Where to find universally accessible hiking trails in Mass.

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Where to find universally accessible hiking trails in Mass. Natalie Gale | Boston.com | August 14, 2022 https://www.boston.com/travel/travel/2022/08/14/where-to-find-universally-accessible-hiking-trails-in-massachusetts Massachusetts is almost bursting at the seams with places to hike, bike, or spend time in nature. To help all folks plan ahead for a jaunt into the woods, here are some of the best universally accessible trails in the state. Most accessible trails are paved or hard-packed, with gentle grades and fairly wide paths—read on for more details. The below roundup includes trails in metro Boston, Cape Cod, and all the way out to the Berkshires. While some trips call for finding the trail closest to you, others might be perfect for exploring a new region of the state. For more information, check out the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Universal Access Program, increasing outdoor recreational opportunities for folks with mobility disabilities. To read the full article, please click here...
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What are heat islands and how do they affect New Bedford and area towns?

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What are heat islands and how do they affect New Bedford and area towns? Kevin Andrade | The Standard-Times | August 10, 2022 https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2022/08/10/what-heat-islands-and-how-do-effect-southcoast/10212721002/ NEW BEDFORD — Across from Serenity Gardens, Buddy Andrade sat in the shade created by the trees in front of the Old Bedford Village Development Corporation on Bedford Street, when multiple fire engines raced by on Pleasant Street.  "This is an all-day occurrence," Andrade, the corporation's director, said. "It's an older neighborhood now ... So, we have a lot of [health] problems. "Heat and housing helped trigger a lot of the issues we're talking about." There are many factors aggravating those, he said. But one of them is that of heat island. Heat islands, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than the outlying areas. These densely populated zones are full of buildings, pavements, and other surfaces that absorb and re-emit heat with little to no tree cover. This causes temperatures to rise several degrees higher than greener spaces nearby. The results...
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Massachusetts Has a Public Beach Access Problem

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Massachusetts Has a Public Beach Access Problem Jose Da Silva | Boston Magazine | July 28, 2022 https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2022/07/28/intertidal-zones-massachusetts-beaches/ Massachusetts summers arrive with gifts—Red Sox games, maybe some free furniture from Jordan’s, and, of course, days to tan and splash along the shore—but also a particular frustration. Full beaches, full parking lots. Not enough shoreline. In my memory as a kid growing up in the Bay State, this frustration sounds like the dull hum of an outboard boat engine, and it looks like a man in a green wooden skiff. As kids, my cousins and I would head to Pine Island Cove, in Lewis Bay, to find a specific sandbar. The sandy spit, exposed at low tide, extended into a small channel. We’d run, spring from the sandbar, and achieve a rarified launch from dry land into water so deep we couldn’t touch the bottom. Inevitably, the telltale sound of the outboard would come in from the bay. The man in the skiff worked for Great Island,...
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When is the Clarksburg State Park footbridge being replaced? The DCR says the project will be done next year

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When is the Clarksburg State Park footbridge being replaced? The DCR says the project will be done next year Scott Stafford | The Berkshire Eagle | July 24, 2022 https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/northern_berkshires/footbridge-at-clarksburg-state-park-will-be-replaced/article_b685d5f6-09e0-11ed-82da-afee258f5644.html CLARKSBURG — The footbridge at Clarksburg State Park is still gone after being removed for safety reasons in the spring of 2021. And contrary to previous reports of a five-year process, its replacement will be installed next year. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation had told local officials that the pedestrian bridge, a key feature of a popular trail, would not be replaced for another five years. That would have been a hardship for regular users of the bridge, which connects a walking path around the Mausert Pond. The only way to get over the stream that the bridge once crossed is to climb down a more than six-foot embankment, walk through the stream on rocks and climb back up the other side. For elderly walkers, or even those not especially spry, the crossing is...
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Barriers at the Beach: People tussle over scarce access as sea levels and property values rise

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Barriers at the Beach: People tussle over scarce access as sea levels and property values rise Chris Burrell | WGBH | July 25, 2022 https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/07/25/barriers-at-the-beach-people-tussle-over-scarce-access-as-sea-levels-and-property-values-rise Summer traffic in Gloucester has become so extreme in recent years that residents can't always get out of their driveways or run weekend errands in town. Overwhelmed with the onslaught of traffic to its well-known public beaches, the city started an online reservation system this season specifically for nonresidents to secure parking spaces. City leaders hope that tool will mitigate frustration for both residents and visiting beachgoers. Other coastal towns are taking similar approaches to restrict the number of out-of-towners who can park near their shores. This dynamic of tightening access and rising demand in Massachusetts is stoking increasing tensions at the shoreline between would-be beachgoers and the gatekeepers controlling who gets on the beach and who doesn’t. It’s made worse by the fact that many beaches are shrinking due to the effects of climate change, eroding the already small...
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Public lands preservation legislation comes up short

