FY2023 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant | P23AS00469

Opportunity Information: Apply for P23AS00469

The FY2023 ABPP Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant (BLAG) is a competitive National Park Service funding opportunity under the American Battlefield Protection Program designed to help protect significant battlefield landscapes tied to the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. The basic purpose is straightforward: provide financial support so communities can permanently preserve important places where major armed conflicts occurred, keeping those landscapes intact for public benefit, education, interpretation, and long-term stewardship. Funding comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and the program is positioned as one of four ABPP grant tracks (alongside preservation planning, battlefield restoration, and battlefield interpretation), with BLAG specifically focused on acquiring land or permanent property interests.

The grant supports two main types of acquisitions. First, it can fund the purchase of land in fee simple, meaning full ownership of the property. Second, it can fund the acquisition of permanent protective interests in land, most commonly conservation easements, which restrict future development and protect the historic landscape while ownership may remain with the current landowner or another entity depending on the easement terms. In both cases, the key requirement is that the acquisition results in lasting protection of eligible battlefield land rather than temporary control or short-term leasing.

Eligibility is tightly tied to specific federally recognized battlefield inventories and mapped boundaries. For Civil War sites, eligible locations are those identified in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields (1993). For Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites, eligibility is based on the National Park Service ABPP Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007), often referenced as the Survey Reports. Eligible battlefields and associated sites are assigned official battlefield or survey codes in those reports, and the National Park Service survey data typically defines the recognized boundaries for each eligible battlefield. As a practical rule, proposed acquisitions are expected to fall within those boundaries. If a property only partially overlaps the boundary, the project can still qualify, but more than 50 percent of the land being acquired must be inside the eligible boundary for the application to be considered eligible for funding.

The program also signals how it prioritizes proposals. Applications tied to properties rated as Preservation Priority I and II receive precedence for processing, evaluation, and award recommendations. In effect, if the land is within a top-tier priority area identified in the relevant survey work, the application is more likely to move forward quickly and be viewed more favorably compared to lower-priority areas, assuming all other requirements are met.

A major financial condition of BLAG awards is the non-federal match requirement. Each grant requires a dollar-for-dollar match, meaning the applicant must provide at least an equal amount of non-federal funds relative to the federal amount requested. This match structure is central to the program and typically shapes how projects are assembled, since applicants often need state appropriations, local funds, private philanthropic contributions, or other non-federal sources lined up to complete the acquisition.

Only state and local governments can be direct applicants and recipients under this opportunity, consistent with the statutory limitation in 54 U.S.C. 308103(b). The eligible applicant types listed include state governments as well as county governments and city or township governments. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible to apply on their own, but they can still participate by partnering with an eligible state or local government that has jurisdiction over the property interest being acquired. In that arrangement, the government agency submits the application, becomes the official grant recipient, and then acts as a pass-through entity for federal funds to the nonprofit partner, consistent with federal grant rules referenced in 2 C.F.R. 200.74 and 2 C.F.R. 200.86. This setup allows land trusts and preservation nonprofits to play an active role in negotiations and acquisitions while keeping the award structure compliant with the program's statutory limits.

From an administration and timing standpoint, applications are accepted and evaluated on a rolling basis rather than a single fixed deadline cycle, although the opportunity listing notes an original closing date of 2023-12-31. Rolling review means projects can be submitted as they become ready, which is often important for land acquisition deals where timing, negotiations, and closing schedules are sensitive. Awards are competitive, and while the listing shows an award ceiling of 0 (which typically indicates the ceiling is not specified in the public summary rather than implying no funding), the actual award size in practice is driven by available LWCF allocations, the project budget, the appraised value of the property interest, and the strength of the application and match.

In short, this grant is best understood as a targeted land protection tool for historically significant battlefield landscapes, restricted to government applicants, requiring a 1:1 non-federal match, and limited to acquisitions within mapped and coded eligible battlefield areas recognized by NPS survey work. The strongest proposals are those that secure high-priority battlefield land, demonstrate permanent protection through fee purchase or easement, align clearly with the documented battlefield boundaries, and present a credible acquisition plan with committed matching funds.

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2023 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 2022-12-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-12-31. (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.

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