Special Legislative Commission on DCR has rare opportunity to benefit our parks

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Special Legislative Commission on DCR has rare opportunity to benefit our parks Public input is key to any successful outcome By Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi Every public park department and local open space committee felt the strain on its resources caused by the tremendous pandemic-driven increase in park attendance in 2020. With most day-to-day social opportunities shut down, people across the nation turned to our parks and other open spaces to satisfy both their physical and mental health needs. Closer to home, no organization felt this strain more than the state's premier park system stewards, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Throughout the ebb and flow of the pandemic, where it was safe to do so, DCR kept our forests and parks open - all of the time. Some areas of the state saw as much as 300 percent increases in use. Now enter the Legislative Special Commission on DCR. Conceived before the pandemic by state Senator William Brownsberger of Belmont and passed...
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Massachusetts to hit net zero emissions by 2050 through new law

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Taylor Brokesh | The Daily Free Press | March 31, 2021 https://dailyfreepress.com/2021/03/31/massachusetts-to-hit-net-zero-emissions-by-2050-through-new-law/ Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill with bipartisan support Friday committing Massachusetts to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The new law, titled “An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” adds a voluntary energy efficient building code for cities, creates short-term emissions goals and grants the Commonwealth the ability to secure an additional 2,400 megawatts of offshore, renewable energy by 2027, according to a Friday press release. “I’m deeply proud that we managed to come together to create this bill,” Baker said at the signing ceremony. “I’m proud to say that climate change has not been, ever, a partisan issue. We know the impacts on our coasts, on our fisheries, on our farms and on our communities are real and demand action.” Sen. Michael Barrett, D-Mass., introduced Bill S.9 to the Massachusetts legislature in January. “We’re resetting the bar for ourselves, moving it higher, so we need everyone in state government...
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Letter: State lawmakers should make open space a real policy priority (The Boston Globe)

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Letter: State lawmakers should make open space a real policy priority https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/13/opinion/fort-point-plan-gives-boston-another-shot-true-destination-waterfront/ Massachusetts Conservation Voters, a statewide advocacy group for public open space, applauds Shirley Leung’s call for abundant public parkland in conjunction with any future Fort Point Channel development. The state Legislature can act now to protect existing public parkland. Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution guides municipalities and developers in the process of converting public parkland to another use. That process, spelled out in a policy directive overseen by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, needs a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for final approval. But before the vote, proponents must prove that a better alternative to taking a park does not exist and be able to replace the land taken with property of at least equal size and ecological value. Because the requirements are set out in policy, not law, some proponents have tried to bypass the policy before filing the legislation, or not file legislation at all. Attempts...
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Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $960,000 to Support Local State Park Improvement Projects

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The DCR 2021 Partnership Matching Funds program, provides vital matching funds for projects that improve or enhance the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-awards-over-960000-to-support-local-state-park-improvement-projects BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $960,305 in funding to 34 projects proposed by municipalities, non-profit organizations, and other entities as part of the 2021 Partnerships Matching Funds Program. The program, administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), provides vital matching funds for projects that improve or enhance the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. “By partnering with the private sector, we can leverage state funds with private dollars to invest in a first-class state parks system in Massachusetts for generations to come,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “The funding provided to these projects through the Partnerships Matching Funds Program will enhance the natural beauty, ecological health, and outdoor recreational opportunities of state parks throughout the Commonwealth.” “Through close partnerships with park advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, individuals, and municipal leaders, our Administration is able to make significant investments in our parks system,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “We...
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Medical Providers Are Taking Nature Therapy Seriously

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Jennifer Frank | Next City | March 15, 2021 https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/medical-providers-are-taking-nature-therapy-seriously Schools were closed and online learning was in full swing last March when a teenager and her mom arrived at Fair Haven Community Health Care in New Haven. The girl had been experiencing chest pains and her worried mother thought she should go to the emergency room, recalled Amanda E. DeCew, a Fair Haven clinic director and pediatric nurse. The girl “was spending her entire day inside and had been inside for like two weeks,” DeCew said. “But the more we got into her symptoms, the more I really felt like this was anxiety and nothing that she needed to go the emergency room for.” But DeCew also knew that some kind of medical intervention was needed. “I’m going to write a park prescription for you,” she told the girl. “Just try this for today.” In a follow-up call the next day, the teenager told DeCew she felt much better. “Her symptoms went away,” DeCew said,...
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Public Meeting: Birmingham Parkway

