Thank you for your continued interest 

and support of Public Law 109-441. We 

would like to especially thank those who 

were able to participate in our national 

meetings in Los Angeles, California on 

January 17, 2008 and online via webcast. 

Through 20 listening sessions, two 

formal written comment periods, and 

one national meeting, your comments 

have helped us make our Report to 

Congress a consensus document—one 

that refl ects the hopes and aspirations 

of a broad array of organizations, 

educational institutions, and state, local, 

and tribal governments—all committed 

to the preservation of Japanese American 

World War II confi nement sites. 

Report Presented to Congress 

The National Park Service (NPS) is very 

pleased to announce that the Department of the Interior presented the report 

to Congress on May 21, 2008. This report outlines the legislative requirements, 

project categories, evaluation criteria, 

and program administration guidelines 

for the grant program. The subsequent 

pages contain the report, which was 

requested by Congress and submitted to 

the Appropriations Subcommittee. 

Here are some of the key elements of the 

grant program:

Highlights of the 

Grant Program

 Eligible grant applicants must be 

non-profi t organizations, educational 

institutions, public entities, or state, 

local or tribal governments.

 Eligible project categories include: documentation, interpretation 

and education, preservation, collection of oral histories, capital projects, 

planning, and real property acquisition exclusive to Jerome, Rohwer, 

Topaz, and Honouliuli (as stipulated 

in the law).

 Projects will be evaluated

based on how well the proposal 

demonstrates the following criteria: 

need for project, long-term impact, 

sustainability, feasibility, support 

for project from stakeholders and 

partners, and capacity of applicant to 

manage project.

 Applicant must have demonstrated 

2:1 federal to non-federal match

(example $100 federal to $50 

partner).

 Minimum grant award is $5,000; 

Maximum grant award is no more 

than $3.8 million (or 10% of congressionally authorized amount of $38 

million), over the entire life of the 

grant program.

Future of the Grant Program

As of June 2008, Congress has not yet 

appropriated funding for this grant 

program. However, the NPS is working 

with various groups and individuals to 

further preservation and interpretation 

at confi nement sites across the country. 

We encourage you to contact an NPS 

regional representative and the appropriate State Historic Preservation Offi ce 

or Tribal Historic Preservation Offi ce to 

discuss potential projects. 

We hope that the grant program provides 

new opportunities to learn about and to 

preserve this important chapter of our 

nation’s history. 

For more information on P.L. 109-

441, please visit the following website: 

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/imro. You 

may also call or write the following NPS 

regional contacts:

PACIFIC WEST REGION

California, Idaho, Nevada,

Oregon, Washington, and other

states not listed below

Contact: Tom Leatherman

Phone: 510-817-2701

Email: tom_leatherman@nps.gov

Hawaii

Contact: Frank Hays

Phone: 808-541-2693 x723

Email: frank_hays@nps.gov

INTERMOUNTAIN REGION

Wyoming, Colorado, Utah,

Arizona, Montana, Texas,

Oklahoma, New Mexico

Contact: Kara Miyagishima

Phone: 303-969-2885

Email: kara_miyagishima@nps.gov

MIDWEST REGION

Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas,

Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota,

Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan,

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

Contact: Rachel Franklin-Weekley

Phone: 402-661-1928

Email: rachel_franklin-weekley

@nps.gov

Public Law 109-441: 

Preservation of Japanese American 

Confi nement Sites

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Artwork by George Yano, courtesy of Manzanar NHS June 2008 - Volume 2, Number 1

1

Public Input Vital to Establishment of Grant Program
Introduction 

 

On December 21, 2006, President George W. Bush signed 

Public Law 109-441, which authorizes the National Park 

Service (NPS) to create a program to encourage and support 

the preservation and interpretation of historic confi nement 

sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World 

War II. The Act also directs the NPS to consult with a 

variety of governmental, educational, and private nonprofi t 

organizations in the development of a grant program to 

achieve the purposes of the Act.

On June 11, 2007, the House Committee on Appropriations 

directed the NPS to provide a report that describes how 

the agency will implement the grant program (H. Rpt. 110-

187). Included within this report is a description of the 

consultation process used to engage the interested public 

in the development of this grant program; the proposed 

grant program guidelines and evaluation criteria; and the 

NPS strategy for implementing and administering the grant 

program.

