Snowe presses for historic barn preservation funding

WASHINGTON – Historic barns throughout Maine may be able to draw on special preservation funds if legislation supported by Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, earns federal funding.

Sens. Snowe, Jim Jeffords, an independent from Vermont, and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., aim to rally support among lawmakers to approve $5 million for the program, which would help owners restore barns that are 50 years of age or older.

“Throughout rural Maine, barns stand as monuments to our agricultural heritage, both past and future,” said Snowe. “By taking this proactive step, we have an opportunity to restore these barns before it’s too late.”

The original Senate bill that established the Historic Barn Preservation Program, written by Jeffords, requested an appropriation of $25 million for the fiscal years 2002 through 2006.

The trio was able to push through an authorization for their plan in the Senate farm bill recently, but funds have yet to be allocated for the Historic Barn Preservation Program.

The challenge is to convince Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the agriculture appropriations subcommittee, as well as Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., the panel’s top Republican, to agree to support full funding for the first fiscal year.

If Congress and the White House approve the requested funds, the program will be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and money may be available as early as October.

The Historic Barn Preservation Program sets up a grant initiative program allowing state departments of agriculture, state historic preservation officers and nonprofit organizations to receive the funds for efforts including helping to identify and document the historic barns.

The program aims to help states protect and restore historic barns that are at least 50 years old for continued agricultural use. Demonstrations and educational resources are used to educate and inform farmers about simple changes and more economical measures that can preserve the historic quality of barns while still allowing them to be used in everyday farming activities.

Barbara Pahl, director of the Mountains Plains Office of the Barn Again Program, said historic “barns can play a role in modern farming.”

Programs such as Barn Again provide information and demonstrations to owners of historic barns. She said the group gives individuals “ideas and uses to generate income.”

Included in the program are grants allowing farmers to renovate or repair historic barns. Eligible applicants would be required to comply with standards established by state departments of agriculture and by standards established by the secretary of the interior for historic preservation projects.

“Preservation of these barns will not only ensure their survival for generations to come, it will provide practical benefits to the farmers that own them and the communities and economies that surround them,” the senators said.