Carbon County is moving forward on one of the final pieces of the conservation puzzle as it works to preserve water and land for future generations.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners approved the Open Space Advisory Board selection criteria proposal. This set of criteria will help the advisory board best determine what land should be conserved to ensure quality remains.

Dennis DeMara, who has been a driving force with the conservation of land, said that moving forward, the board will look at applications and base their decisions on this new criteria. It breaks things down into water, farm and land.

“It’s a very detailed type of process,” he said. “But it’s important to have this.”

DeMara equated the criteria to a score card that will help the advisory board determine whether or not an application fits the criteria and if should be funded for preservation.

Dan Kunkle, an adviser to the advisory board, said that the advisory board has been working hard to educate themselves and learn about the program.

In June, the board of commissioners established the advisory board, which will oversee how to best utilize a 20-year, $10 million bond for land preservation purposes.

The bond was approved by county residents on a referendum vote during the November 2022 election. It passed 21,014 yes votes to 4,394 no votes.

The Open Space Advisory Board consists of Fred Kemmerer Jr., David Krause, Danadee Miller-Boyle, Katherine Cunfer, Sarah Holland, Ian Farrel and alternates Brent Green and Gerry Madden.