Background

Japanese American and local organizations, stakeholders, 

and individuals have worked for the preservation and 

interpretation of Japanese American World War II 

confi nement sites over the last four decades. These 

grassroots eff orts have led to improved recognition, 

appreciation, and preservation of many of these historic 

confi nement sites. Today, several private nonprofi t 

organizations, such as the Heart Mountain, Wyoming 

Foundation, the Topaz Museum, and the Friends of Amache, 

are actively engaged in the preservation of these sites and 

are dedicated to sharing the histories and lessons learned 

from the internment experience with new and diverse 

audiences. The NPS’s participation in the identifi cation, 

recognition, and preservation of these historic confi nement 

sites formally began in 1992 when Congress directed the 

agency to conduct a thematic study and survey of historically 

important sites associated with the confi nement of Japanese 

Americans during World War II. The resulting publications, 

Confi nement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II 

Japanese American Relocation Sites (1999) and the National 

Historic Landmark thematic study, “Japanese Americans 

in World War II,” (2005) provided detailed information 

about the confi nement sites. Thus far, two sites have been 

established as NPS units: Manzanar National Historic 

Site in California was established in 1992 and Minidoka 

Internment National Monument in Idaho was established in 

2001. The NPS has cooperated with a number of nonprofi t 

organizations and local communities to successfully 

nominate the Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery (AR) and 

internment camp sites of Tule Lake (CA), Granada (CO), 

Topaz (UT), and Heart Mountain (WY) as National Historic 

Landmarks.

The NPS continues to work in partnership with a number 

of stakeholders and organizations to preserve and 

interpret Japanese American World War II confi nement 

sites. On December 21, 2006, the NPS’s role in preserving 

and interpreting these historic sites expanded with the 

enactment of Public Law 109-441, which authorized a new 

grant program directly targeting historic sites identifi ed in 

the NPS report, Confi nement and Ethnicity.

This Act defi nes the role of the NPS in implementing the 

grant program in Section 1(a) as follows: 

The Secretary [of the Interior] shall create a program 

within the National Park Service to encourage, support, 

recognize, and work in partnership with citizens, Federal 

agencies, State, local, and tribal governments, other 

public entities, educational institutions, and private 

Report to Congress Pursuant to Public Law 109-441: 

Preservation of Japanese American World War II Confi nement Sites

Photo courtesy of the Bancroft Library, 

University of California, Berkeley

National Park Service

2
nonprofi t organizations for the purpose of identifying, 

researching, evaluating, interpreting, protecting, 

restoring, repairing, and acquiring historic confi nement 

sites in order that present and future generations may 

learn and gain inspiration from these sites and that these 

sites will demonstrate the Nation’s commitment to equal 

justice under the law.

Civic Engagement 

In preparation for a congressional appropriation and in 

response to the directive from the House Committee on 

Appropriations, the NPS initiated a comprehensive and 

rigorous six-month civic engagement process to gain valuable 

public input to assist in the development of this grant 

program. The Act contained specifi c guidance regarding the 

consultation process and directed the NPS, at a minimum, 

to consult with “State, local, and tribal governments, 

other public entities, educational institutions, and private 

nonprofi t organizations (including organizations involved in 

the preservation of historic confi nement sites).” The NPS’s 

communication strategy to share information and obtain 

diverse public input involved preparing two newsletters, 

hosting 20 public listening sessions and two national 

meetings, developing an NPS public comment website and 

communicating frequently with local, regional, and national 

media sources. 

The fi rst step in the process was preparing and mailing a 

“scoping” newsletter, sent to more than 12,000 individuals, 

organizations, academic institutions, and governmental 

entities, providing basic information about Public Law 

109-441. In addition to those entities identifi ed in the Act, 

the NPS also contacted former internees, their families, and 

This map is based upon the 1999 NPS publication Confi nement and 

Ethnicity. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of sites. Additional 

sites may be identifi ed as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. 

Public Law 109-441 - Preservation of Japanese American World War II Confi nement Sites

3
other concerned parties interested in the creation of the 

grant program. The newsletter posed three key questions:

1. What are your hopes and expectations for this grant 

program?

2. What types of projects do you think should receive 

funding through this program?

3. What should the evaluation criteria be for determining 

which proposals receive consideration for funding, when 

it is available, through the grant program?

