Gun sales benefit Georgia wilderness

The mass murders in Dallas and Orlando are, in a sad and odd way, good for wilderness in Georgia.

Fear, and politicians calls for stricter gun control laws, fuel gun sales. A little-known federal program slaps an excise tax on the sale of guns and ammunition, with the bulk of that money returned to states to boost wildlife conservation and land acquisition programs.

And, with gun sales soaring, Georgia is receiving record amounts of conservation money from Washington. The program sent more than $15 million Georgia's way last year — nearly three times the amount just five years earlier.