HONOLULU — The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Historic Preservation Division was awarded more than $750,000 in grant funding from the National Park Service.
The award is part of more than $85 million in NPS Historic Preservation Fund grants NPS is directing to historic preservation offices in states, territories, the District of Columbia, partnering nations and tribes.
Grants range between $316,369 (Republic of Palau; Republic of the Marshall Islands) and $1,970,659 (Texas). Hawaii will receive $751,525.
“The National Park Service is proud to support our state, tribal, and local partners with annual funding that helps them preserve their significant historic and cultural places,” said NPS director Chuck Sams. “Importantly, these grants aid communities across the country to invest in local stewardship of treasured resources.”
Since its inception in 1977, the Historic Preservation Fund has provided more than $2.7 billion to a variety of programs and projects dedicated to preserving the nation’s cultural resources and history.
The fund is maintained by Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease revenues, not tax dollars, with the intent of mitigating the loss of a non-renewable resource to benefit the preservation of other irreplaceable resources.
Annual HPF grants fund preservation programs at 59 state historic preservation offices. The grants require a 40% non-federal match and 10% of funding must be granted to certified local governments.
The fund also provides grants to 221 tribal historic preservation offices with no match required.
Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.
