Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson said she is attempting to help local business interests acquire between 1,000 and 2,000 acres around Caddo Lake that are now slated to become part of the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

The acreage in question is on the Karnack-Uncertain highway.

Sen. Hutchinson said, through spokesman Jamie Loftis, she is supportive of those business interests "securing some of this land for economic development.

"The senator believes with the thousands of acres available from the ammunition plant, thousands of acres have gone to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a portion of this can be used for future economic development purposes."

Ms. Loftis said Ms. Hutchinson is working with the U.S. Army, which owns the land, and the U.S. Department of the Interior about the proposed land transfer.