Park Awards 2009 Heritage Grants

Date: July 30, 2009
Contact: Tom Baker, Management Assistant, [phone] ext131

(Calumet, MI) The National Park Service at Keweenaw National Historical Park awarded eleven assistance grants this week. The NPS received fifteen applications in this second year of the Keweenaw Heritage Grants program, which is open to owners of historic property within the Quincy and Calumet units of the park.

The purpose of the grants is to provide enhancement funds for a broad range of projects and programs including, but not limited to, historic façade rehabilitation, cyclic historic maintenance, historic landscape preservation, preservation planning and design, museum collections preservation and care, development of interpretive exhibits and programs, interpretive publications, sustainable interpretation and preservation pilot programs, and other preservation and heritage-related projects. Greater consideration was given to proposals that addressed accessibility, safety, and sustainability.

A total of $40,480 was awarded to eleven successful applicants, ranging from $1,000 to $7,500. The total costs of the eleven projects ranged from $2,000 to $24,000 for a total value of $114,550 in preservation work that will be accomplished with the assistance of the grant program.

With the passage of the Public Lands Management Act of 2009, grantees were only required to match $1 of non-Federal funds for every $1 of National Park Service funds. The NPS is required to ensure that all construction work complies with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Preservation of Historic Properties in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Grantees also agree to provide a degree of public access by a variety of means to help increase appreciation and understanding of the rich heritage that is encompassed by the stories related to copper mining on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Applicant's projects involved a broad range of preservation work including archeological investigation, universal accessibility for a historic church, continued stabilization efforts for historic industrial facilities, exterior rehabilitation of a historic home and commercial building, a historic church steeple rehabilitation project, interpretive exhibits and signage, and a safety equipment project. Projects were selected for funding based on answers and documentation provided with the application, available funds, and a balance of project types and location.

NPS staff thanks and congratulates the community for their high level of interest in providing stewardship for the precious historic resources of the Copper Country.