than 1 million American jobs could be created over the next decade if the U.S. increased
its share of the international travel market. Here in North Carolina visitors traveling to and
within the state spent a record $17 billion in 2010, supporting more than 40,000 North
Carolina businesses and directly supporting 183,900 jobs all across the state. State and local
tax revenues generated as a result of visitor spending total more than $1.5 billion annually.
North Carolina ranks as the 6th most visited state in the United States.
Since January 2009, Carlisle has served as secretary of the N.C. Department of
Cultural Resources. Prior to her appointment, she was a corporate and banking executive,
entrepreneur, and active community volunteer. Carlisle works on the local, state, and
national level to communicate the positive impact of culture and heritage to attract and
retain jobs, enhance the education of children and lifelong learners, and grow stronger
communities.
North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund Awards Major Grant
for Battlefield Protection
The North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund on February 27, 2012, approved a
$355,000 grant to acquire 120 acres that will become part of Bentonville Battlefield State
Historic Site. The Civil War Trust will be matching the state grant dollar- for-dollar using
funds from the federal American Battlefield Protection Program, effectively allowing the
state to acquire the land for half its total cost.
“The remarkable w'ork done to permanently protect the Bentonville Battlefield
is among the great success stories of this organization,” said Trust President James
Lighthizer. “We are honored to continue such a fruitful long-term partnership with the
state of North Carolina and look forward to many more opportunities for mutual achieve¬
ment in the months and years to come.” Lighthizer emphasized that the availability of
federal battlefield preservation matching grant funding made this project an outstanding
investment for the state, essentially allowing the popular state historic site to grow signifi¬
cantly, w’hile funding only half the fair-market value for that land.
“Our Bentonville Battlefield is a rare jewel because, unlike many Civil War
battlefields, the landscape includes miles of original trenches in a largely undeveloped,
agricultural area. We are grateful that the Civil War Trust recognizes and supports our
efforts,” said North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda Carlisle.
“We are preserving history and open space, while simultaneously enhancing economic
activity in the area with tens of thousands of visitors and an economic impact of nearly $7
million for Johnston County annually.”
Each of the nine properties covered by the grant is adjacent to previously preserved
properties. With the assistance of the North Carolina Natural Heritage Trust Fund, in
particular, the Civil War Trust has been able to acquire historically significant battlefield
land associated with the First, Second, and Third Days of the battle. Today, a total of
1,435 acres have been permanently protected at Bentonville, much of it through partner¬
ships between the Civil War Trust, Bentonville Battlefield Historical Association, the
Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site, and the N.C. Department of Cultural
Resources.
With its proximity to Interstates 95 and 40, Bentonville has long been eyed by
preservationists as a site potentially vulnerable to development. Johnston and Wayne
counties continue to experience long-term development pressure that is threatening the
remaining rural landscape in the vicinity of Bentonville. This project will preserve open
green space as well as the remnants of a battlefield that, in the words of the federal
Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, had “a decisive influence on a campaign and a
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