Public can vote on national park site preservation funds

Twenty historic sites in national parks are vying for $2 million in preservation grants, and the public is invited to vote for their favorite places.

The sites are listed at VoteYourPark.org. People can vote once a day for up to five parks of their choice through July 5.

Grant requests range from $97,000 to restore a historic lodge at Yosemite National Park to $250,000 for stabilizing the mooring quays at Pearl Harbor.

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis is seeking $250,000 for its north and south overlooks.

Park sites with the most votes will get their requests fully funded. The top seven vote-getters are guaranteed full funding. Other sites will share the balance of the $2 million depending on how many votes they get. Every one of the 20 contenders also will get a $10,000 participation grant.

Voters also can enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Yellowstone National Park.

The program, called the Partners in Preservation Campaign, is funded by American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with National Geographic hosting the VoteYourPark website and promoting the effort on social media. Voters are encouraged to celebrate their favorite sites using #VoteYourPark and @savingplaces on Instagram and Twitter.

The sites and their preservation funding requests for various projects are:

• North and South Overlooks, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, $250,000
• Clingmans Dome Observation Tower, on the North Carolina-Tennessee line in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, $250,000
• Parsons Memorial Lodge, Yosemite National Park, California, $97,000
• Longmire Historic District Search and Rescue House, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, $218,000
• Desert View Watchtower, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, $250,000
• San Felipe Del Morro Garitas, San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico, $250,000
• Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, Atlanta, $227,000
• Mission Concepcion Convento and Father President's Office, San Antonio Missions National Historic Park, Texas, $236,000
• Hargrove Barn and Parker's Revenge Battlefield, Minute Man National Historical Park, Massachusetts, $250,000
• Pullman Administration Building, Pullman National Monument, Chicago, $250,000
• Superintendent's Office, Denali National Park, Alaska, $220,000
• Borglum View Terrace, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, $250,000
• Flamingo Visitor Center, Everglades National Park, Florida, $250,000
• Columbus Fountain, National Mall and Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C., $249,000
• Fort Jay Trophee d'Armes, Governors Island National Monument, New York City, $245,000
• Keys Ranch, Joshua Tree National Park, California, $248,000
• Brink of Upper Falls Overlook, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, $250,000
• Battleship Row Mooring Quay, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, Hawaii, $250,000
• Alcatraz Guardhouse and Sally Port, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, $250,000
• Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel and Highway, Zion National Park, Utah, $191,000