Pandemic has proven parks and other open spaces are essential services
Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi | June 17, 2020
In Massachusetts, the pandemic is an unprecedented public health and economic disaster. Thousands have died, tens of thousands are unemployed, state revenues are plummeting, and the future is uncertain.
Amidst all of this, one thing is true – the essential importance of parks and open spaces to our physical and mental health. This is particularly true of our state parks, forests and other facilities managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Before the pandemic hit, DCR was making progress recovering from budget and staff cuts going back to the Great Recession of 2008.
Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) is the only statewide, non-partisan, non-profit organization solely focused on helping DCR avoid suffering another round of devastating budget cuts during a time that its services are needed most. But this is a difficult goal and we need your help to be successful. MCV is offering our members and the public-at-large the opportunity to have their voices heard. We are collecting signatures in support of actually increasing DCR’s budget, which we will then present to Governor Charlie Baker, the Legislature and other stakeholders.
Click here to sign MCV’s petition to support DCR!
After the 2008 collapse, successive governors and legislatures slashed DCR operating funds and cut its staff by about a third. Entire regions lost services. DCR had to close visitor centers and sometimes entire facilities. Deferred maintenance piled up higher and higher. Some parks and forests had one or two full-time staffers. We must not allow that to happen again.
DCR has performed heroically during the shutdown – keeping public lands open, closing some parkways to expand pedestrian and bike access, improving its website to assist people looking for less crowded parks, and including information on how to stay safe while using the parks. In short, DCR has proven to be essential.
As July 4th approaches DCR needs more personnel to maintain its facilities safely and efficiently. Public bathrooms, park benches, picnic tables, and visitor centers will require frequent cleaning and disinfecting. Fresh water for handwashing or hand sanitizer needs to be available, and park personnel will need an ample supply of personal protective equipment. Up-to-the-minute public information on park closings due to overcrowding and directions to alternate sites will be critical.
Also, MCV believes that the Governor and Legislature should reduce and, in some cases, eliminate park fees this summer so that there are fewer barriers to the safe and affordable use of public lands by people already suffering economic distress. This is particularly important in urban areas where the DCR facilities may represent the only opportunities for recreation.
Click here to sign MCV’s petition to support DCR!
As you know, Retained Revenue, the money from fees and other income DCR gets to keep in-house, has become critical to DCR operations over the years. Surely, DCR has already lost considerable Retained Revenue income during the last two quarters of the fiscal year ending June 30th, a trend we are sure will continue during FY21. This means our elected officials need to step up and be counted as champions of our parks and for the public health.
The public needs to know what it will take to keep the parks operating at a higher level than in past years. DCR will need a larger budget, not just to replace lost Retained Revenue but to pay for these additional supplies and services. The public deserves an FY21 that provides nothing less.
DCR has proven that it’s up to the challenge in providing safe and accessible open spaces during our public health emergency, now it needs the funds to continue to meet that challenge.
We no longer have to prove to public officials the importance of open spaces to our health, safety, and well-being. We must not allow our open spaces to be treated as anything but critical, essential infrastructure, protected from budget cuts that will endanger our recovery. With your help, MCV will be a powerful, frequent voice in that regard.
Please sign our petition and if you are able, help MCV bring this message to the public and state government with a contribution to MCV. The park you save may be your own.
Chuck Anastas is the chairman of the MCV Board of Directors.
Doug Pizzi is MCV’s executive director.