These same questions were also asked at 20 public listening 

sessions hosted by the NPS during September and October 

of 2007. The listening session locations were selected to 

encourage participation from key stakeholders and former 

internees and their families. The listening sessions were 

located primarily in the western United States, where the 

majority of the historic sites are located and where most key 

constituencies reside. Listening sessions were hosted in the 

following locations:

Glendale, Arizona

Dumas, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Gardena, California

Los Angeles, California

Sacramento, California

San Diego, California

San Francisco, California

San Jose, California

Denver, Colorado

Washington, D.C.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Chicago, Illinois

St. Paul, Minnesota

Las Vegas, Nevada

Portland, Oregon

Salt Lake City, Utah

Bainbridge Island, Washington

Seattle, Washington

In addition, the NPS developed the public comment website 

to provide information about the Act and ask for public 

comment with regard to the future of the grant program.

Through the listening sessions, newsletter, and NPS website, 

more than 800 people participated and provided useful input 

to help shape the development of the grant program. 

After analyzing the public comments, the NPS prepared 

draft grant program guidelines and evaluation criteria. 

These two components of the grant program became the 

core of a second newsletter, which the NPS mailed to the 

public in December 2007. This newsletter asked for feedback 

on the draft grant program guidelines and evaluation

criteria. 

Finally, on January 17, 2008, the NPS hosted two national 

listening sessions at the National Center for the Preservation 

of Democracy in Los Angeles, California. These sessions 

focused on the draft grant program guidelines and 

evaluation criteria, while further engaging the public about 

the key components of the grant program. These national 

listening sessions were broadcast live via the internet to 

increase public access and participation. More than 80 

people participated in these sessions and the NPS received 

more than 175 written comments by mail and through the 

NPS public comment website.

Throughout the entire process, the NPS engaged more than 

1,000 individuals representing more than 40 organizations, 

governmental entities and academic institutions. These 

groups included the Amache Historical Society, Amache 

Preservation Society, Bainbridge Island Historical Society, 

Colorado Preservation, Inc., Colorado River Indian Tribes, 

Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project, Friends of 

Amache, Friends of Minidoka, Gila Reunion Committee, 

Gila River Indian Community, Go for Broke Educational 

Foundation, Go for Broke National Veterans Association, 

Heart Mountain, Wyoming Foundation, Historic Hawaii 

Foundation, Jan Ken Po Cultural Association, Japanese 

American Citizens League, Japanese American National 

Heritage Coalition, Japanese American National Museum, 

Japanese American Service Committee, Jerome County 

Historical Society, Kooskia Internment Camp Project, 

Manzanar Committee, National Coalition for Redress/

Reparations, National Japanese American Historical Society, 

National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust 

for Historic Preservation, Navajo Nation, Pinedale Assembly 

Listening Session in Glendale, Arizona - NPS Photo

National Park Service

4
Center Project Committee, Poston Restoration 

Project, The Conservation Fund, Topaz Museum, 

Town of Granada, Trust for Public Land, Tule 

Lake Preservation Committee, Utah Heritage 

Foundation, Wing Luke Asian Museum, and many 

others.

Grant Program Guidelines

Based upon the extensive program of civic 

engagement described above, and in accordance 

with Public Law 109-441, the NPS developed 

the following grant program guidelines, project 

categories, and evaluation criteria:

Legislative Requirements of the 

Grant Program

In accordance with Public Law 109-441, all 

grant applicants must meet certain eligibility 

requirements, including: 

1. Must be a private nonprofi t organization, 

educational institution, public entity, or state, 

local, or tribal government.

2. Must have a demonstrated commitment of a 

2:1 Federal to non-Federal match (example: $100 

Federal to $50 partner).

In accordance with Public Law 109-441, all 

applications for grants must meet certain 

eligibility requirements, including:

1. All grants must be for the purpose of 

identifying, researching, evaluating, 

interpreting, protecting, restoring, or repairing 

confi nement sites.

2. Acquisition of non-Federal real property is 

allowable only for Jerome, Rohwer, Topaz, and 

Honouliuli. All acquisition of lands using Federal 

funding at these sites must have the written 

consent of the property owner(s).

Public Law 109-441 defi nes historic confi nement 

sites as the 10 internment camps (Gila River, 

Granada, Heart Mountain, Jerome, Manzanar, 

Minidoka, Poston, Rohwer, Topaz, and Tule Lake), 

as well as those locations specifi cally identifi ed in 

the NPS publication, Confi nement and Ethnicity: 

An Overview of World War II Japanese American 

Relocation Sites.

What We Heard 

“... the heart of internment is the camps themselves, the 

hallowed places, remote as they are. When people visit the site, 

they feel the onus of the incarceration. It emanates from the soil, 

the temperature whether hot or cold, the desolation, and they 

know the injustice of internment. Protecting and interpreting 

those places is paramount.”

