Carbon County open space officials meet with Franklin supervisors to discuss the program.

During the township supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, Anna Shigo, Open Space coordinator for the Carbon County Office of Planning and Development; Dawn Gorham, director of Land Preservation at the Wildlife Conservancy, Carbon County; and Dennis DeMara, Conservation Outreach coordinator at the Wildlands Conservancy, approached the board to talk about open space funding opportunities.

“I am looking to help municipalities utilize this grant program, since it is brand-new,” Shigo said. “To do that, I am organizing a workshop throughout different regions of Carbon County. This area, which includes Franklin Township, Mahoning Township and Lehighton, will hold the workshop in late summer or early fall.”

“Wildlands Conservancy has grant money to help the county implement the grant program, and the funding also is to help municipalities take advantage of the program, “ Gorham added.

“We can come in and help with potential projects, any aspect of the project to help preserve open spaces.”

“Our goal is to preserve water quality, wildlife habitat, and the forests,” DeMara said. “We’re not against development. All we’re looking for is planned development and a balance between development and nature.”

In 2022, Carbon County voters approved a $10 million bond issue — the Carbon County Water, Farms, and Land referendum — to support farmland preservation and natural lands conservation. Eighty-two percent of voters said “yes” to the measure, which provides a source of local matching funds, a longtime limitation on the county’s ability to protect lands.