National Cemetery Investment Initiative Overview

Shiloh National Cemetery in 2023

NPS

A High Standard of Care

The National Park Service has a responsibility to maintain the dignified, commemorative atmosphere in each of the 14 national cemeteries in its care and to preserve their historic character as designed landscapes.

Maintaining this high standard of care and attention can be challenging. While national cemetery landscapes still have many of the features that were developed shortly after the Civil War and into the early 1900s, they also show evidence of the pressures of time, visitation, and periods of variable maintenance.

If the condition of features within NPS national cemeteries declines, it can impact the overall character of the landscape. Typical examples include stained monuments, deteriorating perimeter walls, compacted soil, leaning grave markers, overgrown or missing vegetation, drainage issues, and animal burrows.

About the National Cemetery Investment Initiative

Supporting Landscape Stewardship in NPS National Cemeteries

The first phase of a planned investment for NPS national cemeteries began in 2022. The National Cemeteries Investment Initiative will address the current conditions of specific features or areas and increase the overall standard of care across the NPS national cemeteries, while also strengthening and expanding landscape stewardship skills in the workforce.

Primary objectives of this initiative:

• Return the 14 NPS national cemeteries to “good” condition by 2034, which marks 100 years since most of these cemeteries came into the National Park System.

• Rehabilitate the national cemetery landscapes following the treatment plan in their Cultural Landscape Reports.

• Develop a preservation maintenance program for each national cemetery, using a Preservation Maintenance Plan to guide work.

• Expand staff capacity, expertise, and equipment to preserve NPS national cemeteries in perpetuity.

Cemetery Preservation Workshop participants clean grave markers at Stones River National Cemetery in April 2024.

NPS

Initiative Highlights

Since 2022:

• NPS teams have identified repairs and developed projects for 11 national cemeteries.

• Repair projects have been funded and completed. Examples include the removal and replacements of severely deteriorated trees, removal of overgrown vegetation removal, turf rehabilitation, and repairs to the masonry wall repair. Other projects include tree root aeration, tree lightning protection systems installation, and tree cabling. Many other projects are in queue.

• New positions for project managers, arborists, gardeners, and horticulturists were created in national cemeteries. Several national cemeteries have also hosted TTAP (Traditional Trades Advancement Program) participants. These individuals train and work alongside experienced NPS employees to receive on-the-job preservation training.

• NPS staff attended a week-long National Cemetery Preservation workshop in spring of 2024, hosted by Stones River National Cemetery (part of Stones River National Battlefield). Additionally, on site trainings at multiple cemeteries focused on specific skills, including air spading, tree lightning protection system installation, and high lift and aerial pruning.

• The first Preservation Maintenance Plan for an NPS national cemetery is in development.

• The effort mobilized Maintenance Action Teams (MATs), regional teams that focus on maintenance and repair in national parks, including national cemeteries. The MATs are helping to increase professional capacity in the NPS, helping the next generation of preservation professionals to gain training and experience while also addressing deferred maintenance projects.

FAQ

What will I see if I visit a NPS national cemetery?

The National Cemetery Investment Initiative supports major rehabilitation projects, new positions, repairs and maintenance, preservation planning, and training.

Some of this work will be noticeable, like major tree work or repairs to a perimeter wall, aimed at improving condition and historic character. You might have to look more closely to notice maintenance like turf aeration or grave marker cleaning. Other improvements are happening in the background, through employee development and preservation maintenance planning.

Collectively, these efforts contribute to a higher standard of care in national cemetery landscapes, today and into the future.  

Where can I find more information?

Project examples and updates will be shared on the NPS National Cemeteries website and the individual national cemetery or park websites.

Who is involved?

• NPS national cemeteries and parks 

• NPS regions

• Park Cultural Landscapes Program (PCLP)

• Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation (OCLP)

• Historic Preservation Training Center (HTPC)

• Historic Architecture Conservation and Engineering (HACE)

• National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT)

• Traditional Trades Advancement Program (TTAP)

• Veterans and veteran organizations

• Partner organizations, volunteers, youth programs

The initiative was funded by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.

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