Buckboard Neighborhood Association president Susan Moore has begun researching what it would take to get better cellular service to her neck of the woods, an area south of Tijeras. And it's not just so she can download applications for her smart phone.

She said the importance of wireless communications was impressed upon her when she attending a presentation about planning for emergencies put on by the East Mountain Interagency Fire Protection Association (EMIFPA).

Basically, it boils down to the idea that cell coverage could be pretty handy in an evacuation, she said.

"Convenience (of coverage) is not enough to get us involved," she said. "Some of us live a long ways from the highway."

She also pointed out that, for a firefighter working a medical emergency, a cell phone call to a doctor could save a life.

There have been efforts to get cellular coverage to the area before starting in 1996, but those efforts were opposed by Buckboard at the time. Things have changed since then, according to Sandy Fish, director of Bernalillo County's Zoning, Building and Planning Department.

Fish made a presentation on the subject and gave out a copy of the appropriate county ordinance to those attending at an East Mountain Coalition of Neighborhood and Landowner Associations meeting on Monday.

In areas like those near Moore's neighborhood, the county requires cell towers to be integrated into the scenery, hidden by existing buildings, signs or built to blend in with the trees, he said.

That makes things difficult in a rural area, where a tower may have to be about 100 feet to be effective.

"The further you get away from the bigger buildings, the tougher they're going to be," he said.

Moore said the ordinance is a mixed blessing. While it is restrictive enough to keep cellular companies from building towers that stand out, it is also difficult to find a way to get service.

"The idea of concealment is really difficult," she said.

There have been at least six previous attempts to get cellular towers into the area, she said, and all of them have failed.

In 2006, Robert Foster attempted to lease space on his 144-foot amateur radio tower to wireless communications companies might. Foster, who lives on Raven Road west of N.M. 337, had said the radio tower has been on his property since 1961. He was recently approached by representatives of AT&T and Qwest Communications, both expressing interest in leasing space on his tower to bring additional cell phone and high-speed Internet services to the area, but the lease didn't move forward.

Foster attended the recent meeting and said he'd driven around the area to test how well his tower sent and received a signal, which was somewhat spotty, he said. He added that several small towers would likely work, but wouldn't be cost effective because of the rural nature of the area. "Jackrabbits and coyotes … don't use cell phones," he said.

The history of failed attempts actually may work in favor of attaining cell service another way: by having a cell tower on land managed by the forest service, Moore said.

That has it's own process, including an environmental analysis, which could take time, she said.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher, who also attended the meeting, said the county may supply residents with other options as well, although the details have yet to be worked out.

The county now has a 911 service that calls residents on cell phones and home phones, he pointed out, which helps make the argument that lack of cellular service is a public safety concern.

Moore emphasized that she is only gathering information and looking at options at this point and added that she would appreciate residents' input.

"Community input is very important," she said. "We're listening."