Conservation efforts at historic and cultural sites throughout the Historic Triangle may soon be receiving a financial boost from grants released by the governor.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Thursday a round of grants for projects that will “conserve, protect, and benefit historically and culturally significant resources,” according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The projects that are eligible for the grant include landscape preservation along the James River, which will benefit the Jamestown Island-Hog Island- Captain John Smith Trail Historic District. Landscape preservation may also help prevent future crossings of the river, the release said.
The preservation and enhancement of sites involved in the Battle of Yorktown, Fort Crafford and exhibits of the Civil War’s Peninsula Campaign may also be eligible for the grants, the release said.
The grant totals $12.5 million, according to the release, and is administered by the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation. The foundation was created in 1999 by the General Assembly and the governor’s office to help fund the protection of Virginia’s historic resources.
“This grant round will fund projects that preserve iconic landscapes along the James River and within the Historic District,” said Virginia Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward. “Virginia’s history should be preserved and shared, and we look forward to reviewing the many great proposals that we hope will be submitted to VLCF through this process.”
The grant funds are available through a memorandum of agreement signed by Dominion Energy, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
The memorandum serves to mitigate impacts from construction of Dominion Energy’s Surry-Skiffes Creek Transmission Line Project, the release said.
Before being approved, grant applications will be reviewed by an interagency workgroup. The deadline for grant applications is Nov. 6 at 4 p.m.
