1

Thank you for your interest and 

comments on the new grant program 

established by Public Law 109-441: 

Preservation of Japanese American 

Confi nement Sites. During September 

and October 2007, the National 

Park Service (NPS) hosted 20 

public listening sessions in 19 cities 

ranging from Honolulu, Hawaii to 

Washington, D.C. 

More than 400 people participated 

in these sessions and expressed 

their thoughts and comments 

about how this newly authorized 

program should be organized and 

administered. 

We also received more than 400 

written comments during the 

comment period. Participants 

provided valuable suggestions and 

insight on the best ways to preserve 

and interpret this chapter in U.S. 

history. All of the comments have 

been reviewed, considered, and 

analyzed, and serve as the foundation 

of the grant’s proposed project 

categories, evaluation criteria, and 

program guidelines. These are 

outlined for your consideration on 

page 4. 

We believe that these elements of 

the grant program accurately refl ect 

your ideas and concerns and also 

remain true to the intent of the law, 

which states “. . . 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.”

Continued Opportunities for 

Public Comment

We ask that you take some time to 

review the diff erent components 

of the proposed grant program 

included in this newsletter, and share 

your thoughts on how they can be 

improved. 

Please provide your written 

comments on the enclosed comment 

card or enter your comments directly 

into the NPS public comment website:

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

Friday, January 25, 2008. 

We also invite you to provide your 

thoughts in person at a national 

meeting that will be held on 

Thursday, January 17, 2008 in Los 

Angeles at the Democracy Forum 

at the National Center for the 

Preservation of Democracy. 

Your continued participation in this 

process is vital to ensure that the 

implementation and outcome of this 

grant program is successful! 

Next Steps

During this second phase in the 

development of the grant program, 

your input will assist us in revising the 

proposed project categories, evaluation 

criteria, and program guidelines before 

submitting the NPS fi nal recommendations to Congress. As of December 

2007, Congress has not yet appropriated funding for this program.

We thank you for your continued 

participation, and hope that you 

will remain involved throughout 

the development of this new grant 

program.

NPS Listening Sessions in Glendale, Arizona and Denver, Colorado - NPS Photos December 2007 - Volume 1, Number 2

Public Law 109-441: 

Preservation of Japanese American 

Confi nement Sites

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Listening Sessions A Success

For more information on P.L. 109-441, 

or to review the fi rst newsletter, 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
National Park Service

2

What We Asked and What We Heard

The NPS posed four questions to gather insight into the public’s hopes and 

expectations for the new grant program. Their responses to these questions 

were analyzed and are summarized below.

What are your hopes and expectations for the grant 

program?

 Many respondents expressed their hope that projects will leave a 

legacy for future generations through the preservation of both the 

physical confi nement sites and the stories of internees’ experiences 

during World War II. 

 The respondents also expect that this grant program will teach the 

public about the actions of the U.S. government in the abrogation of 

civil and constitutional rights of Japanese Americans during World 

War II in order to prevent a similar tragedy from being repeated. 

Respondents also stressed the importance of continued involvement 

and participation by former internees and their families, Japanese 

American communities, and stakeholders and partners in the 

development and implementation of the grant program.

What types of projects do you think should receive funding

through this program?

 Respondents strongly support both preservation and educational 

projects related to the confi nement sites. Suggested categories of 

proposed grant projects and programs included:

• educational programs and materials to relay the story of 

confi nement during World War II;

• preserving the sites, buildings, structures, and landscapes of 

the confi nement sites;

• collecting and preserving artifacts, including photos and other 

camp related collections materials; 

• providing historical markers at or near the historic 

confi nement sites;

• oral history projects and programs;

• and capital projects to provide interpretive facilities at the 

historic sites to enhance the visitor experience.

 Many respondents felt that projects should reach out to new 

audiences and use technology (interactive media) to help tell the 

stories and reach new audiences. 

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.”
Public Law 109:441: Preservation of Japanese American Confi nement Sites

3

What should the evaluation criteria be for determining 

which proposals receive consideration for funding (when it 

is available) through the grant program?

 Respondents provided numerous suggestions related to criteria that 

should be used to evaluate grant proposals, including:

• High priority should be given to projects with urgent needs, 

 such as building stabilization and oral histories.

• Projects should improve the conditions of the sites.

• Projects should achieve long-lasting results, high visibility, 

 and reach a large audience.

• Projects should have an educational and outreach 

component, and be eff ective at conveying the stories of the 

confi nement of Japanese Americans during World War II.

