US Maritime Administration and National Park Service announce $2.6 million in grants

WASHINGTON, DC — The Maritime Administration and National Park Service announced $2.6 million in grants has been received for maritime history education and preservation projects.

The National Park Service, in partnership with the Maritime Administration, today announced the award of approximately $2.6 million in Maritime Heritage Program grants for projects that teach about and preserve sites and objects related to our nation’s maritime history.

“Our maritime heritage is woven into the nation’s history and identity,” said Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “These grants will not only help preserve our maritime resources for future generations, but many of these projects will also directly connect communities to that heritage through educational outreach and involvement in preservation efforts.”

“Since our nation’s very beginning, seafarers have helped build, defend and provide for our way of life in the United States, and the National Maritime Heritage Grant Program preserves and promotes that proud maritime legacy,” said Maritime Administrator Jaenichen. “The projects were so worthwhile in providing education and preservation of our maritime heritage assets that MARAD provided more than $800,000 over the original funding amount to support additional projects that were highly recommended by the Federal review panel.”

National Maritime Heritage Grant awards are made possible through a partnership between the two federal agencies that share a commitment to maritime heritage preservation and education. Funding is provided by the Maritime Administration through the recycling of vessels from the MARAD’s National Defense Reserve Fleet. The grant program supports a broad range of maritime education and preservation projects, without expending tax dollars, while ensuring that the vessels are dismantled in an environmentally sound manner.

The Maritime Heritage grants are available to state, tribal, and local governments, as well as private non-profit organizations for education and preservation projects. Education projects are funded in amounts between $25,000-$50,000; preservation projects are funded in amounts between $50,000-$200,000. Education grants can be used for programs such as school curriculum, interpretive programs and web pages, and preservation grant projects can include the rehabilitation or restoration of ships and other maritime resources.

	Grant Recipient	Project	Award
AK	Sealaska Heritage Institute	The Traditional Tlingit and Haida Halibut Hook Project	$39, 496.00
CA	California State Parks Foundation	Pigeon Point Lighthouse Rehabilitation Project	$73, 436.00
CA	Maritime Museum Association of San Diego	Replacement of the Sailing Ship Star of India’s Weather Decks	$192, 794.00
CA	San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park	USS Pampanito World War II Submarine Preservation Project	$192,754.00
CT	Mystic Seaport Museum	Restoration of the 1908 steamboat Sabino	$199,806.00
DE	Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation	Indian River Life-Saving Station’s Guardians of the Sea	$25,119.14
FL	UWF Historic Trust	Pensacola Maritime Heritage Trail	$25,960.00
FL	Diving with a Purpose	Diving With a Purpose (DWP) maritime archaeology educational field program	$46,536.00
GA	University of Georgia Marine Extension Service	Georgia’s Rich Maritime Cultural Heritage:  Generational Commercial Fishing Families	$41,837.00
HI	Kanehunamoku Voyaging Academy	Papahana Hoolauna Public Outreach Project	$45,899.00
ME	Penobscot Maritime Museum	National Fisherman:  Documenting a Sea Change	$40,784.00
ME	Wood Island Life Saving Station Association	Wood Island Life Saving Station, Kittery Point, Maine:  Rehabilitation	$200,000.00
MD	Living Classrooms Foundation	USS Constellation Spar, Fighting Top, and Rigging Rehabilitation	$89,596.50
MA	Lowell’s Boat Shop	Lowell’s Boat Shop Educational Outreach:  Innovative Learning on the River	$35,330.00
MA	Maritime Gloucester	An Educational Platform for America’s Oldest Marine Railway	$50,000.00
MA	Old Dartmouth Historical Society-New Bedford Whaling Museum	Conservation of the Purrington-Russell Panorama for Exhibition and Educational Programming	$49,845.25
MA	USS Constitution Museum	USS CONSTITUTION:  From Forest to Frigate	$50,000.00
NY	Intrepid Museum Foundation	USS Growler Submarine Preservation Project	$117,278.00
NY	Fireboat Firefighter Museum	Fireboat Firefighter Preservation Project	$80,875.00
NY	Long Island Traditions	Freeport Waters	$40,000.00
NY	National Lighthouse Museum	American Lighthouse History Multimedia Educational Experience	$42,150.00
NC	Core Sound Waterfowl Museum	Port Light:  Tracing Historical Connections/Outerbanks to Mainland-NC	$46,036.50
NC	Battleship North Carolina Commission	Battleship NORTH CAROLINA Emergency Hull Restoration	$200,000.00
OK	Oklahoma Historical Society	Discovery and Excavation of the Steamboat Heroine:  Exhibit & Curriculum Unit	$25,000.00
OR	Columbia River Maritime Museum	Cradles and cantilevered shelving for the Museum’s boat collection	$33,549.00
OR	Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde	Grand Ronde Canoe Culture, Waterways, Travel and Trade	$36,876.00
PA	Independence Seaport Museum	Undertake Critical Projects for the Continued Preservation of USS Olympia	$169,850.00
SC	USS Yorktown Foundation	Giving History Life:  The USS Yorktown Interactive Engine Room Experience	$26,228.00
TX	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department	Audio tours to enhance visitor experience on board Battleship TEXAS	$49,454.98
VT	Institute of Nautical Archaeology	Lake Champlain Steamboat Winooski Archaeological Investigation	$26,953.50
VA	Mariners Museum	USS Monitor Artifact Conservation and Outreach Project	$99,900.00
WA	Northwest Seaport	Preservation of the National Historic Landmark 1889 Tugboat ARTHUR FOSS	$87,000.00
WA	Center for Wooden Boats	Free public rides on historic small craft	$28,000.00
WI	University of Wisconsin-Superior	Processing and Conservation of Fraser Shipyards Collection Technical Drawings	$49,984.00
WI	Wisconsin SHPO	Lock and Load:  Great Lakes Canallers and the Grain Trade	$48,698.00