The purpose of this section is to assist citizens, public and private institutions, and governments at all levels in planning, interpreting, and protecting sites where historic battles were fought on American soil during the armed conflicts that shaped the growth and development of the United States, in order that present and future generations may learn and gain inspiration from the ground where Americans made their ultimate sacrifice.
Using the established national historic preservation program to the extent practicable, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the American Battlefield Protection Program, shall encourage, support, assist, recognize, and work in partnership with citizens, Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations in identifying, researching, evaluating, interpreting, and protecting historic battlefields and associated sites on a National, State, and local level.
To carry out paragraph (1), the Secretary may use a cooperative agreement, grant, contract, or other generally adopted means of providing financial assistance.
There are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 annually to carry out this subsection, to remain available until expended.
In this subsection:
The term "Battlefield Report" means the document entitled "Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields", prepared by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, and dated July 1993.
The term "eligible entity" means a State or local government.
The term "eligible site" means a site—
(i) that is not within the exterior boundaries of a unit of the National Park System; and
(ii) that is identified in the Battlefield Report.
The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the American Battlefield Protection Program.
The Secretary shall establish a battlefield acquisition grant program under which the Secretary may provide grants to eligible entities to pay the Federal share of the cost of acquiring interests in eligible sites for the preservation and protection of those eligible sites.
An eligible entity may acquire an interest in an eligible site using a grant under this subsection in partnership with a nonprofit organization.
The non-Federal share of the total cost of acquiring an interest in an eligible site under this subsection shall be not less than 50 percent.
An interest in an eligible site acquired under this subsection shall be subject to section 460l–8(f)(3) of this title.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to provide grants under this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
(Pub. L. 111–11, title VII, §7301, Mar. 30, 2009, 123 Stat. 1213.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015