Fortunately, the land isn't Boulder's

Fortunately, the land isn't Boulder's

I would like to correct Todd Neff on his article "Big day for renewable energy — Ritter signs bills in Boulder County" (March 28), as he incorrectly wrote that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Wind Technology Center in located in southern Boulder County. It is actually located in northernmost Jefferson County, with a city of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks fence marking the county boundary.

Since I have worked in renewable energy in Colorado for over 10 years, I attended the signing ceremony. Since I have hiked on OSMP lands for over 30 years, I have attended all of the public OSMP off-trail permit meetings. If the ceremony was indeed located across the fence in southern Boulder County, then it would have been on part of the nearly 40 percent of OSMP land designated as a Habitat Conservation Area (where an off-trail permit is now required by law) by the City of Boulder's OSMP Visitor Master Plan.

Governor Ritter, our state representatives and senators, Xcel Energy, Environment Colorado and the press would have been required to first obtain an off-trail permit from OSMP before they could have held this historic signing ceremony. If they did not have an off-trail permit for this date and this area, then they would have been subject to fines by OSMP.

Fortunately for the governor and all others present, they were really not on city of Boulder OSMP HCA land.

STEVE HAYMES

Boulder