Efforts to preserve the Topaz site in central Utah, where as many as 8,300 Japanese Americans were interned during World War II, got a potential boost this week when Congress approved a $38 million National Park Service grant program.

The Topaz Museum Board is planning to apply for some of those funds to help build a museum and educational center in Delta, about 15 miles from the former internment camp.

But bringing the museum to life will still require private funds to match any federal grants. Plus, there is increased competition for the funds because the grant money has been expanded from the 10 internment camps to about 55 different locations, said Jane Beckwith, president of the Museum's board.

"It's a 50-50 match. We still have a lot of work to do," Beckwith said. "We know it's going to be statewide effort to make this a facility the whole nation will learn from."

The board currently owns a restored recreation hall and is leasing some museum space from the Great Basin Museum.

Beckwith hopes to break ground on a permanent museum and educational center in 2008. The project is in the design phase and its total cost has yet to be determined, she said.

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said the grant funding should be available soon to help with efforts to create a free-standing facility.

"It needs to be there so we can get a sense of what happened," Cannon said.

Beckwith is optimistic over the future of the site. With Park Service direction, she'd also like to eventually see some re-created structures and a visitor's center at the site.

After a purchase of about 92 acres last year, the museum owns about 614 of the 640 acres that comprised the internment camp from 1942 to 1945. The board is in the first phase of its application to become a privately held National Historic Landmark.

For more information, visit www.topazmuseum.org.

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com