Tag: On The Record

Pandemic has proven parks and other open spaces are essential services Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi | June 17, 2020 In Massachusetts, the pandemic is an unprecedented public health and economic disaster. Thousands have died, tens of thousands are unemployed, state revenues are plummeting, and the future is uncertain. Amidst all of this, one thing is true – the essential importance of parks and open spaces to our physical and mental health. This is particularly true of our state parks, forests and other facilities managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). Before the pandemic hit, DCR was making progress recovering from budget and staff cuts going back to the Great Recession of 2008. Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) is the only statewide, non-partisan, non-profit organization solely focused on helping DCR avoid suffering another round of devastating budget cuts during a time that its services are needed most. But this is a difficult goal and we need your help to be successful. MCV...

Chuck Anastas and Doug Pizzi | February 27, 2020 Sometimes, amid all of the disappointments of misplaced developments, destructive highway realignments, and park funding shortfalls, it’s hard to stay focused on the dream of expanding public access to conservation lands and recreational opportunities for everyone. Yet each day people are using our vast park system; hiking, biking, kayaking, rock climbing, playing catch or pick-up basketball, skating, even horseback riding. Every day, people take advantage of precisely what open spaces and parks offer to all of us. Our park system is a miracle born of vision and hard work by many people and organizations over centuries, and the fact that more than a decade of underfunding and outright neglect haven’t led directly to its demise is another miracle. So, the work to reverse this trend continues - our work. This year offers us the opportunity to make parks and DCR part of the public conversation again. You may have seen earlier posts in...

Chuck Anastas, Chair, Board of Directors | December 18, 2019 Thank you for your financial contributions, advice, and encouragement in 2019. With your help, our mission to support the state's parks, forests, reservations, and open spaces took us to communities and involved us in issues across the Commonwealth. We successfully worked to increase the Department of Conservation and Recreation's (DCR) operations budget, particularly the office of engineering, by $7 million. Additionally, MCV supported efforts to protect lands in Boston, Leominster, Upton, and Newton. We also testified in favor of the Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA), which will further protect property owned by the citizens of Massachusetts. The PLPA (S.459) has received a favorable recommendation from the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture, and is currently sitting in Senate Ways and Means.  Finally, MCV continued to advocate for the importance of appointing members to the vacant seats on the DCR Stewardship Council, which, despite our effort, still lacks any representation from anyone who lives...

Save Webster Woods | Chuck Anastas, Chair Webster Woods in Newton sits in the middle of the greater 114-acre Webster Conservation Area and includes the State-owned and DCR managed Hammond Pond Reservation and Hammond Pond Parkway. On an unseasonably cold and gray November Sunday afternoon, I walked the perimeter of Webster Woods. It’s rough terrain with rock outcroppings everywhere, made walking even more difficult under slippery fallen leaves. Despite the weather, I ran into a number of hikers and dogwalkers along the way. Although there were none on this particular Sunday, this area is a favorite of rock climbers. With names like Cake Rock and Gooche’s Cave marked on the map - it would have been fun to watch them on these and other challenging rock faces. Maybe another time. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller is leading the effort to preserve 17 acres of the 25 acres of Webster Woods owned by Boston College. After talks between the City and Boston College broke down, Mayor...

The future of our state park system is at stake. Anyone who cares about the state park system should be alarmed that the 2020 State budget includes $425,000 to study the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Initially filed by Senator Will Brownsberger as a stand-alone bill, Section 100 of the state budget includes: Investigating the responsibilities and structures of both the Department and the DCR Stewardship Council.Determining if any departments, divisions, assets, or operations "should be transferred" to other entities, with "special consideration given to urban parks and roadways."Cost to value analysis of the capital and operating budgets. And,Improving project planning and execution. Why the alarm? Aren't these reasonable government goals? The answer is yes, but let’s for a moment look at what the study language does not include. The Legislature has not included in its study the long-term effects of underfunding the DCR. Despite a $7 million increase, the 2020 Parks and Recreation budget is virtually the same amount as in 2010, and...

Doug Pizzi | Executive Director We are pleased to report that the Massachusetts Legislature has responded to our request to provide the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s (DCR) Parks and Recreation Operations Budget (line 2810-0100) with a significant increase for the fiscal year that started July 1 (FY2020). Funded at a level of $40.25 million for the previous fiscal year, the Legislature has sent to Gov. Charlie Baker for his consideration a proposed $47.25 million funding level for the account. The additional funding will help DCR recover from previous budget cuts that greatly reduced staff. The governor, who proposed funding the account at $42.24 million, can seek to reduce that figure before he sends the budget back to the Legislature for final approval. The Legislature may then accept or override any changes the governor has made. Throughout the budget process, we kept you apprised of developments, asked for your help, and you responded. So thank you for supporting our efforts! Together, we’ve had a...