“It is crucial to remember that the generation that experienced 

the trauma of the internment. . . are a dying generation. Time is of 

the essence for this grant program.”

“Anything that would keep the stories of the internees alive—

so it never happens again.”

“My primary expectation is that any project which receives 

funding stays true to the voices of the people that were 

incarcerated in the concentration camps. . . .”

“I see the value of the grant program as an important vehicle for 

enabling others to understand what happened during World War 

II and the lessons learned. While these sites might be considered 

natural museums of sorts in desolate locations, they symbolize 

much more than that. So there must be a strong public awareness

and educational component of the grant program and ultimately 

successful grantees.”

“. . .I feel strongly that this project... should encourage a 

deeper understanding of the causes of the confi nement and 

what detainees experienced in point of physical, economic and 

psychological hardships. It should strive to encourage in the 

public their responsibility to try to prevent this type of violation 

of civil and human rights, hich undermines the very foundations 

of a democratic society.”

“I also would hope that there would be ample opportunity to 

hear, via oral interviews, the words of those who were confi ned, 

to see artifacts of their lives. . .their life in the bitter cold of winter 

with the wind biting into every “home” and the blistering heat of 

summer, concentrated by the exterior tar paper of the 

barracks. . . .”

Public Law 109-441 - Preservation of Japanese American World War II Confi nement Sites

5
Public Law 109-441 also requires the NPS to award grants 

no later than 180 days after the date on which funds are 

appropriated by Congress for the purposes of the Act. Based 

on the legislative direction and public input, NPS developed 

criteria and guidelines for the grant program as follows:

Project Categories 

The NPS will evaluate projects and allocate funding within 

the following project categories:

1. Real property acquisition exclusive to Jerome, Rohwer, 

Topaz, Honouliuli (as stipulated in the law).

2. Documentation projects, including identifi cation, 

research, and evaluation of confi nement sites (examples: 

National Historic Landmark and National Register of 

Historic Places nominations and archeological surveys).

3. Interpretation and education projects related to 

confi nement sites (examples: wayside exhibits, education 

curriculum, and creative arts).

4. Preservation of confi nement sites and related 

historic resources (examples: stabilization, restoration, 

rehabilitation, acquisition, and relocation of historic 

buildings and structures to their original locations, 

reconstruction of key structures, and collections 

conservation).

5. Recording and sharing of oral histories.

6. Capital projects (examples: interpretive centers, 

restrooms, and interpretive trails).

7. Planning (examples: interpretive plans, land use plans, 

and resource management plans).

Evaluation Criteria

The NPS will utilize the following criteria to select the 

projects:

1. What need does the project address?

a. How does this project address a critical issue 

(examples: threatened resources, health/safety 

concerns)?

b. How will the project increase public awareness and 

understanding of the Japanese American World War II 

confi nement sites?

c. How will the project preserve or improve the 

conditions of Japanese American World War II 

confi nement site resources?

2. What impact will the project have and how will the 

impact be measured? (examples: increase visitation to the 

site, reach a large and diverse audience, remain relevant 

and available for current and future generations).

3. What is the long-term impact of the project and how 

will the project be sustained?

4. How feasible is the project and does the applicant 

demonstrate the ability to successfully complete the 

project?

a. Is the project cost eff ective?

b. Does the applicant demonstrate an ability to 

complete the project in a timely, cost eff ective, and 

professional manner, ensuring laws and standards are 

met?

c. Has adequate planning been completed for the 

project?

5. How much support and participation does the project 

have from former internees, stakeholders, and/or the 

public?

Application Requirements

1. Each applicant may submit no more than three 

applications annually. Each grant application may not 

request less than $5,000. 

Over the entire life of the grant program, applicants 

may not receive more than $3.8 million (or 10% of the 

congressionally authorized amount of $38 million).

2. Acceptable types of a non-Federal match could include 

donations of cash, goods, land, services, and equipment. 

Donations of land value must be supported by an 

appraisal, meeting the Uniform Standards for Federal 

Land Acquisitions. Land donated for the preservation of 

these sites will be considered as a match, if the land is an 

integral part of the grant proposal, is part of the historic 

site, and will be accessible to the general public. Other inkind donations would be evaluated relative to value based 

on established guidelines and must comply with OMB 

circulars A-102 and A-110.

National Park Service

6
3. Each applicant can receive only one grant per grant 

cycle.

4. Indirect and/or administrative costs may not exceed 

15% for a project.