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Public lands preservation legislation comes up short Chris Lisinski, State House News Service | Commonwealth Magazine | August 2, 2022 https://commonwealthmagazine.org/environment/public-lands-preservation-legislation-comes-up-short/ BOSTON (State House News Service) – Lawmakers were unable to find agreement on a bill aimed at maintaining open spaces across Massachusetts in a marathon final formal session Sunday into Monday, but one top negotiator said he remains hopeful the measure can still pass in the coming months. Sen. Sal DiDomenico, one of the leads on a conference committee that failed to produce an accord by the time the Legislature shifted to an easygoing mode for the remainder of the 2021-2022 session, told the News Service he does not believe the proposal died with the final gavel. “My goal is to get this done during informal,” the Everett Democrat said Tuesday. “We’re very optimistic that we can come to a resolution. We made some progress during the last couple of weeks.” DiDomenico and his House counterpart, Rep. Ruth Balser of Newton, are tasked with...
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Baker-Polito Administration Announces Over $11 Million for 81 Trail Improvement Projects Across the Commonwealth

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Baker-Polito Administration Announces Over $11 Million for 81 Trail Improvement Projects Across the Commonwealth Press Release | Department of Conservation & Recreation | June 28, 2022 https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-over-11-million-for-81-trail-improvement-projects-across-the-commonwealth The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $11.4 million in funding through the MassTrails Grant Program to support 81 trail improvement projects across the Commonwealth to expand and connect the state’s network of trails. Today’s announcement was made by Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Beth Card, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Secretary Jamey Tesler, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner (DCR) Doug Rice, and state and local officials at Wharf Street Park in the Town of Milton. The grants will assist municipalities, non-profit organizations, and other public entities for the design, construction, and maintenance of a variety of public trails throughout the state, including hiking trails, bikeways, and shared-use paths. Additionally, this year, MassTrails has partnered with the Conine Family Foundation’s HubLuv Initiative, which seeks to further improve the Commonwealth’s existing trail network.  “Over the last couple of years, the importance of the Commonwealth’s...
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Transition Announced at the Department of Conservation and Recreation

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Transition Announced at the Department of Conservation and Recreation Press Release | Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation & Recreation | June 22, 2022 https://www.mass.gov/news/transition-announced-at-the-department-of-conservation-and-recreation BOSTON — Today, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card announced the departure of Department of Conservation and Recreation Acting Commissioner Stephanie Cooper and the appointment of Doug Rice, former General Counsel at DCR and currently Director of Procurement for the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) as the incoming Commissioner, effective June 24, 2022. “Acting Commissioner Cooper has been a vital asset steering the Department of Conservation and Recreation, she demonstrated her commitment to the agency’s mission, its staff, and the state parks system every day. I am very grateful for her service, ” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “I am excited to welcome Doug to the team, and have confidence that he will be a strong advocate and supporter of our state’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources.” In November 2021, Acting Commissioner...
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This State Park In Massachusetts Is So Little Known, You’ll Practically Have It All To Yourself

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This State Park In Massachusetts Is So Little Known, You’ll Practically Have It All To Yourself Melissa Mahoney | Only In Your State | June 13, 2022 https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/massachusetts/little-known-park-ma/ Want to get away from it all and immerse yourself in nature? How about spending time at a little-known state park in Massachusetts? Pearl Hill State Park is one place you can escape to and, as it’s not as well-known as many other parks around the state, you may just have it all to yourself. Not too far away from the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border and approximately 50 miles from the city of Boston is an underrated state park. If you're looking for a quiet and peaceful place, Pearl Hill State Park provides a great escape into nature. At 1,000 acres, this lovely state park offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking, camping, fishing, swimming, and more throughout the year. Throughout the park are plenty of woods with tall pine trees, two ponds, a meadow,...
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Letters: With insufficient funds and staff, we’re loving our state parks to death

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Letters: With insufficient funds and staff, we’re loving our state parks to death https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/13/opinion/with-insufficient-funds-staff-were-loving-our-state-parks-death/ The Letters to the Editor below are in response to Short-staffed and strapped for cash, state parks struggle to handle surge of warm-weather crowds, The Boston Globe, June 7, 2022. Years of disinvestment call for a greater outlay to support DCR Alexander Thompson’s story about the continuing budget needs at the Department of Conservation and Recreation points to a $10 million increase in state funding on the table to support the agency (“Everyone’s ready for summer, but the parks might not be,” Page A1, June 8). This funding is long overdue, but it is not enough. DCR parks and reservations have played an important role in helping our residents to cope with the public health pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also add value to the magnificent quality of life that Massachusetts has to offer, and they are an economic driver of our economy. It’s amazing that we can go from...
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Mass. State Parks Facing Worker Shortage, Union Says

