Over the past several months, residents near the Table Mountain Research Facility have reported suspicious activities within the facility's grounds. Many of these reports cite the appearance of military aircraft and transport trucks entering and leaving the compound during unusual hours. 

One resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, described the activity as, Ùlarge helicopters coming in there at all hours of the night. And they come in really low, like they're avoiding radar. You only see them on a sporadic basis and mostly at night, but they're so loud they wake you up." Other residents have reported seeing frequent caravans of dump trucks hauling full loads of dirt. 

When questioned about the reports, Interim Director Val O'Day explained that residents have seen military aircraft in the area because "The Air Force used to operate out there, but has recently closed their operations." He adds, "The county also had a gravel mine in operation but extractions are no longer being done out there. People have probably seen the gravel trucks they used to use._ 

O'Day described the Table Mountain Research Station as a "unique facility in the US in that it is controlled by the FCC and public law." He explained, "It is a test facility used for clean measurement of radio frequency transmissions, the evaluation of frequency ranges, and measuring electromagnetic energy._ 

The Table Mountain facility is controlled by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration - Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (NTIA-ITS), a division of the Department of Commerce, and offers a seismically "quiet" zone for gravimetric and radio frequency research. Currently, the NTIA-ITS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Geological Service are the primary users. 

The NTIA-ITS uses results from research conducted at the Table Mountain station in the development of wireless communication technology and radio transmissions, while NOAA uses the facility to monitor vertical crust motion and temporal variations of gravity. 

Residents of the Table Mountain area and the NTIA-ITS have been faced with controversy before. During the spring of 1998, the Boulder County Sheriff's Department submitted a proposal to build a firing range on Table Mountain. On April 25,1998, nearly 100 residents and neighbors gathered at the Altoona Grange to question the department's proposal. Within several days though, and after numerous phone calls and letters in protest, the proposal was suddenly withdrawn. 

From this first grassroots meeting, the Table Mountain Association was formed to continue communication with the Department of Commerce and to monitor future plans for the area. The first official meeting was held on August 8, 1998 and the association now meets monthly to discuss current developments and to promote relationships within the community. 

While the association credits the efforts of citizens for the withdrawal of the Sheriff's Department firing range proposal, questions concerning federal involvement have been raised. It is not known if any of the departments with operations at the research facility contributed input on the proposal and to date no official comments have been made. 

For more information of the Table Mountain Research Facility, contact the NTIA-ITS in Boulder at 303-497-3955 or via their web site at www.its.bldrdoc.gov/Home.html and for information about the Table Mountain Association, call 303-449-3869 or visit their web site at www.bcn.boulder.co.us/community/tma