Category: Blog Post

Parklands Under Assault

March 6, 2024March 6, 2024 by admin Comment Closed

Parklands Under Assault By Chuck Anastas | March 6, 2024 Neighborhoods in and around Franklin Park - Roxbury, Mattapan, Dorchester, and Jamaica Plain, have experienced an assault on their recreational facilities and parklands over the last five years. It began with the disastrous attempt by the state under the Baker Administration to replace the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, formerly a part of Franklin Park, taken by the state legislature in 1949. After presenting a redevelopment of the facility on former parkland, the Division of Capital Asset Management accepted a proposal five times larger than originally proposed - a move since stayed by Governor Healey but not yet rescinded. Also, the Baker Administration placed small temporary cottages on the Shattuck Hospital land abutting Franklin Park to offer emergency cottage-like-housing and addiction services during the worst months of Boston's homeless crisis to help alleviate the tent city that sprung up on the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Blvd. More than a year later the cottages...

Mass Parks for All, our vision for a 21st Century state park system

September 25, 2023September 26, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

Mass Parks for All, our vision for a 21st Century state park system Doug Pizzi | September 25, 2023 If you follow this space you know that on May 11, Mass Conservation Voters (MCV) unveiled our newly named 501(C)(3) charitable corporation, Mass Parks for All (MPA). More than 100 people joined us for this event, including then newly appointed Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner Brian Arrigo, who gave the keynote address, as well as state Sen. Jamie Eldridge, and state Rep. Ruth Balser, who we honored for their extraordinary legislative leadership in passing the Public Lands Preservation Act. Whether you were able to join us or not, we thank all who encouraged and supported the creation of our new charitable corporation at MCV, which shall continue to be the name on the 501(C)(4) political action side of the aisle. As of July 1, yours truly moved over from MCV to be the executive director of MPA, now the public face of our...

Mass Parks for All Strategic Oversight Plan Public Comment

August 18, 2023August 18, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

Mass Parks for All Strategic Oversight Plan Public Comment Below is our public comment on the Stewardship Council's Strategic Oversight Plan. If you'd like to submit your own comments, click here for more info -- comments are due Tuesday, August 22. Subject: Mass Parks for All Strategic Oversight Plan Public Comment Dear Chairman Buckley and Council Members, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Stewardship Council’s Strategic Oversight Plan. As a stakeholder in the effort to secure adequate funding, staffing and other resources for our state parks, Mass Parks for All (MPA) is committed to working with the Council, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), park friends groups, the Legislature, the Governor, and other stakeholders to bring a 21st Century vision for our parks into focus and ultimately an on the ground reality. We thank the Council for this detailed plan, and in the interest of remaining brief, will concentrate on what we think are the most important goals and tasks within it. On...

Opportunity to Support State Parks

August 10, 2023August 10, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

Opportunity to Support State Parks Don’t miss your chance to comment on the Stewardship Council Strategic Oversight Plan! In 2004 the Legislature merged the Metropolitan District Commission, the state’s metro-Boston parks agency, with the Department of Environmental Management, which ran state parks in the rest of Massachusetts, to form the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The enabling legislation also created the DCR Stewardship Council as a quasi-board of directors to oversee the new entity. That legislation requires the Stewardship Council to periodically review its oversight plan and to seek public input while doing so. The public has until close of business, Tuesday, August 22, to review and comment on the Strategic Oversight Plan. Mass Parks for All will be submitting its comments during this period, and we encourage our members to also take advantage of this opportunity to weigh in on the Stewardship Council’s priorities over the next two years. You can submit public comments here, or by letter at: DCRC/O Matthew Perry10 Park Plaza...

FY24 Budget Could Put DCR On Track For Great Things

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

FY24 Budget Could Put DCR On Track For Great Things By Doug Pizzi On Monday, July 31, the Legislature sent a $56.2 billion Fiscal Year 2024 budget to Gov. Healey for her consideration. The governor has 10 days to approve and/or veto any of its provisions. While lawmakers approved the budget just shy of a month late, they say good things come to those who wait. And there is very good news for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and in turn for our state parks and those of us who frequent them. If the governor approves the budget as submitted, DCR will receive the largest operational increase ever, with one caveat, which I’ll explain later in this post. It is worth noting that the House-Senate Conference Committee, charged with aligning their respective chambers’ proposed budgets, actually came in with a higher number than either chamber proposed originally. This is not something you see every day and it is a sure indication that...

