By Doug Pizzi | October 10, 2018
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Stewardship Council, which has legislatively mandated advisory and oversight authority over DCR operations, is going through a period of transition that, if not handled correctly, could diminish the Council’s ability to fulfill its role as envisioned in its enabling legislation.
The 13-member volunteer Council, whose members serve seven-year terms, are appointed by the Governor. Currently there are three vacancies and four members whose terms expire in 2018. The terms of the councilors are not staggered, so a significant amount of institutional knowledge and expertise on DCR issues could leave the Council in rapid succession, severely limiting the its ability to fulfill its mission to the agency and the public. Combine that with the fact that over the past 15 years, the average tenure for a DCR Commissioner is a little more than two years, and you have the potential for a disaster.
In 2003, the governor and legislature merged the former Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to form the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). As part of the merger, the state Legislature created the DCR Stewardship Council. In theory, the Council would act as a board of directors overseeing DCR management with fiduciary oversight, and as a voice for the various environmental, conservation and friends’ groups associated with DCR resources. It’s a big mission for a volunteer board with a zero budget.
In its infancy, the Council drew from a wide variety of professional expertise in the areas of landscape architecture, natural resource management, budgeting, and business. Early appointees included Henry Lee, now the director of Harvard University’s Environment and Natural Resources Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Laura Johnson, former director of Mass Audubon, and Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air and a former state senator.
The composition of the Stewardship Council is legislatively mandated: two members come from recommendations put forward to the Governor by the DCR commissioner, who solicits those names from a coalition comprised of the Environmental League of Massachusetts, the Trustees of Reservations and the Massachusetts chapters of Audubon, Sierra Club, Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Trust for Public Land. Out of the remaining eleven members, one must come from Berkshire County, five from the “urban parks district” (metro Boston), and the remaining five must be geographically distributed throughout the remainder of the states’ counties.
Recently, two members, former Commissioner of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife Walter Bickford, and former City of Boston Parks and Recreation Commissioner Antonia Pollak have been notified that they will not be reappointed. Another council member, Wayne Klockner, Massachusetts director of The Nature Conservancy has chosen not to seek reappointment. Of the Council members whose terms expire this year, two have formally requested re-appointment, but have not been notified of their status. They are Council Chairman Whitney Hatch, one of the longest tenured Council members still serving and Michelle Hanss, former Chairwoman of the Boston Committee of the Garden Club of America.**
The Council meets once per month at various DCR facilities. Among its duties, the Council reviews and comments on the proposed DCR annual budget; and oversees DCR programs. Of particular concern to the Council over the past two years is implementation of the agency’s Asset Modernization System, a plan to bring DCR’s facilities and services into the 21st Century, including making sure those who work at those facilities have access to modern technology such as smart-phones and the Internet.
Additionally, the Council has had some modest success in helping DCR develop and implement legislatively mandated Resource Management Plans, as described in Chapter 21 of the General Laws. The plans are guidelines for the protection and stewardship of natural and cultural resources ensuring consistency between recreation, resource protection, and sustainable forest management for reservations, parks, and forests. After fifteen years, not all of the regions have these plans, and many of the ones that do exist have not been kept up to date as budgets and personnel have fallen.
DCR has dominion over nearly a half-million acres of forest, park, and other recreational land, along with scenic parkways, and aquatic, coastal, and historic resources. This is not an insignificant mandate. But since the 2008 recession, the agency has lost about a third of its workforce and accumulated a significant deferred maintenance backlog, which has forced DCR to close facilities or run them without proper staffing or budgets.
This year, with Council prodding and legislative support, the DCR budget saw a $2.8 million increase in its Parks and Recreation operating budget line item, to $40.25 million, in a total budget of $94.6 million. While this increase is helpful, it is important to note that it is still tens of millions of dollars less than what DCR received during its peak funding year, FY 06, when its total budget was $139.8 million. Adjusted for inflation, that FY 06 budget today would be $178.6 million, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a non-partisan fiscal watchdog group. Also this year, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a five-year environmental bond bill that contained $880.5 million in capital line items for DCR. The final authorization to bond for capital projects under the bill, however, relies on gubernatorial approval.
Given the vast challenge, these modest successes are at best a step in the right direction. This is not the time to jeopardize these gains by more unnecessary turnover in leadership at the DCR. What the agency needs is steady and clear leadership. The Governor prides himself on his management capabilities. We at MCV hope he will see the wisdom and importance of retaining the Council’s experienced members as a strong and steadying hand in rebuilding our park system.
Doug Pizzi is the Executive Director of Massachusetts Conservation Voters
**Following publication of this article, Council member Heather Clish, Appalachian Mountain Club director of conservation and recreation policy, has submitted a letter seeking re-appointment.