• Applicants must demonstrate the ability to eff ectively manage 

the project in a cost eff ective manner and complete the project 

on-time.

• Projects should have strong and broad support by 

stakeholders, including local communities, former internees, 

partners and concerned citizens.

Do you have any additional comments?

 In addition to the suggestions made above, respondents also provided 

comments about other aspects of the grant program, including:

• Establish a system to provide support to applicants.

• Form an advisory committee to help:

 encourage collaboration and minimize 

competition between diff erent groups working 

towards similar goals. 

 ensure that people who are knowledgeable about 

confi nement can advise the NPS about the future of 

the grant program and to help in the evaluation of 

grant applications.

• Make all information produced through this program 

available and accessible to the public.

• Ensure that the evaluation and selection process is 

inclusive and transparent. 

A more detailed summary of the public comments is available on 

the NPS public comment website at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/

imro. Please select “Grant Program for Preservation of Japanese 

American World War II Confi nement Sites.” The report is included 

in the “Document List” link and is titled “Summary of Public 

Comments.doc.”

What We Heard

“. . .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, which 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. . . .” 

“The funding should go to projects 

that are long-term and sustainable 

including interpretation and 

restoration of the sites, disseminating 

virtual information, constructing 

museums, performing oral interviews 

of former internees, and if necessary 

acquiring the remaining land.”

“I would like to have an emphasis 

placed on collecting oral histories 

from the survivors of these camps, 

whatever ethnicity, since we are aging 

and there are fewer and fewer of us. 

Many of us have artifacts we would 

like to see placed for public viewing, 

not tucked into Smithsonian vaults.”
National Park Service

4

Draft Project Categories, Criteria and Guidelines for the 

Preservation of Historic Confinement Sites Grant Program

 

Public Law 109-441 established specifi c legislative parameters and eligibility requirements to help guide our eff orts 

in the development of evaluation criteria for the program. These legislative requirements are listed below:

According to Public Law 109-441 all grant applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements and be: 

1. Private, non-profi t organizations, state, local, and tribal governments, educational institutions, and other 

public entities.

2. Must have a demonstrated commitment of a 2:1 federal to non-federal match 

(example: $100 federal--$50 partner).

According to Public Law 109-441 all grant applications must meet certain eligibility requirements, including:

1. All grants must be for the purpose of identifying, researching, evaluating, interpreting, protecting, restoring, 

and repairing confi nement sites.

2. Acquisition of non-federal property is allowable for only 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).

3. All grants must directly benefi t one or more of the confi nement sites.*

*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 specifi cally 

identifi ed in the NPS publication, Confi nement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American 

Relocation Sites. 

The Department of the Interior, through the NPS, may determine that other sites not listed in this publication are 

eligible for the grant program. The proposed certifi cation process for additional historic sites is described on 

page 6 of this newsletter.

Working within this legislative framework and having listened to your comments, we have developed the following 

draft project categories, evaluation criteria and program guidelines for your consideration. 

 Draft Project Categories:

1. 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 types of structures, and collections conservation)

5. Recording and sharing oral histories

6. Capital projects (examples: interpretive centers, restrooms, and interpretive trails)

7. Planning (examples: interpretive plans, land use plans, and resource management plans)

Legislative Requirements of the Grant Program 
Public Law 109:441: Preservation of Japanese American Confi nement Sites

5

 Draft Evaluation Criteria:

1. What is the need for the project?

 How does this project address a critical issue (examples: threatened resources, health/safety 

 concerns)?

 How will the project increase public awareness and understanding of the Japanese American 

 World War II confi nement sites? 

 How will the project preserve or improve the conditions of Japanese American World War II 

 confi nement site resources?

2. How will the project produce measurable results (examples: increase visitation to the site, reach a large and 

diverse audience, remain relevant and available for current and future generations)? 

3. How will this project be sustained? 

4. Is the project feasible? 

 Is the project cost eff ective?

 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? 

 Has adequate planning been completed for the project?

5. Does the project have stakeholder support and public involvement? 

 

Additional Program Guidelines: 

1. Minimum grant funds will be $5,000 and 

maximum amounts for grants cannot exceed 

10% of the program’s annual congressional 

appropriation.

2. Grant awards may be lower than grant 

requests.

3. Each applicant can receive only one grant 

per grant cycle.

4. Each applicant can submit only three grant 

applications per grant cycle.