Mass Parks For All

June 20, 2023June 20, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

Mass Parks For All By Doug Pizzi More than 100 people attended our May 11 announcement on the creation of MCV’s new 501(C)(3) charitable corporation, Mass Parks For All (MPA). Joining us at the event were DCR Commissioner Brian Arrigo; and Sen. Jamie Eldridge and state Rep. Ruth Balser, whom we honored for their leadership in their respective chambers to pass the Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA). Also in attendance were former environmental secretaries Bob Durand and John DeVillers, DCR Stewardship Council Chair Jack Buckley and former Chair Whitney Hatch, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller, as well as David Solomon and Herb Nolan of the Lawrence & Lillian Solomon Foundation, who announced a $50,000 challenge grant to start MPA off on the right track. More about that later. MPA board Chair Karen Charles and Vice Chair Michele Hanss, introduced the new entity by talking about MPA’s mission to renew, expand, and connect our state parks and other public lands. Hanss, who hosted the event, welcomed the...

April Blog: A Word on our New DCR Commissioner

April 18, 2023April 18, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

April Blog: A Word on our New DCR Commissioner Doug Pizzi | April 18, 2023 MCV has received calls and emails questioning the qualifications of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s appointment to lead the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Following MCV’s State Park Summit last October, we and more than 50 conservation organizations issued an open letter detailing the background and skills needed to lead the agency. While it is true that Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo does not have an extensive background in land and resource management, he does have considerable experience and expertise in running a small city. As mayor, he presides over a $240 million annual budget in a city that employs more than 400 people, not including the School Department. In addition, as DCR commissioner, he will preside over an agency that shares many characteristics with a city. These include road maintenance and snow plowing, streetlight maintenance, solid waste removal, water quality protection, and park operations and maintenance – the number...

Healey-Driscoll Budget Update

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

Healey-Driscoll Budget Update March 2, 2023 Dear MCV Members, The Healey-Driscoll Administration unveiled its FY24 proposed budget yesterday. This is great news for our parks and all of us who rely on them for our physical and mental well-being. We thank the Administration for supporting our forests, parks, beaches, trails and other Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) facilities and encourage you to do the same. As you know, Mass Conservation Voters’ (MCV) 2021 comments to the Legislative Special Commission on DCR stated the agency needed at least a $10 million per year increase in its State Parks and Recreation operations account (2810-0100) each year for the next decade. With your help, we succeeded in getting a $10 million increase in the account for the FY23 operations budget, funded at $85 million. Our October 2023 state park summit open letter, sent to the Administration and the Legislature, repeated that request for FY24. We are happy to report that the Administration’s proposed FY24 budget for that account...

February Blog: And So, It Begins – Again

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 by admin Comment Closed

February Blog: And So, It Begins - Again Doug Pizzi, Executive Director | February 2023 At the beginning of each new legislative session, it’s always important to remember the immense responsibilities of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Planning, maintaining, improving, and programming 500,000 acres of public land is a tremendous responsibility. MCV, our members, and the public share this responsibility with DCR because when all is said and done, DCR land is our land. And so, it begins - again. It is natural at this point with a new administration to feel impatient for an announcement of a new DCR Commissioner and get to work. But this appointment comes at a critical time. Getting the right choice of a commissioner - one who is qualified, capable, and focused on DCR’s core mission - is more critical than immediately naming one. MCV is confident that the Healey-Driscoll Administration and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper know that our public lands are...

2022, A Year To Remember

December 22, 2022December 22, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

2022, A Year To Remember Doug Pizzi | December 22, 2022 Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) has had its most successful year since rebranding to focus primarily on our state parks nearly four years ago. In the space of 12 months, with your support, we have gone from a fledgling state park-supporting NGO to a vital leader in park advocacy. One reason for this was October’s MCV state park summit, attended by more than 20 organizations. Summiteers produced an open letter signed by more than 50 organizations and distributed it to legislators, the incoming and outgoing gubernatorial administrations, and the media. The idea was, in part, to satisfy many legislators’ requests that to the extent possible, park advocates speak with one voice. Here are links to some of the media coverage we obtained, which started with the State House News Service and Commonwealth Magazine, a publication of MassINC, picking up the story. This includes an editorial endorsing our position, and quoting the letter, which ran...

