Always important, battlefield preservation takes on a renewed sense of urgency as Civil War Sesquicentennial planning shifts into high gear. The FY 2010 Interior Appropriations bill for FY 2010 will include a record $9 million for the federal Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program.

The Sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War is less than two years off, so it should come as no surprise that history will be on display in the National Park System. At Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, for instance, they're already talking about John Brown's raid. This short music video summarizes the abolitionist's history.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will expand by 176 acres on Thursday as the Civil War Preservation Trust transfers a key part of the battlefield to the National Park Service during ceremonies on historic School House Ridge.

No doubt there are more than a few national park settings where the ghouls and ghosts might come out this Hallows' Eve. As we previously mentioned, the folks at Voyageurs National Park are planning a flashlight tour with story-telling, and more scary stories are to unfold in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Friday evening at the Mountain Farm Museum.

A behind-the-scenes effort to both protect Harpers Ferry National Historical Park from neighboring development and obtain land for a Museum of the National Park Service has been pulled off.

It's been a year since a 45-foot-wide, 2,000-foot-long trench was blazed, without permission, through a portion of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park to lay utility lines for a commercial development. And still the government has not taken any action against the developers. To call attention to this, a candlelight vigil is planned for August 17th at the park.