WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The American Lighthouse Foundation announced today that U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have secured $400,000 in federal funding in the fiscal year 2009 Transportation-HUD spending bill as reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill will now go to the full Senate for its consideration.

Owls Head Light

"Lighthouses are a cherished part of Maine's history," says Senator Susan Collins. "I am proud to support the American Lighthouse Foundation's mission to preserve these important landmarks. Lighthouses have been a critical piece of Maine's navigational history and one that we cannot afford to lose."

Senator Collins goes on to say "ALF's efforts to perform vital restoration and improve public access are commendable. I will continue to advocate for this project as the fiscal year 2009 appropriations process moves forward."

Senator Olympia Snowe says, "I am proud that the American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF) will receive this generous funding. From the founding of the Maine Lights program in 1996 to supporting this vital appropriation, I have long supported keeping Maine's majestic towers alight."

Senator Snowe further notes, "The historic lighthouses that adorn Maine's beloved rocky coastline must be preserved and cherished for future generations, and ALF leads the way to protect and restore these irreplaceable landmarks. Each lighthouse tells a story of New England's rich history and provides a symbol of home for many. This funding will ensure the viability of the ALF and its mission and, in turn, the future of Maine's treasured lighthouses."

The funding will help the Rockland-based American Lighthouse Foundation, which cares for ten historic lighthouses along the coast of Maine, to enhance the organization's preservation and public access programs.

Wood Island Light

Maine residents and visitors alike are very concerned about the present and future well being of the Pine Tree State's historic lighthouses, many of which are in need of critical restoration to ensure the public can continue to enjoy and learn from them into the future.

In many cases, these iconic beacons are well over a century old, having suffered for decades from the effects of age, storms and salt water deterioration. Without vigilant care, Maine's lighthouses are at risk of being lost as irreplaceable cultural resources.

The American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF), the nation's leading lighthouse preservation organization, is addressing this challenge by successfully empowering civic-minded Maine residents to make a difference in their communities. Mainers connecting with fellow Mainers and visitors alike have proven to be the backbone for ALF's lighthouse public access program and educational initiatives that reach well beyond the preservation of the lights themselves.

"The prospect of federal funding exemplifies the importance of lighthouses to Maine's rich maritime heritage and their positive impact on our present day economy," says ALF executive director Bob Trapani, Jr. "We are very grateful to Senators Collins and Snowe for their hard work on behalf of the American Lighthouse Foundation and these timeless sentinels of the sea that are admired and beloved by countless thousands of people in Maine and throughout the nation."

Trapani goes on to note, "By supporting programs like public access at Maine lighthouses, we are working to ensure these historic structures are preserved for the future while having a vital financial impact on Maine's economy through heritage tourism initiatives. Historic preservation also creates jobs that employ Maine-based contractors, architects and engineers during needed periods of lighthouse maintenance and restoration."

The American Lighthouse Foundation is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to save and preserve our nation's historic light stations and their rich heritage. ALF accomplishes this in part through the restoration, promotion and adaptive re-use of America's historic light stations, as well as educational initiatives that foster the sustainable preservation of lighthouses and perpetuate the legacy of the men and women who have tended them.

For more information contact the American Lighthouse Foundation office at (207) 594-4174 or visit them online at www.lighthousefoundation.org.