Lt. Governor Brown Presents Montgomery County with Check for Program Open Space Project at Montgomery Blair High School

Continues celebration of Program Open Space 40th Anniversary; Highlights 25,000 acres of preserved natural and parkland statewide since 2007

 

SILVER SPRING, MD (August 6, 2009) – At Montgomery Blair High School today, Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown presented a $563,000 check representing a State Program Office Space grant for a new turf field in the school’s athletic stadium to County Executive Isiah Leggett and other Montgomery County officials. Joined by County Department of Parks Director May Bradford, County School Board Member Chris Barclay, and local community members, Lt. Governor Brown continued his tour of events commemorating the 40th anniversary of Program Open Space. Last month, Brown kicked off the tour at a similar press event in Baltimore’s Clifton Park.

“For forty years, our great State has remained committed to using every available opportunity through Program Open Space to preserve our natural land and create more recreational opportunities,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “Not only are we enhancing public space in Montgomery County, but we are making an important investment for the students, faculty, staff and families of Montgomery Blair High School. Governor O’Malley and I will continue to protect Maryland’s quality of life by using Program Open Space funds for Program Open Space projects.”

“This synthetic turf field at Blair Stadium will help increase playing time, reduce field maintenance, and provide a durable and consistent playing surface for our student athletes,” said County Executive Leggett. “I want to thank Lt. Governor Brown and Governor O’Malley for this $500,000 in Program Open Space money.”

Since Maryland launched Program Open Space in 1969, the State has protected nearly 350,000 acres of land across the state. The nationally-recognized program protects watersheds and wildlife and preserves natural areas for public recreation. There are currently more than 5,000 county and municipal parks and conservation areas that exist due to Program Open Space. Since taking office in 2007, the O’Malley-Brown Administration has awarded nearly $46.5 million dollars in Program Open Space grants throughout Montgomery County and preserved over 265 acres of County park and natural land. Overall, the Administration has preserved nearly 25,000 acres of land in under three years.

The project at Montgomery Blair High School includes the design, site work, storm water management, construction and installation of a synthetic turf at the school’s athletic stadium. The existing natural turf athletic field, approximately 79,200 square feet in size, will be retrofitted with a new infilled synthetic turf system. This project, one of five Montgomery County Open Space projects currently underway, was approved on April 18, 2007 by the Board of Public Works. The total cost of the project is $750,000.

“Our department relies on local allocations from Program Open Space for a variety of projects, from improving our indoor tennis facilities to building a pedestrian bridge for the Rock Creek Trail,” said Montgomery County Department of Parks Director Mary Bradford. “It is important to preserve the flexibility in Program Open Space—for the next 40 years—so that we on the local level can continue to make improvements that reflect local needs.” 

Visit www.greenprint.maryland.gov for an interactive, statewide map showing the land protected by Program Open Space.

 

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