Agency: National Park Service FY2021
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Agency: National Park Service FY2021 Priority: 1 Project / Unit: Vicksburg National Military Park State(s): LA, MS Item Estimate for FY2021 Acres $ Congressional District(s): LA-5, MS-2 458 $1,453,000 Acquired to Date Location: Hinds County, MS; Warren County, 2,469 $2,810,105 MS Remaining to be Acquired 8,383 $16,292,000 Limitation There is no limitation Amount: Project Description: Vicksburg National Military Park (NMP) preserves the site of the American Civil War Battle of Vicksburg, waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. The park, located in Vicksburg, Mississippi, also commemorates the greater Vicksburg Campaign, which led up to the battle. Reconstructed forts and trenches evoke memories of the 47-day siege that ended in the surrender of the city. One of the battlefields within the park is Champion Hill Battlefield, a newly authorized (P.L.113-291) addition. Most of the major action of the Battle of Champion Hill occurred on and around these tracts. On this battlefield, 32,000 Union soldiers under the command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant and 22,000 Confederates under Major General John C. Pemberton fought the largest and bloodiest battle of the Vicksburg Campaign. The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) purchased land for the purpose of creating the Champion Hill Unit of Vicksburg National Military Park. The tracts ABT acquired are in the highest tier of lands identified for acquisition in the park’s 2018 Land Protection Plan. Purpose / Need: This request comprises 21 tracts. There are 550 unacquired tracts authorized for acquisition from the 2014 boundary expansion. This is one of many phases of addressing P.L. 113-291 and assisting with continued collaboration with local communities and partners. In addition to its historical significance, this area connects to adjacent tracts (800 acres) donated by the State of Mississippi in 2019 to help form a contiguous park. The area has experienced threats of encroachments, poaching, and archaeological resource theft. Acquisition will allow the resources to be protected and visitors to access a portion of the core battlefield. The willing seller identified when this request was prepared is still working with NPS to protect these resources and the funds detailed are estimated to be sufficient at this time. Cooperator(s): American Battlefield Trust; Friends of Vicksburg NMP and Campaign Estimated O&M Savings: Startup: $0 Annual: $0 Estimated O&M Costs: Startup: $200,000 Annual: $0 Describe O&M: This property will require minimal law enforcement presence and maintenance costs. Costs will be shared with other tracts; however, fencing and trails will be needed once it becomes Federal property. Annual operations and maintenance will be covered by base funding. Agency: National Park Service FY2021 Priority: 2 Project / Unit: Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park State(s): MO Item Estimate for FY2021 Acres $ Congressional District(s): MO-8 1 $563,000 Acquired to Date Location: Ste. Genevieve County, MO 1 $165,000 Remaining to be Acquired Limitation There is no limitation TBD TBD Amount: Project Description: Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park was authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141) and was established as a unit of the National Park Service in October 2020. This project will support visitor contact and outreach, provide administrative space, and parking for visitors to the Amoureux House and another historically significant house. Purpose / Need: Two property owners are working with the NPS to facilitate acquisition. One property is significant to protection of the Amoureux House, which is already in possession by the park. The other property is considered globally significant and contains one of five remaining structures in North American of the French vernacular poteaux-en-terre construction. Investigations by leading architectural scholars agree that this structure is a major contributing resource to the Ste. Genevieve’s historic district. Not only is its preservation and integrity architecturally important, but the historical and cultural associations between its builders and inhabitants are tied to the builders and families that occupied the NPS-owned Amoureux House allowing the park to tell comprehensive stories of national significance related to architecture, French settlement, slavery, and the untold stories of women’s significant contributions to society in colonial Ste. Genevieve and early Western America post-Louisiana Purchase. The willing seller identified when this request was originally prepared is no longer able or interested in conveying their property to NPS. In the interim, other willing sellers with high priority property at this unit have contacted NPS and are working to provide the necessary resources. The funds detailed here are estimated to be sufficient to work with this new willing seller at this time. Cooperator(s): Individual landowners Estimated O&M Savings: Startup: $0 Annual: $0 Estimated O&M Costs: Startup: $100,000 Annual: $100,000 Describe O&M: These funds are estimates only, as the park is just beginning to be formed into a whole unit. There is a cooperative agreement with the partner organization that will provide continued support in running the new visitor center, thereby allowing overall costs to be lower than if NPS assumed the full burden. Because this park is in its infancy, it is highly likely the overall budget will continue to grow. Any additional operating costs will be requested as they become known. Agency: National Park Service FY2021 Priority: 3 Project / Unit: Petersburg National Battlefield State(s): VA Item Estimate for FY2021 Acres $ Congressional District(s): VA-4 310 $341,000 Acquired to Date Location: In and around Petersburg, Virginia; 2,660 $3,035,242 Dinwiddie, Hopewell, Petersburg, and Prince George Counties Remaining to be Acquired 6,398 $19,609,000 Limitation There is no limitation Amount: Project Description: Petersburg National Battlefield (Battlefield) preserves sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg. At this Battlefield, General Ulysses S. Grant cut off all of Petersburg’s supply lines, ensuring the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865. Six days later, Lee surrendered. The Battlefield is centered on the city of Petersburg, Virginia and includes outlying components in Hopewell, Prince George County, and Dinwiddie County. More than 140,000 people visit the park annually. There are opportunities to explore the core battle sites, recreate on 18 miles of trails throughout the different areas of the park, and fish in the rivers and streams. Purpose / Need: The requested tracts are the core of two nationally significant battles (as determined by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission and approved by Congress). Acquisition would allow for long-term protection and preservation of key terrain and the many landscape elements that have survived. The Federal objective of destroying Confederate supply lines, especially railroads, into Petersburg and Richmond is best exhibited and interpreted at these locations. These battles are an intricate part of telling the story of the expanding front and the historical importance of the railroad. Situated on the battlefields, these tracts contain archaeological resources and a small witness structure associated with the battles. Local law enforcement officers have dealt with cases of relic hunting in the area but lack legal authority to enforce action under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA); Federal law enforcement will be able to enforce the Act more effectively. The American Battlefield Trust (ABT) has worked to significantly reduce the cost of acquiring and managing these parcels. Acquisition will improve visitor access by extending an existing trail to key battlefield points. Further, this would connect to larger networks of trails under development; the park, local governments, and nonprofits are actively planning a regional trail system to connect these sites. The willing seller identified when this request was prepared is still working with NPS to protect these resources and the funds detailed are estimated to be sufficient at this time. Cooperator(s): American Battlefield Trust, The Conservation Fund Estimated O&M Savings: Startup: $0 Annual: $550 Estimated O&M Costs: Startup: $0 Annual: $1,250 Describe O&M: There are considerable operational savings due to ABT investment in the property, including rehabilitation of the landscape and stabilization of a structure that will serve as a witness structure. Additional savings will be explored through agricultural leasing. Agency: National Park Service FY2021 Priority: 4 Project / Unit: Shiloh National Military Park State(s): TN Item Estimate for FY2021 Acres $ Congressional District(s): TN-4 268 $558,000 Acquired to Date Location: McNairy County, TN 5,485 $1,960,663 Remaining to be Acquired Limitation There is no limitation 2,612 $8,542,000 Amount: Project Description: Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated town of Shiloh, about nine miles south of Savannah, Tennessee, with an additional area located in the city of Corinth, Mississippi, 23 miles southwest of Shiloh. The Dingell Act (P.L. 116-9) incorporated the addition of three battlefield sites pivotal to Battle of Shiloh that had lacked adequate preservation. The park encompasses the Fallen Timbers Battlefield, where Sherman advanced against the Confederate forces and captured the field hospital. After