Established in 1998, the Save America's Treasures program provides Federal grants to address the most urgent preservation needs being faced at some of the Nation's most significant historic sites. The grants are managed by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The grants must be matched equally with non-Federal funds, thus stimulating state, local, and private involvement in these important projects.

The Department of Energy received grants for two sites in the first round of competition. The Los Alamos National Laboratory was awarded $700,000 for the restoration of the wooden structures at the V Site complex where the Trinity device and later weapons were assembled. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory was awarded $320,000 for the restoration of the Experimental Breeder Reactor-1, which was the world’s first nuclear reactor to produce usable amounts of electricity, and the preservation of artifacts. The National Trust for Historic Preservation agreed to head the effort to raise the non-Federal matching funds for the two grants.

Since 1998, Congress has appropriated over $100,000,000 for the Save America's Treasures program. The deadline for the 2008 grant round has not yet been announced.