Preserve America is a national initiative in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the U.S. Departments of Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Education; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities; and the President's Council on Environmental Quality.

—Mrs. Laura Bush Announces the New Preserve America Community Neighborhood Program

—Congress Approves Funding for Preserve America Grants

—Call for Nominations for the 2006 Preserve AmericaPresidential Awards

—President and Mrs. Bush Present the 2005 Preserve America Presidential Awards

—New Preserve America Communities Recognized for Commitment to Historic Preservation

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Mrs. Laura Bush Announces the New Preserve America Community Neighborhood Program

First Lady Laura Bush, Honorary Chair of Preserve America, recently announced details of a key new component of the Administration's Preserve America initiative: the Preserve America Community Neighborhood designation.

Because larger metropolitan areas tend to have distinct historic neighborhoods that are essentially communities within larger urban areas, the Preserve America Community program has been expanded to include neighborhood eligibility in metropolitan areas with populations greater than 200,000 persons. The United States has about 90 such metropolitan areas.

For more information on Mrs. Bush's July 2005 announcement in historic East Nashville, Tennessee, and on the Preserve America Community Neighborhood program, including an application form, visit www.preserveamerica.gov/communities.html.

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Congress Approves Funding for Preserve America Grants

The U.S. House and Senate have approved up to $5 million for Preserve America grants in the FY 2006 U.S. Department of the Interior appropriations bill. This action paves the way for the President to approve the matching grants program for the fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2005.

The grants are designed to support a variety of activities related to heritage tourism and innovative approaches to the use of historic properties as educational and economic assets. They would go beyond the bricks and mortar grants available under Save America’s Treasures.

Eligible recipients for these matching (50/50) grants include State Historic Preservation Officers, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, designated Preserve America Communities, and Certified Local Governments that are applying for Preserve America Community designation. Individual grants would range from $10,000 to $100,000.

The grants program will begin after October 1, 2005. Check the "Federal Support" section of the Preserve America Web site (www.preserveamerica.gov/federalsupport.html) for further developments on this program.

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Call for Nominations for the 2006 Preserve America Presidential Awards

A call for nominations for the 2006 Preserve America Presidential Awards has been announced. The deadline for submitting nominations for this prestigious honor is November 1, 2005.

The Preserve America Presidential Awards are given annually to organizations, businesses, government entities, and individuals for:

The recipients are chosen through a national competition administered by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Transportation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and the President's Council on Environmental Quality; in cooperation with the Executive Office of the President.

For more information on the Preserve America Presidential Awards program, including a nomination form, visit www.preserveamerica.gov/presidentialaward.html.

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President and Mrs. Bush Present the 2005 Preserve America Presidential Awards

President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, Honorary Chair of Preserve America, presented four 2005 Preserve America Presidential Awards in May 2005 at a White House Rose Garden ceremony in Washington, DC. The awards recognize entities that demonstrated commitment to the protection and interpretation of America's cultural or natural heritage assets.

In the Heritage Tourism category, awards were given for the Texas Heritage Trails Program, and the restoration of the Edith Wharton estate The Mount, in Lenox, Massachusetts. In the Private Preservation category, awards were given for the Isaiah Davenport House Museum in Savannah, Georgia, and operational enhancements of the Bolduc Historic Properties in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri.

For more information on the Preserve America Presidential Awards presentation, visit www.preserveamerica.gov/news-05PApresawards.html.

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New Preserve America Communities Recognized for Commitment to Historic Preservation

In June 2005, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton joined the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives and other Preserve America partners in Washington, DC, to announce the designation of 24 new Preserve America Communities.

Secretary Norton was joined by Representative Brad Miller, co-chair of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, and John L. Nau, III, chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

The Preserve America Community program was initiated in January 2004, when Mrs. Bush designated the first eight communities at a White House ceremony. Since then, the effort has grown to include 261 communities in 43 States.

Communities designated through the Preserve America initiative receive national recognition for their efforts. Benefits include use of the Preserve America logo and listing in a Web-based directory to showcase preservation and heritage tourism efforts. Communities also receive Preserve America signs through the assistance of the U.S. Forest Service.

The next quarterly deadline to apply for Preserve America Community designation is September 1, 2005. For more information on this program, recent designation events, a list of Preserve America Communities, and an application form, visit www.PreserveAmerica.gov/communities.html.

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Preserve America encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our cultural and natural heritage assets. The program includes the annual Preserve America Presidential Awards, Preserve America Community and Neighborhood designations, Preserve America History Teacher of the Year awards, and educational outreach.

Preserve America is a national initiative in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Transportation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and the President's Council on Environmental Quality. For more information, visit www.PreserveAmerica.gov.

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