7 Black Environmentalists Who Truly Made History

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
7 Black Environmentalists Who Truly Made History This blog was written in part by Naomi Snyder, an Urban Green Lab volunteer, and edited by Nicole Brose. The environmental movement has a troubled past. The historical defenders of nature in this country, such as Madison Grant and Henry Fairfield Osborn, espoused conservation at the same time they espoused white supremacy. Early conservationists such as John Muir and Teddy Roosevelt said and wrote horrible things about Black and brown people. It’s a shame, since Black and brown communities often suffer the worst impacts from environmental damage due to systemic racism. However, Black people have not stayed on the sidelines when it comes to the historical conservation movement. We’ll honor just a few of their names here. Solomon Brown 1829-1906 Photo Credit: Smithsonian Institution Archives Solomon Brown was the first African-American employee of the Smithsonian Institution. He served under three Smithsonian secretaries. He rose in the ranks despite a lack of formal education, writing letters that help document the experience of a free Black man during the Civil War....
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Baker-Polito Administration Encourages Residents to Get Outdoors for “Go Green on Black Friday” Hikes

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:November 24, 2020 BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that on Friday, November 27, 2020, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will recommend six different hikes as part of the agency’s annual “Go Green on Black Friday” campaign, which encourages residents and visitors to venture outdoors and enjoy the natural resources of the Commonwealth on the day after Thanksgiving. All hikes will range between one and five miles. “Massachusetts has a first class state parks system, and ‘Go Green on Black Friday’ hikes are an excellent way for frequent park users and newcomers to skip the Black Friday frenzy, and spend quality time outdoors,” said DCR Commissioner Jim Montgomery. “The Baker-Polito Administration is pleased to continue this long standing tradition and offer opportunities for healthy outdoor activity for residents the day after Thanksgiving.” The difficulty of DCR’s “Go Green on Black Friday” hikes range from light to moderately strenuous, and are recommended for families with children ages ten and older. Hikers...
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The Muddy River Restoration Project Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee announces Phase 2 of its River Restoration Project

The Muddy River Restoration Project Maintenance and Management Oversight Committee announces Phase 2 of its River Restoration Project

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Our Muddy Community MeetingPHASE 2: SUMMER 2020CONSTRUCTION PREVIEWTUESDAY, JUNE 30, 20206-7PMA virtual presentation via ZoomFREE EVENT! REGISTER: ourmuddy-summer2020.eventbrite.com With Phase 2 of the Muddy River Restoration Project set to begin in early July, we invite you to join us for a virtual pre-construction tour. The presenters will provide information about what we can expect to see on the ground this summer and beyond. Presenters:Jennifer Flanagan, Project Manager for the US Army Corps of Engineers, New EnglandKyle Merlosky, Project Manager for Charter ConstructionThe Phase 2: Summer 2020 Community Meeting will preview summer construction priorities, work area locations, and schedules—and look ahead to plans for the fall. We invite you to submit your questions for our speakers in the Eventbrite registration page. About the Project:The Muddy River Flood Risk Management Project has been undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (N.E. District), with the support of the local non-federal sponsors, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, City of Boston, and Town of Brookline....
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Massachusetts should borrow to avoid big budget cuts

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Our coronavirus pandemic-triggered fiscal problems call for an unconventional solution. By The Boston Globe Editorial Board, June 10, 2020 Massachusetts will soon face a budgetary reckoning because of a huge revenue shortfall caused by the pandemic-prompted economic slowdown. The conventional remedy to periodic budget crises caused by a soft economy — substantial spending cuts on state services like health care, state parks, and public higher education; income or sales tax increases; or a combination of the two — are unwise in this instance, and could even prolong the economic misery. Absent sufficient federal aid, the better solution is to borrow over several years to pave the way through the pandemic rough patch. Like many states, Massachusetts has legal constraints against rolling a deficit from one fiscal year into the next. Policy makers can temporize to some degree, but ultimately a solution must be found. The best way forward, obviously, would be an infusion of federal dollars: Unlike states, Washington can run deficits as big as it...
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DCR cancels all state campground reservations

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Starting over, season will now start July 1 By Bruce Mohl, June 4, 2020 THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION canceled all existing reservations at state campgrounds on Thursday and said new reservations can be made starting later this month for stays beginning on July 1. The decision, which affects tens of thousands of campers who often make their reservations six months in advance, signals the state is taking a very cautious approach on camping during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear how much revenue the state is losing; a spokeswoman for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which oversees all state parks and campgrounds, could not be reached for comment. Under the administration’s own reopening guidance, the state campgrounds could have opened already, but only for people with self-contained recreational vehicles or those staying in cabins and Yurts. But DCR chose not to open at all and on Thursday decided to put off opening until July 1. The agency also decided not to accept reservations for Yurts and cabins, despite...
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Permanent LWCF funding full speed ahead after decades of talk

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Kellie Lunney, E&E News reporter Published: Thursday, March 5, 2020 A bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers addressing national parks and Land and Water Conservation Fund legislation yesterday. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)/Facebook Congress is poised to pass the most significant conservation legislation in at least 50 years because dozens of lawmakers worked across the aisle for years to make it happen. But election-year politics and a presidential tweet also could take ample credit if the bill is enacted. The sausage-making has been worth it to get to this "extraordinary" moment, several Democrats and Republicans who strongly support the Land and Water Conservation Fund said yesterday during a Senate press conference. "I really don't care," said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on whether President Trump's embrace this week of mandatory funding for LWCF had more to do with electoral politics than a sudden change of heart about a program his administration has repeatedly tried to gut. "The politics, whatever they want to play with it, this needs to...
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Build a better city, starting with the Allston interchange

