The village of Pinehurst is one of 17 municipalities honored as Green Challenge cities by the N.C. League of Municipalities (NCLM), according to a news release.

The Green Challenge was the idea of the late Susan Burgess, Charlotte council member and past NCLM president, as a way to honor those municipalities that have taken the initiative to conserve energy and natural resources at the local government level.

Cities and towns that achieved NCLM Green Challenge status in 2010 were honored recently at the NCLM annual conference in Winston-Salem.

"The N.C. League of Municipalities is proud to honor these communities for doing such good work," said Brevard Council member Rodney Locks, 2009-2010 NCLM president. "These cities and towns have led the way in saving money and energy. Each and every one of them are pioneers. The citizens and taxpayers in all of these communities can take pride in knowing that their city leaders are taking the necessary steps to save energy, natural resources and money."

Pinehurst was one of five cities honored at the intermediate level. More than 90 North Carolina municipalities have participated in either level one, intermediate or advanced Green Challenge level since its inception.

To achieve level one status, a city or town with a population under 10,000 must pass a resolution indicating participation in the challenge and then must complete at least two of the five measures outlined under the program. Cities with a population of 10,000 or above must complete at least three of the five measures.

A town or city must complete the required number of activities in level one before moving to a higher level of intermediate or advanced. But a city or town may request to receive the level one designation and a higher level designation at the same time.

For example, a town may have completed the required activities at level one and, in addition, undertaken projects that will qualify it for the intermediate or advanced level as well.

Intermediate and advanced level certification is based on a points system. Municipalities (again, broken down by under 10,000 in population or 10,000 and above) can earn points based on a number of measures, such as establishing an energy manager position within the city or town, establishing a LEED policy for all new government facilities, implementing a procurement policy of a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer recycled content for everyday office paper use, establishing a communitywide recycling collection program, adopting an anti-idling policy for government fleet vehicles, and much more.

The cities honored at level one are Bald Head Island, Elon, Kernersville, Knightdale and Williamson. In addition to Pinehurst, Boone, Goldsboro, North Wilkesboro and Rocky Mount are intermediate level winners. The advanced honorees are Black Mountain, Cary, Concord, Greenville Kill Devil Hills, Manteo and Navassa.