Carbon County says $1.7M in county bonds could preserve about 1,824 acres by 2026

An open-space advisory meeting in Carbon County heard that county bond spending is expected to preserve roughly 1,824 acres by 2026, a board presenter said.

"By the 2026, we're expected to spend $1,700,000 of county funding," Speaker 4 said, adding that county funds would unlock approximately $3.5 million in matching funds. Speaker 4 listed projects expected to close in the next year, including the Pine Run easement and two additional farm easements, and said the total preservation goal included about 1,200 acres through open-space projects and about 533 acres of farmland.

The presentation broke the bond funding down by program. Speaker 4 said about $679,873 in bond funding is earmarked for open-space projects with roughly $1,500,000 in matching funds; about $1,300,000 in county bond funding was directed toward agricultural preservation with roughly $2,000,000 in match funding from the PDA (as described by the presenter). The presenter estimated that by 2027 another ~200 acres could be added given pipeline prospects.

Commissioners also made specific commitments: Speaker 4 said the commissioners pledged $300,000 for agricultural preservation in 2026 and that $250,000 had been encumbered in 2025 (encumbered but not yet spent). Speaker 10 noted rollback tax receipts related to farmland are modest and flow into the agricultural fund (Speaker 10 said the rollback taxes were “just over $2,000”).

Separately, the board received a brief status update on the Pyron easement, which Speaker 4 said is expected to close in March or April; staff said most due diligence is complete but that a few outstanding issues could push the closing date.

Next steps: staff said they will continue outreach to finalize easement closings and will provide handouts and updates at future meetings. No formal vote on bond allocations occurred during this discussion; the figures were presented as an update to the board.