of BLAG is that not every battlefield site qualifies; the property must be part of an eligible battlefield as defined by specific national studies. For Civil War sites, eligibility is tied to battlefields listed in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commissions Report on the Nations Civil War Battlefields (1993). For Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites, eligibility is tied to the principal battlefields identified in ABPPs Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007). In other words, applicants generally need to show that the parcel they want to protect falls within one of these recognized battlefield landscapes and that acquiring it will meaningfully advance preservation goals.

From the posted opportunity details, this is a discretionary grant (Funding Opportunity Number P24AS00517) administered by the National Park Service under CFDA 15.928. The original closing date listed is 2024-12-31. The award ceiling is shown as 0, which typically signals that a specific maximum is not stated in the summary listing and applicants should rely on the full notice or program guidance for any practical limits, typical award sizes, and other constraints. Overall, the program is designed to support community-driven preservation by helping governments and their partners act quickly and strategically to secure threatened or high-value battlefield lands for future generations.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2024 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.928.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-12-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments.

Apply for P24AS00517

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