BALTIMORE, Md., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- KB Home's Mid-Atlantic division received international recognition for their contributions to wildlife habitat conservation in the upcoming Martin's Chase community at the Wildlife Habitat Council's (WHC) 17th Annual Symposium, Shades of Green. KB Home demonstrates its commitment to environmental stewardship and increasing native biodiversity by achieving habitat certification at its Martin's Chase community. "The union of conservation and industry, already well established at the Wildlife Habitat Council, serves as a model for protecting natural resources while emphasizing collaboration and community involvement. This multidisciplinary view draws on knowledge and skills from a range of disciplines working together for a better environment. Congratulations to KB Home for their commendable efforts towards the restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat. Together, we are committed to being good stewards of the earth," said Bill Howard, WHC President. KB Home's Martin's Chase community - a planned residential development that will include 147 single-family homes in Loudoun County, Virginia - will be the builder's first community in the Washington, D.C.-area since announcing its Mid-Atlantic division in September. KB Home will begin sales in Martin's Chase in early 2006. A shift in the county's landscape from rural to suburban over the last decade prompted the need to better integrate natural resource management into land planning processes, and the Martin's Chase property is doing just that. The site is being developed with a long term management plan for wildlife that incorporates community outreach and resident environmental stewardship. This management plan was developed through a partnership with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the site's previous title holder, Centex Homes. The plan's primary objective is to maximize the quality of habitat available at Martin's Chase for a diverse array of species endemic to the piedmont region of Virginia. Recommendations in the management plan incorporate community outreach activities and habitat enhancement projects designed for a 148 acre lot donated to Loudoun County Parks and Recreation Department. Specific recommendations call for the management of large "conservancy lots" and their buffer areas that exist in undeveloped areas of the site. The Martin's Chase management plan also includes recommendations for the design of small-scale habitat enhancements in the more developed areas of the site. Enhancements such as native warm season grasses and wildflower areas, native tree and shrub planting, the creation of snags for cavity nesting species, Canada geese management and the use of bat houses can all be performed in developed areas of the site. Perhaps the most important part of the plan is that it calls for clustered development in areas of the site where infrastructure already exists and where there is less vegetation such as woodlots or native grasses. Houses will be placed on small parcels of land to allow for large open natural areas over the rest of the property. The Martin's Chase management plan relies on the participation of community members to become environmental stewards of their own backyards and natural space. It also includes a wildlife management based covenant for the development's Home Owners Association. Martin's Chase was one of 143 sites recognized at the 2005 Symposium for creating a habitat program. Since 1990, WHC has certified 374 programs worldwide. The certification program recognizes outstanding wildlife habitat management and environmental education efforts at corporate sites, and offers third-party validation of the benefits of such programs. Certification requirements are strict and require that sites apply for periodic renewal. The Wildlife Habitat Council is a nonprofit, non-lobbying organization dedicated to increasing the quality and amount of wildlife habitat on corporate, private and public lands. WHC devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to create solutions that balance the demands of economic growth with the requirements of a healthy, biodiverse and sustainable environment. More than 2 million acres in 48 states, Puerto Rico and 16 other countries are managed for wildlife through WHC-assisted projects. For more information, visit WHC online at http://www.wildlifehc.org/. Building homes for nearly half a century, KB Home is one of America's premier homebuilders with domestic operating divisions in some of the fastest-growing regions and states: West Coast-California; Southwest-Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico; Central-Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas; and Southeast-Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company's publicly-traded French subsidiary, is one of the largest homebuilders in France. In fiscal 2005, the Company delivered homes to 37,140 families in the United States and France. KB Home also offers complete mortgage services through Countrywide KB Home Loans, a joint venture with Countrywide Financial Corporation. Founded in 1957, and winner of the 2004 American Business Award for Best Overall Company, KB Home is a Fortune 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about any of KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit http://www.kbhome.com/. Contacts: Vanessa Kauffman, Wildlife Habitat Council, 301-588-8994, Daniel Weidman, KB Home, 310-231-4031, DATASOURCE: KB Home CONTACT: Vanessa Kauffman of Wildlife Habitat Council, +1-301-588-8994, ; or Daniel Weidman of KB Home, +1-310-231-4031, Web site: http://www.wildlifehc.org/ Web site: http://www.kbhome.com/

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