Civil War Battlefields: Targeting Protection Opportunities

Conservation agencies and organizations turn to The Conservation Fund to help them achieve their conservation objectives by building tools that help inventory, assess, and visualize their conservation priorities.

Today our Civil War battlefields are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Hallowed ground, where more than 600,000 Americans gave their lives, is being paved over for shopping malls and housing tracts.

- Civil War Preservation Trust

Summary

To support the protection of historically significant Civil War battlefield sites, The Conservation Fund was asked by the Civil War Preservation Trust to undertake rapid assessments of battlefields across the country.

Challenge

The Civil War Preservation Trust wanted a quick snapshot of potential protection opportunities that would facilitate landowner contact at threatened battlefields and track progress towards meeting preservation goals.

Solution

Each Battlefield Protection Rapid Assessment is delivered within a customized ArcGIS™ map document on CD that identifies key lands for protection and contains a GIS database integrating historic battlefield maps, existing land records information, natural resource data, and other supporting data. Rapid Assessments have been uploaded into a customized web-based tracking system to monitor progress and compile acquisition results.

Results

The Fund has completed over 60 Battlefield Protection Rapid Assessments in 8 states over the last six years. The Civil War Preservation Trust has acquired over 6,500 acres of land via outright purchase or conservation easement on these assessed battlefield sites.

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