ELMDALE, Kan (AP) – Gov. Sam Brownback is defending his decision to expand an area in the Flint Hills that will be off limits to wind farms.

Some legislators and Cowley County officials have criticized the decision, saying it likely killed a wind energy project that they had been planning for years.

Brownback this month expanded the no-wind farm area to 11,000 square miles from Riley and Pottawatomie counties to the state’s southern border. Brownback said on Tuesday that it was important to promote tourism of the Flint Hills. He also says BP Wind Energy had already said it was considering pulling out of the Cowley County project.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that three state legislators and Cowley County officials were upset because Brownback did not consult with them before making the decision.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)