5. Projects that may aff ect historic resources are 

considered to be “undertakings” as defi ned by Section 106 

of the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 

U.S.C. 470). Accordingly, grant recipients must consult 

with the appropriate State Historic Preservation Offi ce or 

Tribal Historic Preservation Offi ce prior to the initiation 

of the project.

Program Administration

The NPS has developed an administrative framework for the 

grant program to ensure expedient implementation once an 

appropriation has been received. The NPS will administer 

this national grant program through one of the regional 

offi ces in the Intermountain, Midwest, or Pacifi c West. 

As the majority of the confi nement sites and stakeholder 

populations are located in the West, it is critical that the grant 

program is administered from a regional offi ce in the West. 

The NPS director will determine which region will host the 

program. Depending on the level of funds appropriated for 

grants, administrative responsibilities may be collateral or 

require a limited staff contingent. Administrative staff would 

conduct public outreach, as well as administering grant 

proposals.

Selection Process

Applications that meet the requirements will be considered. 

Each year that funding is made available, a public 

announcement and call for proposals will be published so 

that eligible applicants may apply. Once the application 

deadline passes, the NPS will hold at least one listening 

session in each of the three western regions to discuss the 

types and categories of projects submitted, to consider 

potential funding levels for these categories, and to gather 

input on the annual priorities for the grant program. A 

panel of NPS and other Federal agency experts representing 

applicable preservation, history, education, and conservation 

disciplines will then evaluate and rank applications based on 

the evaluation criteria and make funding recommendations 

to the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) with consideration 

of the comments from the public meetings as well as their 

professional evaluations. The Secretary will select successful 

proposals and formally announce the grant recipients and 

projects.

Need for Continued Public Input

Several common themes emerged throughout the course 

of the extensive civic engagement process. First, the public 

expects the NPS to maintain an open, transparent, and cost 

eff ective grant program. Second, the public believes that the 

NPS should continue to seek public input and engage those 

interested in the preservation and interpretation of these 

sites and stories throughout the life of the grant program. 

Although some participants advocated for the creation of 

a formal advisory committee to provide this input, other 

participants recommended against the establishment of such 

a committee, citing the administrative costs of supporting 

an advisory committee and the diffi culty in achieving fair 

representation that truly refl ected the diverse constituencies 

involved in the preservation of these historic sites. Others 

expressed concern that the long time frame normally 

associated with the creation of an advisory committee might 

delay a congressional appropriation. 

Based upon these comments, the NPS will continue to seek 

public input annually throughout the life of the program. 

Each year, the NPS will host a minimum of three listening 

sessions. These listening sessions will be used to help the 

NPS establish annual grant priorities and to adjust the 

evaluation criteria and program guidelines as needed. 

The listening sessions will also be used to assist the NPS 

in developing a process to consider other additional sites 

(not currently identifi ed in Confi nement and Ethnicity) for 

eligibility in the grant program, as the legislation allows.

Photo courtesy of the Bancroft Library, 

University Of California, Berkeley

Public Law 109-441 - Preservation of Japanese American World War II Confi nement Sites

7
The NPS has not ruled out the possibility of establishing a 

formal advisory committee to provide recommendations 

on administration of the grant program. If it is determined 

that the three annual listening sessions are not adequate 

to meet public needs, the NPS will revisit the possibility of 

establishing a formal advisory committee.

Conclusion

The NPS believes that the grant program guidelines and 

evaluation criteria provided in this report refl ect the public’s 

hopes and expectations for the grant program and that 

projects funded through this grant program will educate 

the public and leave a legacy for future generations through 

the preservation of both the physical confi nement sites and 

stories of internees’ experiences during World War II.

This report fulfi lls the request from the House Committee on 

Appropriations to describe how the NPS will implement this 

grant program, and demonstrates the NPS’s commitment 

to implementing and administering this grant program in 

accordance with Public Law 109-441. 

National Park Service

National Park Service

Intermountain Region

12795 West Alameda Parkway

PO Box 25287

Denver, CO 80225

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My parents, their families and thousands 

of other innocent Japanese Americans were 

patriots during World War II and after. Despite 

being stripped of their rights, homes, and 

businesses, thousands of Japanese Americans 

defi ned themselves by not allowing this injustice 

to stop them from succeeding in this country. 

This is a remarkable story of resilience and 

hope in spite of despair. It is a story that I hope 

will continue the healing process across racial 

and generational lines. Our desire is that we 

all can learn from this experience to avoid 

similar mistakes in the future and to bring all 

Americans together.

~ descendant of former Amache internee