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Mass. DCR to Host Public Meeting on Birmingham Parkway Feasibility Study https://www.mass.gov/event/birmingham-parkway-feasibility-study-public-meeting-2021-03-25t180000-0400-2021-03-25t193000 ​Register here: https://zoom.us/j/96048244157 At this public meeting, DCR will present conceptual designs for the North Beacon Street and Birmingham Parkway corridor, between the Charles River and Market Street and including the rotary, with the objective of creating new access to the reservation, improving traffic safety, and reclaiming park land. To register, click on the appropriate link above or enter it into your browser, and you will be prompted to submit your name, email and zip code. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. This information cannot be shared, the participation link is unique to you. If you need assistance when registering, please contact Daniel.cushing@Mass.gov. After the presentation, participants will be invited to ask questions and provide feedback on the proposed design, using Q&A functionality that will be available through the virtual participation platform. After the meeting, the presentation will be available for viewing at https://www.mass.gov/dcr/past-public-meetings. DCR...
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City selects firms to lead long-term environmental action initiative

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City selects firms to lead long-term environmental action initiative Tanisha Bhat | The Daily Free Press | February 22, 2021 https://dailyfreepress.com/2021/02/22/city-selects-firms-to-lead-long-term-environmental-action-initiative/ Mayor Marty Walsh announced the two firms selected to head Boston’s first Urban Forest Plan — a 20-year project focused on protecting the city’s trees, addressing climate change and improving the overall lives of Boston residents — Wednesday. The Urban Forest Plan is a joint effort designed to address the growing threat of climate change in the city and its disproportionate effects on local communities, according to a Wednesday press release by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Boston landscape architecture firm Stoss Landscape Urbanism and Kentucky-based forestry consultant Urban Canopy Works were selected by the City to head the plan, the press release stated. The planning phase is expected to start this spring and will be completed in about a year. During this time, the project will be open for public feedback in the fall. The Urban Forest Plan includes a community advisory group and...
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State lawmakers should make open space a real policy priority

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State lawmakers should make open space a real policy priority Letter to the Editor | The Boston Globe | March 13, 2021 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/13/opinion/fort-point-plan-gives-boston-another-shot-true-destination-waterfront/ Massachusetts Conservation Voters, a statewide advocacy group for public open space, applauds Shirley Leung’s call for abundant public parkland in conjunction with any future Fort Point Channel development. The state Legislature can act now to protect existing public parkland. Article 97 of the Massachusetts Constitution guides municipalities and developers in the process of converting public parkland to another use. That process, spelled out in a policy directive overseen by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, needs a two-thirds vote of the Legislature for final approval. But before the vote, proponents must prove that a better alternative to taking a park does not exist and be able to replace the land taken with property of at least equal size and ecological value. Because the requirements are set out in policy, not law, some proponents have tried to bypass the policy before...
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DCR Special Commission to Meet March 15

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Special Commission to Meet March 15 Meeting of DCR Special Commission an opportunity to make your voice heard. The first meeting of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Special Commission is on Monday, March 15, 2021, at 1:00pm. The state Legislature created the commission in 2019 to examine all DCR operations statewide and make recommendations as to how to make the agency carry out its mission in the most efficient way. Special Commission meetings are scheduled for once a month through June. Current funding ends in June but may resume later in the year if the Legislature provides funding in the FY22 budget. That process is now under way and monthly meeting dates will be confirmed at the first meeting. To attend Monday's remote meeting and view the agenda, click here. The Special Commission’s work is of vital concern to MCV, its members, park visitors, and our state’s $16 billion annual outdoor economy. Recommendations that come from the Commission will frame DCR’s priorities...
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City of Boston has a shot at developing Fort Point Channel neighborhood into a waterfront for all. Can it?

