It was a historic day for Carbon County’s new Open Space program.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners officially approved the first official contribution of a $10 million bond that county residents approved for the conservation and preservation of land and waterways within the county.

The action authorized the appropriation of $180,784 from the bond referendum funds to use toward the acquisition of the Recica property, 72-acre mature native mixed hardwood forest plot of land that borders with state game lands 217 near Kittatinny Ridge in East Penn Township.

The total cost for the purchase of the land is $500,450, with the remaining funds coming from the state game commission. The land will eventually be added to the game lands in order to protect the Appalachian Trail.

Dan Kunkle, who is part of the Open Space Advisory Board, said before the vote took place, “It’s an exciting day for me today because today the commissioners will vote on the first application for that project. Two years ago, the voters gave the commissioners a mandate. Eighty-three percent yes to start an open space program and they vote on the first application today. I’m here to commend you for that and to witness this event.”

He noted that the county’s contribution in this project equates to approximately $2,000 per acre, which is significantly under what acreage is selling at today.

“That’s a bargain for preserving this land,” he said.

Kunkle also commended the commissioners for hiring Anna Shigo to lead the program.

“You selected her to lead this program and she’s intelligent. She’s hardworking and passionate about conservation,” he said. “I don’t think you could have selected a better person to lead this program.”

The commissioners agreed.

“She has stepped up to the plate and proven herself,” Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner added that she has worked well with the county and with neighboring Northampton County, which has been helping Carbon with the program startup.

David Bodnar, county planning and development director, congratulated everyone involved in this action.

This property was one of two applications that Carbon County received for this first round of preservation.

“We feel that this was the best project of what we were given to start out with,” said Commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko. “It wasn’t a huge project but it’s big enough to get everyone’s feet wet.”

Ahner added that the county is setting its priorities on what should be the best use of the money to protect land and water.

The process will now be able to move forward with closing, which could take several months.

“This property fit the criteria of what the people voted for,” Ahner said. “This area could be developed and I think that’s what we were looking for, to try and get areas that would connect to other properties or waterways where we want to preserve the water.”