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News & Observer(Print Friendly) : http : //www . . . rsday/news/nc/Story/276997p- 258581c .html http :// l52. 52 . 16 . 193/standing/help/tools/_scripts/friendly -print . cgi in environmental law at the Institute of Government . Researchers can ' t gather hard data for an area that large and , 3 instead , sample from particular areas and extrapolate using computer models , he said . " It ' s always going to be an estimate with a lot of uncertainty , it seems to me , " said Whisnant , who nevertheless used the USDA ' s figures in an article in Popular Government last fall because , he said , they were the best he could find . Statistics aren 't what drive people to worry about losing open land , said Mary Kiesau , who runs the Sierra Club ' s anti - sprawl campaign in North Carolina . Most become concerned when houses or a shopping center consume a cherished forest or pasture , she said . " We look at our own daily lives and what ' s happening to places we love , " she said . Still , Kiesau said she cites the USDA numbers in her talks as a way of illustrating the issue and giving it a sense of urgency . " It ' s nice to have facts , " she said . Staff writer Richard Stradling can be reached at 829 = 4739 or rstradli @ nando . com [BACK ] © Copyright 2000 , The News & Observer. All material found on newsobserver. com is copyrighted The News & Observer and associated news services . No material may be reproduced� or reused without explicit permission from The News & Observer . 2 of 2 1 /23/2001 8 : 45 AM