The Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2002 directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the American Battlefield Protection Program, to produce an update to the 1993 Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields. Congress provided funding for this update in FY2005 and FY2007. Congress required that the update address the following:
- Preservation activities carried out at the battlefields since 1993;
- Changes in the condition of the battlefields since 1993; and
- Any other relevant developments relating to the battlefields since 1993.
The American Battlefield Protection Program is producing 25 draft updates, by state, in advance of a final national report. Once all of the draft updates are completed, the ABPP will recommend new preservation priorities for Civil War battlefields nationwide.