A Unique Opportunity to Implement a New Vision for the Council
Former DCR Stewardship Council Chair Nate Walton speaks to his experience on the Council and where he sees DCR five years from now
Nate Walton served on the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Stewardship Council for five years. A graduate of Bates College and Brown University, he works as a consultant to defense technology businesses. Formerly a resident of Boston, Nate now lives with his wife and their two children on the North Shore.
Nate became the Council Chairman midway through his five-year term during a tumultuous time for the Council, replacing Whitney Hatch, who the Governor did not reappoint. In fact, there was nearly a complete turnover of Councilors just before his chairmanship began. Soft-spoken but determined, he brought stability to the Council while new members found their footing. With the backdrop of the pandemic, he ushered in a series of meeting reforms, which allowed individual Councilors more power and the public a greater voice.
Despite working from home and juggling the demands of caring for his two sick children, he insisted on keeping our scheduled interview, conducted via Zoom in April of this year, a few months after he left the Council. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
MCV: What’s your favorite State Park?
I attended Tabor Academy in Marion and enjoyed visiting Myles Standish State Forest for runs. When we lived in Boston, my wife and I spent many hours running and walking along the Esplanade. I would say these are my two favorites, although it’s hard to choose. It was unfortunate during the pandemic that we were unable to hold Council meetings at state parks. I missed that. There is a real value for Councilors visiting and learning about various state parks as part of their service.
MCV: You represented The City of Boston. Did you view your role as a Councilor to represent the City?
Good question. I think in the beginning, with a defined constituency, I was very interested in cultivating relationships with local stakeholders. So, I reached out to Nick Connors, who was then leading stakeholder engagement at DCR. He gave me a list of local friends’ groups that I contacted. I first connected with Vivian Ortiz at a Council meeting in Boston, where she spoke in support of increased bike access on DCR parkways. We eventually took a bike ride together the following summer along the Neponset River. This was educational for me to learn about challenges facing a specific set of local stakeholders.
Incidentally, after we parted ways, I decided to bike all the way back to downtown Boston. While en route, I got sideswiped by a car in Roxbury and later had to get stitches. Vivian and I shared a laugh over how I now had firsthand experience of the challenges facing urban cyclists. I later encouraged her to apply for an open seat on the Council and was thrilled when she was appointed.
MCV: So, you were instrumental in convincing Vivian to join the Council.
She is such a great asset to the Council and its first credible and experienced voice advocating for better and safer streets and parkways for commuting and recreational bikers.
MCV: How do you think the Council evolved over the five years you served?
I kind of look back on my service as two different periods. During the first period, I was the representative from Boston, engaging with local stakeholders, understanding their interactions with DCR, and sharing questions and concerns with agency staff. So that was very much a learning period. During that time, I was still a relatively junior member of the Council, not just by tenure but also by age. And then, suddenly, there was quite a bit of turnover, and many longtime members left, including Chairman Whitney Hatch. So, it was somewhat of an unusual situation to find myself now one of the more senior Council members and being encouraged by others to run for the chairmanship. Nonetheless, I also saw it as a unique opportunity to implement a new vision for the Council.
What were the Council’s accomplishments during your chairmanship?
There are several; I think the Council’s most lasting achievement was invigorating the standing committees by providing them time during each meeting to develop agendas and goals and have some accountability for them. Of course, there are always things you wish you had accomplished, but I think we made significant progress because of this change, which also gave a greater voice to individual councilors. If my chairmanship could be remembered in one way, I hope it can be seen as a period in which the Council was strengthened by empowering its members.
MCV: I agree with you. In a short time, there was nearly a complete turnover of councilors and with it a change in spirit. MCV monitored every Council meeting and Finance Committee meeting. It wasn’t always easy going, but the committees produced results.
Yes, the Finance Committee played a leading role in showcasing what the invigorated committees could achieve. By reasserting its budget oversight role, it helped ensure the Council was doing more to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. This was achieved by having meetings with DCR staff in 2019 and 2020 that helped build good faith and trust with the agency, followed by DCR budget presentations throughout 2021 that put the Council in a better position to conduct oversight. I was pleased last summer when the Finance Committee spearheaded a budget priorities document that the Council adopted months before the Governor’s budget was even released. I think it put the Council in a stronger position to influence conversations about the budget while it was still being developed.
MCV: The Policy and Stakeholder committees were equally active.
Yes, they certainly were. The Policy Committee led a monthslong effort to develop a series of reforms to the Council’s enabling legislation, and it helped advance DCR’s proposal to streamline the process for developing Resource Management Plans for DCR holdings. So it was very encouraging to see the DCR Special Commission Report embrace the Council’s enabling legislation proposal. And I’ve been happy to see there has finally been progress on approving Resource Management Plans after years of frustrating delays.
The Stakeholders Committee, a new committee when I became chair, regularly engaged with DCR senior staff on concerns raised by stakeholders, provided feedback in support of DCR’s development of a streamlined MOU for friends’ groups and highlighted opportunities for DCR to embrace public-private partnerships. They also created a transparent process for stakeholder groups to apply to present before the Council, allowing a broader array of voices to be heard during Council meetings.
MCV: You mentioned that there were things you didn’t accomplish that you wish you had. Can you talk about those?
Something I tracked very closely during my time as chair was public-private partnerships like the Edgewater Project and the Esplanade Association Project that could serve as opportunities to improve DCR assets and fill capacity gaps.
I was sometimes frustrated with the agency’s lack of enthusiasm about proposals that came before them. I certainly understand the concern about not wanting to lose public access to lands. I think this is an important principle. But I believe nonprofit groups with responsible track records and adequate resources should also feel their state government is a partner that wants to work with them. It should be possible to allow these groups a meaningful role while at the same time not losing public ownership and access.
MCV: Public-private partnerships are tricky. There’s definitely a hesitancy inside the Commissioner’s office to engage with private partners and accept private donations for specific projects. And the private partners are at a disadvantage because they need DCR to care for and support their park and don’t want to do anything that might sour the relationship.
That’s a really good point, which is why in a few select cases, I – and other councilors – tried to play a role as third-party arbiters to help kickstart these conversations. There was often a reluctance for the reasons you mentioned in the absence of such intervention.
MCV: Any other missed opportunities?
I would like to see the Council play an even more active role in the budget process. During my chairmanship, the Council began to reassert this authority, which has never really been fully exercised. I recall learning as a public policy graduate student what happens when bureaucracies don’t assert their rights and prerogatives – if you don’t push and stress them, they don’t take shape and strengthen. I’m hopeful the Council will continue asserting its authority so this doesn’t take place.
I had also hoped RMP approvals would move on a faster timeline once the Council signed off on a more streamlined process in the fall of 2019. We already touched on this, but the continued delays, right – I was hoping we would approve one before I left as chair, and honestly, that didn’t happen.
Where do you want the Council and DCR to be five years from now?
In light of the pandemic, I think we all have a greater appreciation for our public lands and their importance to our mental and physical well-being. We shouldn’t easily forget that. The DCR Special Commission has provided a blueprint to strengthen DCR, including by embracing the Council’s proposed reforms. I recently spoke with Senator Will Brownsberger, who wants to work on the Commission’s recommendations. He is an important ally for all those who care about DCR’s mission. So much time, dedication, and energy went into the Commission’s work; the legislature should not just let its report sit on the shelf.