(Gettysburg, Pa.) – Returning the Union army’s battle line on Cemetery Ridge to its 1863 appearance at Gettysburg National Military Park is one of 201 proposalsNational Park Service (NPS)  Director Mary Bomar and Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced at a press conference in Yosemite National Park today to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the NPS.

“The National Park Service has, after a rigorous review, certified these proposals as eligible for Centennial Challenge matching funds,” Bomar said, “and they are ready to go in Fiscal Year 2008 which begins Oct. 1.”

The rehabilitation of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg is one of nearly $370 million of proposals eligible for Centennial Challenge matching funds. NPS, in partnership with the nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation would rehabilitate some of the most historically significant land on the Gettysburg battlefield by removing the current visitor center building, the Cyclorama building, the parking lots and roads associated with these two buildings, removing overhead power lines, and re-establishing the historic landscapes at the center of the Union army’s battle line in July 1863.

The Gettysburg Foundation’s Campaign to Preserve Gettysburg includes rehabilitation of the center of the Union battle line, historic Ziegler’s Grove, and other prominent features on Cemetery Ridge, as well as providing expanded educational opportunities for the public. The project area is 43.5 acres, containing historic houses, barns, fences, stone walls, and orchards, as well as commemorative features including more than 70 civil war monuments, seven of which will be relocated to their historic locations, where they had been placed by veterans of the battle, but had been subsequently moved during the construction of the Cyclorama building. The project also includes removal of 6,700 feet of intrusive power lines along the historic Taneytown Road corridor from Steinwehr Avenue to the horse trail crossing south of Granite School House lane. The power lines will be placed underground.

Director Bomar said, “The centennial challenge is a critical element in the National Park Centennial Initiative put forward by President Bush and unveiled by Secretary Kempthorne one year ago. The full centennial initiative is a potential $3 billion investment in our national parks, two-thirds of it a public-private partnership of matching money.”

The President’s fiscal year 2008 budget called for an additional $100 million a year for 10 years to be dedicated to bolster basic park operations, Bomar said. Congress has included the first $100 million for operations in the fiscal year 2008 budget that awaits final passage.

“The second part of the initiative is the Centennial Challenge – a funding mechanism to match up to $100 million a year over 10 years of public money with $100 million a year for 10 years in private donations,” Bomar said. “Congress has yet to finish legislation necessary to create the public-private Centennial Challenge.” 

Financial commitments to the first round of proposals exceeded the President’s challenge. “We have about $370 million in proposals with not $100 million in private commitments but $216 million committed from park visitors, friends groups and other partners,” Bomar said.

 “I’ve testified before Senate and House subcommittees and judging by the warm reception we received, I believe Congress will include Centennial Challenge money in our next budget. We look forward to working with members from both sides of the aisle to provide the key to the Centennial Challenge. When that happens we can make decisions on which of these wonderful proposals to begin in the fall.”

Locally, Gettysburg NMP Supt. John P. McKenna said, “Our supporters at the Gettysburg Foundation have committed more than a two for one match of funds for the rehabilitation of Cemetery Ridge. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 and we are excited to get this centennial project underway.”

The list of proposals – at 116 parks in 40 states and the District of Columbia – touches parks nationwide with a centennial effort to inventory every living thing in the national park system.

To be certified, proposals had to be imaginative and innovative, addressed critical Service needs, had a philanthropic partner, required little or no additional recurring operating funds to be sustainable, improved the efficiency of park management, operations and employees and produced measurable results.

Other proposals:

·   Lewis and ClarkNationalHistoricalPark adopting the Class of 2016 with the goal of turning students to stewards.

·   Additional student education through AcadiaNational Park’s “No Child Left Inside” project.

·   Strengthening efforts to save Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles – the world’s most endangered sea turtle – with citizens assisting park rangers to observe and relocate nests on Padre Island National Seashore, the turtle’s most important U.S. nesting habitat.

·   Restoration of more than 50 miles of important foot trails in YosemiteNational Park.

·   Climate change research of glaciers at Mount RainierNational Park and

·   Utilizing scientists and volunteers to study life along the Appalachian Trail seeing national parks as an environmental barometer.

“There is a huge wave of excitement among National Park Service professionals and our partners,” Bomar said. “We will create park-based centers for Junior Rangers, implement cutting-edge energy projects like fuel cells and geothermal and build multimedia wayside exhibits that “talk” to visitors. This is a victory for national parks and over 270 million park visitors we see each year.

“Last week, I sent an email to the men and women of the National Park Service to inform them of our announcement. One of the replies I received says it best: ‘This is thrilling! A win/win opportunity like we've never seen before. Thanks for the energy and vision for the NPS.’

“That thanks,” Bomar said, “is for the many who worked to transform vision into action: Secretary Kempthorne and our friends in Congress, from both sides of the aisle who introduced legislation to support the Centennial. But most of all, our thanks go to park superintendents, friends groups, partners and an army of supporters.”

“When history is written,” Bomar said, “the Centennial Initiative will be second only to the creation of the national park system itself.”

The full list of centennial challenge-eligible projects and programs is available on-line at the National Park Service centennial web site www.nps.gov/2016

-NPS-

Fact Sheet- Rehabilitation of Cemetery Ridge Project (pdf)