National Renewable Energy Laboratory Research Support Facility, Three Stars in Golden, Colo. Is one of the eight landscape projects that SITES certified. This federal research laboratory, a former National Guard training facility, consists of a 327-acre government research campus. It achieved LEED Platinum certification for its innovative building design.

Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) announced eight new projects that have achieved certification under the nation's most comprehensive rating system for the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of built landscapes. These projects, as part of a group of 150 projects participating in an extensive, two-year pilot program, have applied the 2009 SITES guidelines and met the requirements for pilot certification.

The newly certified projects include Blue Hole Regional Park in Wimberley, Texas; Harris County WCID 132's Water Conservation Center in Spring, Texas; American University School for International Service in Washington, D.C.; Bat Cave Draw and Visitor's Center at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, N.M.; Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center at Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.; George "Doc" Cavalliere Park in Scottsdale, Ariz.; The National Renewable Energy Laboratory Research Support Facility in Golden, Colo.; Scenic Hudson's Long Dock Park in Beacon, N.Y.

"The effort and time these projects have spent to field test SITES 2009 guidelines and ensure their site is sustainable is commendable and has been a tremendous resource for informing the development of the SITES v2 Rating System, which will be released later this fall," said SITES director Danielle Pieranunzi.