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Shirley Leung | The Boston Globe | March 6, 2021 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/06/business/city-boston-has-shot-developing-fort-point-channel-neighborhood-into-waterfront-all-can-it/ Boston has a chance to turn the Fort Point Channel neighborhood into the waterfront the Seaport District has failed to become. Can the city deliver, or will we see, yet again, more broken promises? The stakes are higher now as the opportunity to create public space — think expansive green parks and basketball courts — dwindle as more of the South Boston waterfront gets developed. The Boston Planning & Development Agency — charged with overseeing the design of the district — is mindful of not repeating the mistakes of the Seaport, a corporate enclave with scant diversity and pocket parks. The Seaport may have emerged as a magnet for some the country’s most innovative companies, from Amazon to Vertex, but that is not what makes Boston special. It is the creation of shared spaces, beautiful and humanizing, from the Esplanade to the Public Garden, the Emerald Necklace to the Rose Kennedy Greenway, that...
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DCR Announces Family-Friendly Self-Guided Opportunities for February School Vacation Week

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DCR Announces Family-Friendly Self-Guided Opportunities for February School Vacation Week Press Release | February 10, 2021 https://www.mass.gov/news/dcr-announces-family-friendly-self-guided-opportunities-for-february-school-vacation-week BOSTON — Today, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) announced that it will offer family-friendly Trip-Tips, self-guided adventures and suggested hikes for approximately 20 state park facilities during the traditional February school vacation week. Programming can be enjoyed at any time starting on Saturday, February 13, 2021. DCR Trip-Tips provide children and their families with self-guided activity ideas to lead their exploration of a local state park or watershed. The Trip-Tips include activities like winter birding, wildlife observation. history tours, and scavenger hunts. For a full list of Trip-Tips, visit DCR’s website. “This winter, DCR is thrilled to offer school vacation Trip-Tips encouraging children and their families to enjoy the fresh air and experience self-guided opportunities in their local state park,” said Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Jim Montgomery. “The Baker-Polito Administration continues to increase both access within our state parks system and opportunities for the public to enjoy the many recreational resources available to them.” In addition to the school vacation week programming, DCR is offering public skating at Kelly Outdoor Rink...
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The DCR Retained Revenue Account is Slowly Supplanting Operating Funds

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The DCR Retained Revenue Account is Slowly Supplanting Operating Funds By Doug Pizzi | February 10, 2021 Thanks to Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Stewardship Council Chairman Nate Walton, the Stewardship Council Finance Subcommittee, and state DCR finance staff for a detailed presentation on DCR’s retained revenue account at the council’s January meeting. A special thanks to DCR’s Lisa Barstow for providing a recording of the session now seen on our website. It turns out there is a lot to the retained revenue account, and it is a lot for DCR to manage every year. First, DCR must spend a lot of staff time and effort, too much time and effort in our opinion, chasing an ever increasing, unrealistic revenue target the Legislature and Administration throw at the agency. In the vernacular, we call it moving the goalposts. That staff time would be better spent maintaining and improving current facilities. Second, as it is with most state spending accounts, any money DCR...
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DCR Retained Revenue Account needs examination, explanation

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DCR Retained Revenue Account needs examination, explanation By Doug Pizzi | January 10, 2021 If you have been following the MCV blog and our work, you know we are concerned that the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) annual budget relies too heavily on fees. It is not too much to expect that when our tax dollars buy park and forest land that we have affordable access to that land. However, in an ongoing attempt to recover from massive budget cuts going back to the 2008 recession, DCR has been pressured to increase fees, which go into the Retained Revenue Account (Line Item 2810-2042), to meet its budgetary needs. Until this fiscal year, the Legislature and Governor have consistently pushed DCR to raise more and more revenue to supplement tax dollars to run its day-to-day operation. This has included increasing fees where they already existed and instituting new fees where they had not existed. The Governor’s pre-pandemic FY21 budget called on DCR...
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CSO Bill Passes the Senate, Now off to the Governor!

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CSO Bill Passes the Senate, Now off to the Governor! Massachusetts Rivers Alliance | January 8, 2021 https://www.massriversalliance.org/post/cso-bill-passes-the-senate-now-off-to-the-governor Fantastic news! The sewage notification bill (H.4921) is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature! After moving out of the Senate Ways & Means Committee last night, the bill was passed by the Senate, and enacted by both chambers. After years of advocating for this bill, we are thrilled! This bill, once signed into law, will establish a public notification system to alert Massachusetts residents when there is a sewage spill in their area. The purpose is to protect people from swimming, fishing, boating, or taking their pets into rivers when there is sewage present - a serious health risk. In communities that still have combined sewer overflow systems, rain mixes in with sewage in the same pipes during heavy rainfall. When the pipes reach capacity, they overflow the excess sewage-rain mix into nearby water bodies, posing health risks to residents who may unknowingly interact...
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