By CLINT SCHEMMER

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb is urging his Senate colleagues to do more to preserve America's endangered Civil War battlefields.

The Virginia Democrat has asked the chairmen of four powerful Senate committees--Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, Diane Feinstein of California, Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee--to increase funding for the American Battlefield Preservation Program.

Webb wrote them this week to request that, during an upcoming huddle with their House counterparts, they consider providing $9 million for the federal program--matching the House appropriation, which is twice what the Senate proposes.

"As America prepares for the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Civil War, beginning in 2011, it is more important than ever that we preserve these memorials of that tragic and nation-defining conflict," Webb wrote the Senate committee leaders.

He noted that the battlefield program, created in 1996 after a Walt Disney Co. theme park threatened Virginia's Manassas battlefield, has already exhausted its fiscal 2009 appropriation.

And with fiscal 2010 about to start, 15 applications from states and private groups have already requested more than $4.6 million in grant money under the venture, Webb wrote.

Just a few weeks ago, the freshman senator visited a Virginia battlefield that has benefited from the program. Webb joined the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation to celebrate the acquisition of property where the Third Battle of Winchester was fought on Sept. 19, 1864. Preservation of the 209-acre Huntsberry property, where the Union Army's 19th Corps suffered devastating losses, coincided with the 145th anniversary of the battle.

He praised the cooperative nature of the project, which leveraged the federal investment nearly 3-to-1.

The $3.35 million purchase was funded through a partnership between the valley Battlefields Foundation and the national Civil War Preservation Trust, together with state, local and federal grants. The federal preservation program, funded by legislation introduced by Webb, issued a $1.23 million matching grant toward the $3.35 million effort.

Now, the Marine veteran of the Vietnam War is trying to persuade Senate conferees to match the yearly sum included in the recently passed House Interior-Environment appropriations bill.

"It's very important that the Senate agree to that number," said Jim Campi, spokesman for the Civil War Preservation Trust. "We greatly appreciate Senator Webb's support."

Webb wrote the Senate chairman that the program's matching-grants formula "encourages state and nonprofit investment, making the program a model for public-private sector conservation partnerships."

To date, the American Battlefield Preservation Program has been used to set aside more than 15,300 acres on Civil War battlefields in 14 states.

In 2007, Webb introduced the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act in the Senate to reauthorize the program for another five years. His measure was included in the Omnibus Public Lands Bill of 2008, and signed into law by President Obama last March.

Webb estimated that 30 acres of prime battlefield land are lost every day. If protected, the lands provide open space, create tourist attractions and serve as outdoor classrooms, he wrote.

Clint Schemmer: 540/368-5029
Email: cschemmer@freelancestar.com