This morning along Caney Creek right by the baseball parking area I found these ducks...I'm not a hunter but I don't object to it if it is done with responsibility but this kind of thing hurts us all

The State has acquired 127,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau. Read more in today's Knoxville News-Sentinel.

These land buys are huge wins for the environment. One aspect that shouldn't be overlooked is the contributions of hunters to make this purchase possible. For example, part of this area will become the "Brimstone Addition" to the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area. This and other purchases by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency are paid for through money collected for hunting and fishing licenses. I have wondered why environmentalists and hunters often seem to be at such odds with each other, when they both have a huge shared interest in these types of conservation acquisitions.

Here in Roane County, we have Mount Roosevelt Wildlife Management Area, which is 11,000 acres just outside Rockwood. This land is open to hiking and other nonhunting activities and is rarely used by hunters except during deer season. In other words, stay out now (unless you are wearing blaze orange), but check this place out in January. 11,000 acres is a lot of land, but there is a lot more out there. I would love to see this area expanded in future land purchases, so that more of our Roane County forests are preserved.