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Lori Sorken | National Parks Traveler | April 2021 https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2021/04/your-national-park-vacation-has-gotten-more-expensive You’re not mistaken. A national park vacation is more expensive than it was 20 years ago. Considerably more expensive in some costs once you get to the entrance gate. Not all units within the National Park System collect admission fees, but for those that do the cost to visit the taxpayers’ treasures has outpaced inflation – as much as sixfold - over the past two decades. But entrance fees weren’t alone in their increases, as the cost of camping, climbing lighthouse stairs, and even paddling a boat is also more expensive (see table below). Based on data provided by the National Park Service and using the Consumer Price Index at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to account for inflation, we reviewed park admission rates for individuals, vehicles, and annual passes from 2000 through today (see PDF attached below). Of the 126 park units surveyed, entrance fees increased above the rate of inflation (2.07...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...