The Polk County Board of Commissioners has agreed to move forward on purchasing approximately 1,012 acres currently owned by The Nature Conservancy in sections 35 and 36 of Gentilly Township by having the gravel-filled land appraised.

County Highway Engineer Richard Sanders explained that Bradshaw Gravel currently has a lease to haul gravel out until 2010 at 65 cents per ton.

After that, the contract would be renegotiated but Bradshaw retains the option to take out gravel from the site until the year 2040.

After that time, however, the county would own all the gravel to use as it wishes, he said.

"There's 2 million yards of gravel underneath there," Sanders said. "No way will that even come close to being used up in 35 years."

The land is outside the borders of the Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge, TNC Manager Keith Mykleseth pointed out.

The organization is looking to wrap up the sale as soon as possible, hopefully in November, he added.

"I think it's worth looking at in the long term," said Commissioner Warren Affeldt. "It would be good for the county to have its own gravel source in years to come."

In other business at the county board meeting last week:

The Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency are co-hosting the event. The purpose of the conference is to strengthen shared governance and citizen stewardship, according to literature provided.