FY2026 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant | P26AS00019

Opportunity Information: Apply for P26AS00019

The FY2026 ABPP Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant (BLAG) is a competitive National Park Service (NPS) funding opportunity designed to help communities permanently protect significant historic battlefield land associated with the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. Administered through the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP), the grant focuses specifically on preservation through land acquisition, supporting community-led efforts that keep these nationally important landscapes intact and available for public benefit. BLAG is one of four ABPP grant tracks, alongside Preservation Planning, Battlefield Restoration, and Battlefield Interpretation, but BLAG is the one dedicated to acquiring land interests to prevent loss, fragmentation, or incompatible development.

BLAG funds can be used to acquire either full ownership (fee simple) or partial interests such as conservation easements (less-than-fee). The goal is straightforward: secure lasting protection for eligible battlefield lands by helping State and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations purchase properties or easements that preserve battlefield resources. Funding comes from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and any land acquired with BLAG support is subject to LWCF requirements, including the well-known non-conversion rule that restricts changing the protected land to other uses without approval and replacement provisions.

Eligibility is tightly tied to nationally recognized battlefield inventories. For Civil War sites, the land must relate to battlefields identified in the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields (1993). For Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites, the land must relate to principal battlefields identified in the NPS ABPP Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States (2007), often referred to as the Survey Reports. To qualify, an eligible battlefield must have a battlefield or "survey" code in the Survey Reports, be located on U.S. soil (within U.S. boundaries), and be outside the exterior boundaries of any unit of the National Park System. A key restriction is that BLAG money cannot be used to acquire land (or interests in land) that lies within the legislative boundary of a National Park System unit.

The location test is also very specific: the acquisition generally needs to be at least 50 percent within the recognized battlefield boundary, and if a property overlaps a boundary, more than half of the property must fall inside the eligible battlefield boundary to be considered. For many sites, NPS has already defined boundaries through spatial data that accompanies the Survey Reports, and applicants can access battlefield boundary maps for free through the NPS DataStore. For eligible sites that do not have survey-defined boundaries, including those labeled as "Needing Further Study" in the 2007 report, applicants must propose defensible boundaries using established federal guidance, particularly National Register Bulletin No. 40 (battlefield identification and evaluation) and/or National Register Bulletin No. 21 (defining property boundaries).

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and evaluated throughout the year, with an original closing date listed as September 30, 2026. There is no stated limit on how many applications an eligible applicant may submit, and both new projects and requests to renew or supplement existing projects can compete in the same pool. While the notice lists an award ceiling of 0 (typically meaning the ceiling is not specified in the posting rather than that awards are zero), awards are competitive and tied to available LWCF funding.

Cost sharing is a core requirement: every BLAG award must be matched dollar-for-dollar with non-federal funds. In practical terms, applicants should expect to document committed matching resources and be prepared to show that the acquisition can close with the combined federal and non-federal amounts. Beyond the purchase itself, the program is structured to ensure long-term preservation and meaningful public benefit. Recipients are required to provide for public access and enjoyment of the lands or interests acquired with ABPP funds, in ways that align with the program's preservation goals (so access expectations must be balanced with protecting sensitive resources and maintaining the historic character of the site).

Permanent protection is reinforced through a required perpetual preservation easement. Grant recipients and their nonprofit partners that acquire an interest in eligible lands must convey a perpetual preservation easement to the appropriate State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) or to another organization that is acceptable to both NPS and the SHPO. This requirement is meant to ensure that, regardless of ownership changes in the future, the battlefield values that justified the federal investment remain protected over the long term.

Finally, the FY2026 framing places special emphasis on the approaching 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. While the program remains open to eligible Civil War projects as well, ABPP explicitly encourages projects that expand preservation and deepen understanding of the nation’s origins, signaling that well-justified acquisitions connected to Revolutionary War and War of 1812 history may align strongly with the program’s commemorative focus for this period.

Key administrative details from the posting include: Funding Opportunity Number P26AS00019; agency National Park Service; assistance listing/CFDA 15.928; instrument type Grant; category Discretionary; and eligible applicants that include State governments, counties, cities or townships, federally recognized Tribal governments, other Tribal organizations, and nonprofits (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education).

• The National Park Service in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2026 ABPP - Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.928.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-08-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-09-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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