Source: United States Senator for Vermont Patrick Leahy
(THURSDAY, Sept. 23, 2021) – Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is announcing that the National Park Service (NPS) has awarded $967,933 in Save America’s Treasures grants to three Vermont projects. Save America’s Treasures funds the preservation, rehabilitation and conservation of nationally significant historic properties and collections.
Shelburne Farms will receive $500,000 for rehabilitation of the 1891 Breeding Barn, which the organization hopes to turn into a three-season gathering place. The State of Vermont will receive two grants: $226,725 for drainage work to preserve the Senator Justin S. Morrill State Historic Site, and $241,208 to preserve Paul Aschenbach’s Sculpture on the Highway art installations.
Leahy said: “Save America’s Treasures ensures that a wide variety of historical resources throughout Vermont will be preserved now and for future generations. As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee I have been a strong supporter of investing in historic preservation programs throughout my Senate service. Each of these projects keeps an important part of Vermont’s past alive, accessible and relevant.” In his leadership role on the Appropriations Committee Leahy helped restore funding for the program in 2017. As part of the fiscal year 2021 Appropriations bill that funds these grants, Leahy included language directing the Park Service to prioritize funding for state-owned historic sites like the Morrill Homestead.
The SAT program is administered by the NPS in cooperation with its partners, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Funding for the program comes from the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF). Established in 1977, the HPF is derived from offshore oil and gas revenues and authorized at $150 million per year through 2023. The HPF has provided more than $2 billion in historic preservation grants to states, tribes, local governments, and nonprofit organizations. Administered by the NPS, HPF funds may be appropriated by Congress to support a variety of historic preservation projects to help preserve the nation’s cultural resources and history.
Here is a LINK to the National Park Service’s description of the awards.
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