August 22, 2017: National Center for Preservation Technology and Training Center (NCPTT) Threatened with a 15% Budget Reduction – Grants at Risk
Urgent – Please take action now!
The Administration's FY18 Budget Request for the National Park Service (NPS), a division of the Department of Interior, proposed major reductions or elimination of the Service's assistance grants to federal, state, and local agencies and nonprofits that assist with preserving the nation's heritage. In the House markup of the request, most of these reductions were rejected and the funding restored; however, the committee accepted a 15% reduction in the base budget of NCPTT, in Natchitoches, LA.
Unlike other NPS assistance programs, NCPTT’s grant funds are part of its base budget and, while a small federal investment, these assistance grants are critical. They are not replicated anywhere else, they play an out-sized role in the world of preservation technology, and they help to keep the US heritage community a world leader in conservation. A 15% budget reduction will result in the elimination of NCPTT’s Preservation Technology and training Grants.
These NCPTT assistance grants serve the public by addressing historic preservation problems through innovative research, training, and information sharing. NCPTT awards grants within several overlapping areas, including archeology, architecture, collections management, engineering, historic landscapes and materials conservation. Learn more at: https://www.ncptt.nps.gov/blog/looking-back-on-the-ptt-grants-program/, and https://www.ncptt.nps.gov/blog/2017-ptt-grants-announced/.
Since 1994, the National Center has awarded grants in 43 states totaling more than $10.8 million in Federal funds. In the last five years, the Preservation Technology and Training (PTT) Grants program has awarded $1.9 million federal dollars that have leveraged and additional $1.1 million in non-federal dollars, resulting in more than $3 million value added research funds.
At last report, the committee markup was to be in included in a proposed multi-agency omnibus to be acted on after the August recess, so the last opportunity to affect the language in the House will be over the next few weeks. Please contact your representatives in Congress in support of NCPTT Preservation Technology and Training Grants. Protest the proposed 15% budget reduction for NCPTT.
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Sincerely,
Eryl Wentworth
AIC Executive Director