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Mass. State Parks Facing Worker Shortage, Union Says Michael Rosenfield | NBC 10 Boston | June 10, 2022 https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/mass-state-parks-facing-worker-shortage-union-says/2744998/ The unions that represent workers at the Department of Conservation and Recreation in Massachusetts are sounding the alarm about the lack of staff at state parks. It’s a problem that could grow with the summer season quickly approaching. On a picture-perfect June day, Aleksandra Komlenic and Jessica Pereira say Lake Cochituate is just where they want to be. "It’s a great way to enjoy the summer," said Komlenic. "Especially with the great weather that we’ve been having lately." But they don’t feel they’re seeing enough DCR employees keeping watch on such a vast area. "They do have people driving around throughout the day but not as much as they should," said Pereira. "There’s a lot of people that don’t follow the rules. “There definitely should be more staff on the beach area. There’s a lot of children swimming alone." The union that represents DCR employees said there are too...
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Short-staffed and strapped for cash, state parks struggle to handle surge of warm-weather crowds

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Short-staffed and strapped for cash, state parks struggle to handle surge of warm-weather crowds Alexander Thompson | The Boston Globe | June 7, 2022 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/07/metro/short-staffed-strapped-cash-state-parks-struggle-handle-surge-warm-weather-crowds/ NATICK — On a picturesque Sunday afternoon, Cochituate State Park was in high demand. Nearly every picnic table was taken, kids played on the lakeside beach, and smoke from a dozen barbecues mingled in the air with strains of Spanish and Portuguese music. By a little after 3 p.m., the parking lot was full, and the staff closed the gates. State parks have enjoyed a renaissance during the pandemic, and this spring, crowds have surged to public beaches, trails, and campsites in unprecedented numbers. While state officials do not keep an exact count of visitors, they point to Google mobility data that show a 29 percent increase in movement to and from parks over the past few weeks, compared to a pre-pandemic baseline. But what should be a crowning moment for the state park system has been undercut by budget...
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More lifeguards hired for this summer at state facilities, DCR says

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More lifeguards hired for this summer at state facilities, DCR says Grace Gilson | The Boston Globe | May 28, 2022 https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/05/28/metro/more-lifeguards-hired-this-summer-state-facilities-dcr-says/ After Massachusetts last summer struggled with a shortage of lifeguards, the state Department of Conservation and Recreation this summer is in a better position to staff its beaches, pools, and other swimming facilities. The state has 623 lifeguards already hired this summer, compared to 580employed last summer, according to the department. Officials say an increase in hourly pay and a bonus program, along with free lifeguard training, helped to draw more applicants for this season, which starts over the Memorial Day weekend. “We’ve had a very good response rate and universe of applicants and that is because we’ve been working on recruitment basically since the end of last summer,” said Stephanie Cooper, the acting commissioner of DCR. Cooper said DCR looked into lifeguard recruitment programs around the country. An increase in funding from the Baker administration allowed the hourly pay rate to increase from $20...
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State Parks Are Trying to Attract More Diverse Visitors

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State Parks Are Trying to Attract More Diverse Visitors Marsha Mercer | The Pew Charitable Trusts | May 31, 2022 https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/05/31/state-parks-are-trying-to-attract-more-diverse-visitors As Americans plan their summer vacations, states around the country are struggling with a persistent challenge: how to attract more Black residents and other visitors of color to their parks. The racial gap in park visitation is longstanding: Officials estimate that about 3 in 4 visitors to America’s state and national parks are White, well above the population rate of 60%. But since the police murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked a national reckoning on race, state leaders have intensified their efforts to increase diversity. The coronavirus pandemic has further sharpened the focus on access to state parks, state officials say. “We all want our user base to be as diverse as possible. It hasn’t been,” said Rodney Franklin, director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Parks Division, in an interview. Federal officials have made similar efforts. The National Park Service in 2013...
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State officials working to create ‘playbook’ to manage nine SouthCoast DCR properties

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State officials working to create 'playbook' to manage nine SouthCoast DCR properties Kathryn Gallerani | Standard-Times (via Yahoo! News) | May 23, 2022 https://news.yahoo.com/state-officials-working-create-playbook-070400785.html NEW BEDFORD — Residents are invited to listen in as state officials work to create a playbook for the future of nine state Department of Conservation & Recreation properties on the SouthCoast. Acting Department of Conservation & Recreation Commissioner Stephanie Cooper said a resource management plan is an overall management plan for a group of DCR properties that looks at everything from the natural resources and how they are managed to park operations. “The resource management plan is basically our playbook for how we manage the facility and how we think about investing in it over the short-term and the long-term,” she said. Resource management plans are being prepared for nine properties in the SouthCoast District. They are Watson Pond State Park in Taunton, Raynham State Forest, Berkley State Forest, Massasoit State Park in Taunton, Sweets Knoll State Park in Dighton, Dighton Rock State Park, Freetown-Fall River State...
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