Let's make this clear right from the start. We love nature and we love the Wayne National Forest, probably our second most valuable asset. Lake Vesuvius and other parts of Ohio's only national forest can be a tremendous tool as Lawrence County moves into the future.

We love what is already there and love the potential of what the rural part of the county could become.

So, with that said, the announcement that international conservation group The Nature Conservancy purchased another 1,107 acres of rural land in the county to go with the 2,500 it already owns should be music to our ears, right?

Not exactly.

Touting the deal as a way to, "protect more than 4,000 acres of Appalachian forest," The Nature Conservancy hopes to eventually sell the property in Washington to the U.S. Forest Service. Right now though, the government does not have the money to buy the land even if it wanted to.

And that brings us to the big question: Does the WNF even want more land? We have yet to hear anyone with the forest stand up and say, "Yes, we need it."

Now, that may certainly be the case but we have not heard the Wayne or the Forest Service publicly support the idea.

Locally, economic leaders remain concerned that forest service does not have the funding nor the resources to develop the land it already owns.

In addition, some believe that if the national forest continues to expand it could eventually own more than 50 percent of the county, thus limiting the area for development and tax base potential.

We are encouraged that the property has been open to the public in the past and the Conservancy leaders say they hope to continue this public access for hunting, fishing and hiking.

A study of rural uses for the county has been conducted and the results were recently made public. We hope this sheds some light on the issue.

We are not sure where the answer lies right now but the county must tread carefully. Right now, we have a delicate balancing act to perform. The forest is valuable but it loses its luster if the county does not have the land required for economic growth needed to sustain our most valuable asset - our people.