historic preservation program announces funding for new mexico projects

Up to $270,000 has been secured for the upgrading and preservation of two historic sites in New Mexico.

The funding is coming from the Save America’s Treasures Program, which is jointly administered by the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The idea behind the program is to provide federal matching funds for efforts designed to maintain and preserve structures and sites that are deemed of national historic significance.

So far, awarding more than $315 million in grant funding since 1999 for nearly 1,300 individual projects across the country, the Save America’s Treasures Program works with local organizations to preserve and protect designated structures.

Exactly $125,000 in New Mexico will go for what is officially called the Fort Bayard Museum and Education Building Restoration project. The effort is headed by the Village of Santa Clara.

A second New Mexico project in conjunction with the Santa Fe-based Cornerstones Community Partnerships will see nearly $145,000 dedicated to the restoration of a two-room adobe at the Casita Desiderio y Pablita in Chimayo in northern New Mexico.

In announcing the funding for the projects, New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich noted that “these structures serve as a physical symbol of the strength and resilience of northern New Mexicans.”

By Garry Boulard