About 40 persons have organized the Southern Boone Wind Group to negotiate with wind farm developers.

Those persons, mostly living in Jackson, southern Jefferson and Harrison townships, own about 4,000 acres, said Kent Frandsen, the group's attorney. "There will probably be more; I don't think the word's out, yet," he said.

Before Boone County's wind resource can be harvested, though, the county must eliminate a ban on wind mills and write an ordinance regulating the potentially lucrative turbine farms.

"There are a multitude of questions," Frandsen said.

The group is encouraging land owners to not sign leases with wind developers. "It's too early to be committing yourself," Frandsen said.

It may be the most critical decision facing Boone County in decades.

"This is not a for or against discussion," Steve Niblick, executive director of the Area Plan Commission, told the county council Tuesday.

Niblick briefed the council on an APC work session held Monday evening.

More than land use is at issue, Niblick said. There are financial implications that should be considered by the council, the Boone County Commissioners, the County Auditor, and others, he said.

Among issues is the impact on property values, Niblick said. While application and permit fees might initially boost the county's income, officials should study the long-term impact of wind farms, he said.

"Enormous financial benefits" are possible for landowners who lease a wind turbine site, Frandsen said. Wind farms "generate enormous tax revenue."

But some people think the turbine towers and blades "are atrocious," Frandsen said.

Previous land studies have shown subdivision-scale housing is not likely in the areas being studied, because of the distance from existing municipal utilities. While there are more rural homes in western Boone than comparable areas of Benton County, where four wind farms are operating or under construction, those homes rely on wells and septic systems.

Neither the APC nor the Board of Zoning Appeals are ready to draft a wind farm ordinance, Niblick said.

"At this point, we can say no," Niblick said. "If we do create an ordinance, you open the door."

Indiana is one of the last states with economically-viable wind resources, said Council President Steve Jacob.

In crafting an ordinance regulating wind farms, Jacob said, "we ought not to have to reinvent the wheel."

County Councilman David Rodgers said wind farms are "pretty far along in their development in Jefferson Township." Rodgers is a member of the SBWG steering committee; other members are Dan and Debbie Jackson; John Batts, Doug Dickerson, Bob Guernsey and Bill Emmert Jr., Frandsen said.

Since last fall, EnXco has been measuring wind speeds near County Roads 850 N and 250 W, to decide whether it's financially feasible to invest the multi-millions of dollars necessary for a commercial-scale wind farm.

Some studies indicate Boone's wind is harvestable.

A 2004 testing by a state agency found a dependable, 15.6 mph wind stream at an altitude of 300 feet. That, Benton County Extension Educator Jimmy Bricker said at a June 19 seminar at the Boone County Fairgrounds, is enough to ensure wind developers will be "knocking on your door."

Wind farm construction won't start in Boone for some time, Frandsen said.

"This is not going to happen tomorrow or even next year; there are too many unanswered questions," he said.

County officials agree they must begin gathering those answers now.

"It is a complex issue," Niblick said. "That's maybe my point. We need help."