MCV is Making A List, Checking it Twice

December 14, 2022December 14, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

MCV is Making A List, Checking it Twice ‘Tis the season, so we’re making a list and checking it twice. Without further ado, here’s the Massachusetts Conservation Voters’ (MCV) Wish List for 2023: An experienced Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner with vision, and leadership, committed to parks and open spaces, who will serve at least four years. More Public/Private Partnership funding for DCR park improvements. A dollar amount affixed to the Parkways Master Plan and a public planning and construction schedule. A cabinet-level Secretary of Conservation, Recreation, Wildlife Management, and Agriculture reporting directly to the Governor. More public ocean beaches, bike and pedestrian trails, and universal access to these facilities. Clean park bathrooms and staffed park headquarters open all year. A DCR Stewardship Council at full membership. A DCR 311-call line for park users to report issues directly to the agency. Significant progress toward eliminating DCR’s $1.0 billion deferred maintenance backlog outlined in a transparent DCR capital planning, spending, and construction plan. More school trips to state parks and open...

Legislative Parks Caucus Meets

December 8, 2022December 8, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

Legislative Parks Caucus Meets Doug Pizzi | December 8, 2022 On December 7, the state Legislature’s Parks Caucus met for the first time in recent memory. More than 70 legislators, aides, and park and conservation advocates joined caucus chairs Senator Michael Rush and Representative Bruce Ayers in discussing the future of our parks. More specifically, how to rebuild the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to 2008 staffing levels while continuing to work on the reforms outlined by the Legislative Special Commission on DCR. Senator William Brownsberger, who created the special commission, outlined his priorities, including more and consistent funding, strengthening the DCR Stewardship Council’s role in guiding the agency, and elevating DCR to a cabinet-level agency reporting directly to the Governor. Heather Clish (Appalachian Mountain Club) and Laura Jasinski (Charles River Conservancy) outlined DCR’s efforts to fulfill the aspirations of the Special Commission, which released its final report in December of 2021, over the past year. To its credit, DCR hit the ground...

Press Release: Governor Baker signs Public Lands Preservation Act into law!

November 21, 2022November 22, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

Press Release: Governor Baker signs Public Lands Preservation Act into law! On November 17, Governor Charlie Baker signed H.5381, An Act preserving open space in the Commonwealth, AKA the Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA). The bill codifies the existing “no net loss” state policy when open space protected by Article 97 of the state Constitution is converted to another use. Because of inconsistent application of the policy and outright attempts to evade it completely, advocates for more than 20 years have been trying to get the policy written into state law. MCV is a long-time supporter of the bill and worked with a coalition of more than a dozen environmental organizations to get this bill over the finish line. For this, we are thankful. To read the press release, please see below. Press Release: Governor Baker signs Public Lands Preservation Act into law!Download ...

Press Release: More than 50 organizations call for major improvements at Massachusetts state parks

November 17, 2022November 17, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

For Immediate ReleaseNovember 17, 2022 Contact: Doug Pizzi508-314-7988 (mobile)508-251-2599 (office) More than 50 organizations call for major improvements at Massachusetts state parks Despite significant progress during the FY2023 budget process and the recently passed economic development bill, our state parks remain in crisis due to a decade of underfunding and understaffing, a condition exacerbated by an exponential increase in use that began with the pandemic and continues unabated today. This on the ground reality prompted Mass Conservation Voters (MCV) to hold a state parks summit on October 14, 2022. Participants representing more than 20 organizations drafted an open letter on our parks, subsequently signed by more than 50 park-supporting organizations across the Commonwealth. “The pandemic proved beyond all doubt that our parks are essential for our physical and mental well-being. It’s long past time to treat them that way,” said MCV Executive Director Doug Pizzi. “We truly appreciate the progress we have made over the last year, but it will take at least another decade...

50+ Organizations Sign Letter to Support State Parks

November 16, 2022November 17, 2022 by admin Comment Closed

50+ Organizations Sign Letter to Support State Parks Despite significant progress during the FY2023 budget process and the recently passed economic development bill, our parks remain in crisis due to a decade of underfunding and understaffing. During this period, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) lost some 300 positions and accumulated a $1.0 billion deferred maintenance backlog. This reality prompted Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) to hold a state parks summit on October 14, 2022. Participants drafted the open letter below, signed by more than 50 park-supporting organizations across the Commonwealth. The letter provides a path to reverse the shockingly sad fact that Massachusetts is ranked 50th in the U.S. in per capita spending on state and municipal parks. We hope this will be the start of an ongoing, fruitful discussion to bring our parks into the 21st Century. During the worst of the pandemic, park visits increased exponentially, a trend that continues today, proving beyond all doubt that our public open spaces...