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
By Robin Chase and Doug Foy, Updated February 18, 2020, 3:00 a.m. It’ll take a decade to fix some of Boston’s old highways. Let’s use that time to create a neighborhood truly suited for the 21st century. Boston has the opportunity to reclaim 30 acres of prime Charles River waterfront real estate, directly across from Cambridge. But somehow, the front-running proposal is to rebuild and expand 20th-century priorities — highways — with a 1950s vision of what makes for a good city (a car in every garage). We’re talking about the I-90 Allston interchange. You’ve definitely driven through it: acres of industrial detritus and 12 lanes of highway (eight elevated lanes of I-90 and four lanes of Soldiers Field road), spreading noise and pollution and increasing stress levels. Tens of thousands of Bostonians who live and work adjacent to these highways are cut off from one of Boston’s finest assets — the Charles River waterfront. It is time to envision the Allston Interchange...
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DCR Announces Family-Friendly School Vacation Programming

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
BOSTON — The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) today announced that the agency will offer more than 90 family-friendly programs throughout the Massachusetts state parks system during the traditional February school vacation week. Programming starts on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Children and their families will have the opportunity to enjoy guided experiences or to create a park adventure on their own. The wide-ranging selection of programs include guided hikes, wildlife observation opportunities, crafting activities, games, stories, and more. A full list of activities and programming can be found on the DCR’s website.  “Winter is an excellent time for individuals and families to get outdoors and experience the programming DCR has to offer across the Commonwealth,” 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 resources available to them.”In addition to the school vacation week programming, DCR will continue to offer its normal recreational and interpretive programing, as well as adaptive programming through the...
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The great dismantling of America’s national parks is under way

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Under this administration, nothing is sacred as we watch the nation’s crown jewels being re-cut for the rings of robber barons. For more than 100 years, professional management of our national parks has been respected under both Democratic and Republican administrations. Yes, they have different priorities, the Democrats often expanding the system and the Republicans historically focused on building facilities in the parks for expanding visitation. But the career public servants of the National Park Service (NPS), charged with stewarding America’s most important places, such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and the Statue of Liberty, were left to do their jobs. Even in the dark days of interior secretaries James Watt and Gail Norton, both former attorneys with the anti-environmental Mountain States Legal Foundation, the National Park Service (NPS) was generally left untouched, perhaps because they recognized that some institutions have too much public support or their mission too patriotic to be tossed under the proverbial bus. This time is different and...
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Hike Beautiful Billerica members learn about the life and legacy of Warren Henry Manning

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Mary Leach | Billerica Wicked Local | January 27, 2020 https://billerica.wickedlocal.com/news/20200127/hike-beautiful-billerica-members-learn-about-life-and-legacy-of-warren-henry-manning Hike Beautiful Billerica, an outdoor recreation group sponsored by the Billerica Recreation Department, explored the Warren Manning State Forest on Saturday, Jan. 25. The group, which is led by Marlies Henderson, enjoyed a special visit by Yaakov Trek Reef, a park interpreter, who added a new perspective to this Billerica park. The Warren Manning State Forest conservation land is owned by the Division of State Parks and Recreation and managed by the Billerica Recreation Department. The property includes 35 acres and 1.5 miles of public trails. The group also explored the nearby Billerica State Forest, which is a state-owned forest managed by Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. It is available for public use and offers many opportunities for nature study and hiking trails. According to the town of Billerica’s website, Warren Henry Manning, 1860–1938, was an influential American landscape designer and a key figure in the formation of the American Society of Landscape Architects,...
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Editorial: Placing value on our natural landscape by protecting it

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
Greenfield Recorder From atop Mount Sugarloaf, farmland stretches as far as the eye can see — to the distant Seven Sisters range in Hadley and beyond. It’s a beautiful landscape that’s for the most part untouched by large swaths of commercial development. Wooded areas and open spaces afford opportunities for recreation and provide a buffer for busier economic hubs to the south. This isn’t a coincidence. The Pioneer Valley’s residents have historically valued its natural landscape and, as such, have taken steps to protect it. Through concerted conservation efforts over decades by a host of local agencies, including the Amherst-based Kestrel Land Trust, thousands of untouched acres throughout Western Massachusetts provide refuge for native wildlife. The work continues today. Soon, there will be an additional 120 conserved acres in Whately. Part of the Dauchy property, being referred to by the Kestrel Land Trust as the Whately Center Woods Project, in Whately. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MARK WAMSLEY The land, known as the Whately Center Woods Project, encompasses Westbrook,...
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Video: Thank you MassDCR!

Video: Thank you MassDCR!

by Marina Jokic Comment Closed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZWt3lLE1s We have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The DCR helps to maintain Massachusetts’s beautiful parklands, bike paths and historic sites, and we’re grateful that EF Education First is able to share in some of the state’s natural beauty at North Point Park in Cambridge. Thanks to the work of the DCR, EF Education First is able to enjoy and continue to support the maintenance of the outdoor spaces throughout Cambridge, Boston and the rest of Massachusetts. Watch a video that EF created here....
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