For Immediate Release
Contact: The Center for Watershed Protection (410)461-8323

The Center for Watershed Protection Receives

National Environmental Education Achievement Award

January 20, 2000 - The Center for Watershed Protection was selected today as the winner of the 1999 National Environmental Education Achievement Award winner in the Land Use and Natural Resources category. Presented by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation (NEETF), the award was given in recognition of the Center's National Site Planning Roundtable (NSPR) program, a project that convened a national cross-section of government and civic leaders who hammered out a series of innovative land development principles designed to promote smarter, better, more ecologically sound site development based on local conditions across the country.

The award, presented at a ceremony in Washington D.C., is given annually by NEETF to recognize innovative and effective environmental education programs that are preparing society to understand and address our most urgent environmental challenges. To qualify, the Center's NSPR project was evaluated by a panel of nationally recognized leaders in environmental education from non-profit organizations, universities, private business, foundations and government agencies.

The NSPR was convened to provide tools to help mitigate the impacts of land development on the quality of our watersheds. Specifically, the NSPR researched real and perceived barriers to implementing better site design to answer some basic questions: Can streets be designed using a narrow approach and still address safety concerns? Can lots be smaller and still remain marketable?

The research of the NSPR was summarized as "better site design principles," a set of techniques that provide local governments with the framework to promote smart growth. Applied collectively, the principles of better site design are proven to increase open space, reduce pollutant loads, and raise property values to boot.

The success of the NSPR is encouraging developers, water quality managers, and planners across the country to rethink land development rules and overcome existing impediments to better site design. The project has already been successfully applied as a model in Frederick County, Maryland, and plans are already in the works to begin application in other communities as well.

The NEEFT award was accepted by Roger Platt on behalf of the NSPR and the staff of the Center. Platt has served as an original member of the NSPR, on the Center's board of directors, and on the National Realty Committee. Board President, Christine Olsenius and a few of the staff joined Platt at the ceremony.

For more information on the National Site Planning Roundtable project, contact the Center for Watershed Protection, 8391 Main Street, Ellicott City, Maryland 21043; phone (410)461-8323; fax(410)410-461-8324; email center@cwp.org. You can visit us online at www.cwp.org.