5. An advisory committee, consisting of no 

more than 15 members, will be established 

to assist the NPS in the administration of 

the grant program and review of the grant 

applications. Members of the advisory 

committee will be appointed by the Secretary 

of the Interior and would consist of individuals 

knowledgeable in the preservation and 

interpretation eff orts related to Japanese 

American World War II Confi nement Sites, 

including:

 Academic scholar(s) noted for their

 expertise on confi nement sites

 Former internee(s)

 Non-profi t organization(s) actively engaged in

 the interpretation and/or preservation of 

 confi nement sites

 Confi nement site owner(s)

 Tribal government(s) associated with a 

 confi nement site

 State or local government(s) actively engaged 

 in the preservation of a confi nement site

 Cultural Resource specialist(s) experienced in

 the preservation of confi nement sites 

 (e.g., archeologist, historian, curator, landscape

 architect)

There may be more than one person from each of these 

groups on the advisory committee.

6. Indirect and/or administrative costs may not exceed 

25% for a project.

7. The national grant program will be administered from 

a NPS regional offi ce in Denver, Oakland, or Omaha. 

8. Projects involving the preservation of historic 

properties are considered “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 prior to the receipt of funds.
National Park Service

6

1. Can this funding be used for the preservation of confi nement sites that 

held people of Italian, German, and Latin American ancestry?

Projects that involve the preservation and/or interpretation of 

confi nement sites that held people of Italian, German, or Latin 

American ancestry are eligible only if they are directly associated 

with a Japanese American World War II confi nement site authorized 

in Public Law 109-441 and are part of a larger project related to the 

overall story of the internment of Japanese Americans during World 

War II.

2. Which sites are eligible to receive funding through this grant program? 

P.L. 109-441 identifi es the eligible sites as those that are included in 

the site document map in Confi nement and Ethnicity: An Overview 

of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites. The law also 

has a provision to consider “other historically signifi cant locations, 

as determined by the Secretary, where Japanese Americans were 

detained during World War II.” The NPS will establish a process 

to consider additional sites for eligibility. The process could involve 

review and consideration by an advisory committee and/or listing in 

the National Register of Historic Places. 

3. Can individuals apply for funding through this grant program?

P.L. 109-441 states that only state, local, and tribal governments, 

other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofi t organizations are eligible to submit applications for this grant 

program. Individuals may only apply through those organizations 

and entities listed above. 

4. Are matching funds required? If so, what type of match is allowable? 

Public Law 109-441 requires a 2:1 federal to non-federal match. For 

example, a $15,000 project would involve $10,000 in federal funding 

and a $5,000 non-federal match. Acceptable types of a non-federal 

match could include donations of cash, goods, land, services, and 

equipment, which are directly related to the performance of the 

project. For donations of land and easements, these must have been 

purchased within 1-2 years of the grant application to be considered 

eligible as a match. Donations of land value must be supported by 

an appraisal, meeting the Uniform Standards for Federal Land 

Acquisitions. 

Commonly Asked Questions

Artwork by George Yano

Courtesy of Manzanar NHS
Public Law 109:441: Preservation of Japanese American Confi nement Sites

7

Please Join Us

Please join us at a national meeting to discuss the proposed draft criteria and program guidelines for the 

PL 109-441 grant program. The National Park Service will host two meeting times as indicated below. 

We are also exploring options to make this national meeting accessible via the Internet. Please visit the 

NPS public comment website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/imro for more information on the national 

meeting.

NATIONAL MEETING

Thursday, January 17, 2008

10:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Democracy Forum

at the National Center for 

Preservation of Democracy

111 North Central Avenue

Los Angeles, California 90012

MILESTONES 

LATE DECEMBER 2007

Public Comment Period Begins

THURSDAY, JANUARY 17

National Meeting in 

Los Angeles

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25

Public Comment 

Period Closes

MID-FEBRUARY

NPS Report Transmitted

to Congress

TENTATIVE

EARLY MARCH

Third Newsletter Published

TENTATIVE

Public Law 109-441:

Preservation of 

Japanese American 

World War II

Confi nement Sites
National Park Service

Intermountain Region

12795 West Alameda Parkway

PO Box 25287

Denver, CO 80225

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE $300

FIRST CLASS MAIL

POSTAGE & FEES PAID

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PERMIT NO. G-83

Thank you for your interest in

Public Law 109-441:

Preservation of 

Japanese American World War II

Confi nement Sites Grant Program