Next month Carbon County voters will decide if the county should borrow money to preserve farms and forests.

A referendum on the ballot for the November general election asks voters whether the county should borrow up to $10 million over the next 20 years to fund open space preservation.

Bond payments would cost the average Carbon County homeowner about $22 per year, money which supporters of the referendum say would help protect the water quality, wildlife and farms for future generations.

“The people in this county love its natural resources. They are some of the greatest aspects of this county, and we want to keep that,” said Dan Kunkle, chairman of Carbon County Citizens for Water, Farms and Land.

A growing number of Pennsylvania counties and municipalities across the state have voted to approve bonds to protect open space as they see development increase.

Kunkle’s committee says they don’t oppose new development, but they are aware of growing demand for residential and warehouse development in the region. They want to make sure critical resources connected to the area’s drinking water, wildlife and farms are protected.

“We’re not against this growth. All we’re trying to do is strike a balance,” said Dennis DeMara, a committee member and longtime employee of Carbon County and the Pa. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Protected land

Thirty percent of Carbon County - a total of 73,872 acres - is already protected - mostly in state parks and gamelands. Another 33,000 acres currently not protected - including wildlife habitat and prime agricultural land - has been given a high priority for preservation by land preservation groups.

The $10 million would enable the county to protect some, but not all of that land from development.

DeMara said that the money would enable Carbon County to obtain matching grants from the state.

“This program we’re trying to create is the seed money to invest in the future of the county,” he said.

State grants have been key to ongoing conservation efforts. The county’s Agricultural Land Conservation Easement Purchase Program, which has preserved 1,720 acres since 1990, has gotten over 80 percent of its funding from the state.

Land Trusts like Wildlands Conservancy, where DeMara is currently employed, have obtained state grants to protect thousands more acres of forested land in areas like the Kittattiny Ridge.

Nearby counties have been able to attract even more grant money after voting to borrow money for open space. Monroe County voters approved a $25 million bond in 1998, and the county commissioners voted to borrow an additional $11 million. The investment resulted in an additional $78 million from other sources.

The Carbon County Commissioners do not need the referendum to borrow the money, but they say they want to hear from voters, because it will ultimately be taxpayer funds that pay for it.

The referendum asks whether the county should borrow up to $10 million. It would also create an advisory committee of residents to decide where to spend the funds.

County role

Even if voters approve the ballot measure, it will still be up to the commissioners how much is borrowed, and when.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said he supports passing the ballot measure and borrowing the funds because he’s concerned that the boom in warehouse construction in the region poses a threat to open space.

“We’re seeing too many farms disappear,” he said.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich said he hopes the referendum passes and the advisory committee is created. But he said he is opposed to raising taxes right now, and that the county is already facing increased expenses in other areas.

“I’m a big supporter of the ballot measure, but someone has to pay for it. And right now, it’s the taxpayer,” Lukasevich said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner also believes the county needs to protect open space, and said the commissioners should listen to the voters.

“I think the public should weigh in on whether we should try and preserve land like that,” Ahner said.

Greater cost

Kunkle says that if the county does not take steps to preserve its natural resources. The cost will be much greater than the cost of the referendum.

A 2018 report from the Kittatinny Ridge Coalition which valued costs which are prevented by the county’s natural resources - such as floods, loss of wildlife habitat and pollination - at $650 million per year.

“Right now is the best time to preserve what we have left. Tomorrow, some will be gone, and in 20 years, more will be gone,” Kunkle said.