Rural Lawrence County just became a little more rural - for better and worse. More than 4,000 acres of forest, much of which is in Lawrence County, will again be available for public hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing.

The 4,100 acres was formerly owned by Mead Paper but was purchased by non-profit group The Nature Conservancy, which has opened it up for public use through an agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Since a quarter of the land is reclaimed strip mine and even more is undevelopable, we feel this move will help add to southern Ohio's resources and natural beauty. But we urge caution before ODNR takes on more land because it may ultimately be responsible for more than it can manage.

The Division of Wildlife currently administers more than 200,000 acres of land across the state. The Division of Wildlife will be the caretakers of the property and will have to post signs, maintain gates, the parking area, provide law enforcement for the area, stock ponds and provide maps.

Ultimately, the Nature Conservancy plans to hand the land over to the Wayne National Forest. Again, we think this is a good idea in this case, but hope officials look carefully at where they are now before looking to grow.

The national forest is a diamond for southern Ohio and all of the state. We must build upon that but not forget to polish that gem because we are looking at other &#8221jewels.“

ODNR and the WNF should each look to utilize what each has to its fullest potential before looking to expand much more. Lake Vesuvius is a perfect example of what can be accomplished by developing and promoting the resources we already have.

The recent dam improvements, addition of a handicapped accessible boardwalk and improved parking and boat ramp access were all tremendous changes that helped make the county's best kept secret more accessible to the rest of the region.

This same approach must be applied to all of the rural forestland in our county.

Because of the not-so-easy process of removing land from its federal designation as a natural forest, environmentalists must walk a thin line between preservation and impeding development.

The trick will be to build upon our natural resources while still proving opportunity for man-made assets, as well.

As the saying goes, we must make sure we can see forest, not just the trees.