Fort Pulaski Receives Centennial Challenge Grant

Date: May 6, 2015
Contact: Joel Cadoff, [phone] X 114

The National Park Service announces Fort Pulaski National Monument
and the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse are recipients
of a 2015 National Park Service Centennial Challenge Grant

SAVANNAH – Today, Fort Pulaski National Monument and the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse announced they were the joint recipients of a 2015 National Park Service Centennial Challenge Grant. These Centennial Challenge Grants are part of a multi-year effort to prepare for the National Park Service Centennial in 2016. The NPS Centennial Grant Program includes $26 million for restoration projects at national parks around the country, including $16 million from non-governmental partners. In the National Park Service’s Southeast Region, this grant program will fund 25 separate projects totaling over $3 million dollars. With this grant, Fort Pulaski National Monument will continue ongoing preservation and restoration efforts on the Cockspur Island Lighthouse.

“The Centennial Challenge Program is a great way to leverage federal dollars, with a 1:1 or higher private match, said Superintendent Melissa Memory. “Fort Pulaski could not realize the level of work to protect the beloved lighthouse without both the financial support and advocacy that the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse provide us. In addition to achieving much needed preservation work on the lighthouse, we plan on engaging the Historic Preservation program at Savannah Technical College to help implement the project, so this program also helps us train the next generation of the preservation workforce.”

“This project is a win for everyone,” said Harvey Ferrelle, President of the Friends of Cockspur Island Lighthouse. “We value our relationship with the National Park Service and protecting the lighthouse is an immense undertaking. With dedicated support from members like Michael R. and Norma McKinley, without whom this generous donation would not be possible, this project will help preserve this historic treasure for future generations of visitors to see.”

In order to qualify for a Centennial Challenge Grant, projects needed to demonstrate that they provided for authorized activities that benefited one or more National Park System areas, contributed towards at least one of the Director’s Call to Action goals, required little or no additional recurring NPS operating or maintenance funds to be sustainable, did not include the construction of new facilities; and have partner(s) who were ready, willing, and able to contribute at least 50% of the project. Once submitted projects that were highly evaluated

included more than a 1:1 match, impacted their impact to multiple parks, included and or their a contribution to Centennial goals, particularly youth engagement, and that they addressed high priority deferred maintenance needs.

The Centennial Challenge Grants are part of a multiyear effort to prepare for the 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service including the Find Your Park Campaign which connects a broader audience to public lands and President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park initiative that will give every fourth grader and their families free access to national parks and all federal lands and waters for a full year, beginning this Fall.

Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on U.S. Highway 80, 15 miles east of Savannah. For more information, please visit the website of Fort Pulaski National Monument at www.nps.gov/fopu or call [phone]. You can also follow the park on Twitter at www.twitter.com/FortPulaskiNPS or like the official Fort Pulaski National Monument Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FortPulaskiNPS.

– NPS –