After receiving comments from nearly 5,000 Tennessee citizens, the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors recently approved a land policy that will keep nearly 300,000 acres of public TVA land from being sold to private land developers.

Many of the comments came from members of the National Wild Turkey Federation's volunteers in Tennessee, who joined forces with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation through a grassroots campaign to make their collective conservation voice heard.

"Volunteers from both organizations worked through a grassroots campaign to ensure the land, much of which is open to hunting and fishing, remains in the public's hands," said Billy Minser, former NWTF Tennessee state chapter board member. "Most folks think they can never make a difference in policy, but the sportsmen of NWTF and TWF proved that wrong."

During the comment period, NWTF and TWF volunteers and staff worked diligently to let the TVA Board's Community Relations Committee know they strongly disapproved of developing the land because of the negative impacts it would have on area wildlife.

"A lot of people such as Billy Minser have worked for the last 10 years to make sure TVA land -- much of which was acquired by the government through eminent domain -- stays in the public's hands," said Sam Mars, a national board member of both the NWTF and TWF. "Ninety-two percent of respondents during the open comment period supported the draft policy, which proposed no residential or retail development on TVA-managed land."

Every year, nonprofit conservation groups such as the NWTF spend dollars on habitat improvement projects and public land acquisitions nationwide. In the seven TVA states alone, the NWTF has spent more than $825,000 to help purchase nearly 194,000 acres of land for public recreation.

"Selling TVA lands would go against all of the work the NWTF's dedicated volunteers put into helping purchase public lands throughout the country," said Dr. James Earl Kennamer, NWTF's senior vice president for conservation programs. "The NWTF's volunteers believe these lands should be managed by state and federal agencies with a strong conservation ethic for public recreational opportunities. Undeveloped areas across the nation are national treasures and our children's inheritance. It is unthinkable to allow these lands to fall prey to developers who will create gated communities that only a few can enjoy."

TVA is the nation's largest public power company and provides power to nearly 8.5 million residents of the Tennessee Valley through 158 locally owned distributors. The lands managed by TVA represent nearly 300,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation, including public hunting opportunities, in Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.