SOMERSET — The National Park Service has acquired 57 additional acres for the Flight 93 National Memorial in rural Western Pennsylvania, and joined the Flight 93 Task Force in agreeing to the development of a nonprofit friends group.

The developments were announced Saturday at a Flight 93 Advisory Commission and Task Force meeting.

The newly acquired land will surround the memorial and the site where Flight 93 went down on Sept. 11, 2001. Eventually, a house will be built on the land for a ranger who will provide security.

"Every time we purchase a piece of property for the national memorial, it brings us one step closer to completion of the park by the 10th anniversary," said Joanne Hanley, National Park Service Flight 93 superintendent.

The groups discussed forming a nonprofit group that would have a board of directors and be in charge of making sure that the memorial's integrity and memory are sustained once it is built. An agreement letter outlining the goals was signed and is to be sent to the district office of the NPS.