MCV supports the Conservancy, and the many other Franklin Park enthusiasts who want to see this land restored to its original parkland use. For more information, click here or contact the Conservancy at 617-522-2700 Franklin Park expansion is the opportunity of a lifetime By Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy Sometimes a city encounters a rare, pivotal moment when we can make a decision to invest in the long-term needs of our city, its communities and climate by adding in a significant manner to Boston’s open space inventory. We are in one now. In 1949, 13 acres of Franklin Park, the “crown jewel” of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace, were converted into massive buildings and vast parking lots. Today we have the opportunity to repair the area and restore the 13-acre parcel to its previous use as parkland. We must take the time to explore all options and opportunities to provide the most public open space possible in this high-needs area and...

MCV Letter to Budget Conference Committee The Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) recently wrote to the Chairmen of the Budget Conference Committee, Chairman Rodrigues and Chairman Michlewitz, calling attention to Line 2810-0100 (Parks and Recreation Operations) in the proposed FY 2020 budget for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). MCV, along with the environmental community at-large, supports the $5 million increase in DCR funding provided in the House budget. To read our letter, please click below. MCV Letter to Conference Committee re DCR BudgetDownload...

MCV Spring Update It has been a busy few weeks for the Massachusetts Conservation Voters, and for the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Please find an update on recent activities below. Department of Conservation and Recreation Stewardship Council Over the past year, the DCR Stewardship Council has lost half of its membership – some did not receive a reappointment (Walter Bickford, Antonia Pollack, Elisa Campbell), others left at the end of their terms (Michelle Hanss, Heather Clish). In March, Chairman Whitney Hatch was the latest Councilor to be informed he would not be reappointed. Whitney began his service on the Stewardship Council when DCR was initially formed in 2003. Through all of DCR’s growing pains, Whitney was a steadying hand, a cheerleader, and a critic of state underfunding. His voice will be greatly missed. Currently, the Stewardship Council has nine members out of a required 13. The most recent appointment, Jennifer Wilson has not yet begun her term. Of the four remaining vacant positions, two will come from a list of six nominations submitted by...

On April 23, 2019, the Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV) testified in support of the Public Lands Preservation Act (PLPA). The need for this bill became abundantly clear during the last session when the City of Fitchburg, the town of Westminster, and Waste Management asked legislators to late file a bill, H-4677, to take 85 acres of the Leominster State Forest for an expansion of the Fitchburg-Westminster Landfill. When MCV learned of this proposal, a month before the session ended, we joined a number of groups in asking House Ways & Means to keep it in committee. MCV also authored an Op-Ed piece opposing the bill, which appeared in the Worcester Telegram on Dec. 14th.  Some people in the area, who have problems with the way the landfill is run now, only found out about the expansion plan via that column. The process was clearly at odds with the spirit of the Article 97 land conversion review policy in place at the Executive Office...

Message from Chuck Anastas, Chairman, MCV Board of Directors: April 12, 2019 Dear MCV Supporter, As you may know, Mass Conservation Voters submitted oral and written testimony to the state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ways & Means in favor of increasing the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s FY 2020 parks and recreation operations budget (line item 2810-0100). MCV asked for $6.0 million more than the FY 2019 figure of $40.2 million. This is the budget that will take effect on July 1, 2019. House 1, the Baker Administration’s proposed budget, included a $2 million increase in this account. The House Ways & Means budget, just released, added another $2 million to this line item. House Chairman of the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee, Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, is offering an amendment to the HW&M budget that would add an additional $2 million to line 2810-0100, bringing it to the $6 million increase MCV and other conservation and environmental advocates support. Deliberations on...

RE: FY2020 Budget Line Items 2810-0100; 2810-2042 March 21, 2019 The Honorable Aaron Michlewitz, ChairHouse Ways and Means CommitteeState House24 Beacon Street, Room 243Boston, MA 02133 Dear Chairman Michlewitz and Committee Members, The Massachusetts Conservation Voters (MCV), a statewide non-partisan, non-profit NGO, appreciates the opportunity to submit comments on the FY2020 budget, specifically as it relates to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). MCV’s mission is to support the operation, maintenance and improvement of our state’s parks and open spaces. Our focus is simple: ensure that residents and visitors have access to world class parks in the Commonwealth with an eye toward reversing the massive funding cuts DCR has experienced over the past decade. A modest increase in DCR’s budget last year has only begun to reverse the loss of some 400 employees, a third of its workforce since 2008. This has had a devastating impact on the agency’s ability to maintain nearly a half-million acres of open space, including parks, campgrounds, forests, beaches,...

By Doug Pizzi | February 6, 2019 In October we discussed the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Stewardship Council with an eye toward the process of filling vacancies on a 13-member advisory board that does not feature staggered terms. We emphasized the need to keep a contingent of experienced leadership, and that leadership’s institutional memory, on the Council to keep DCR moving forward along the path of recent successes. There’s some good news and not so good news on that front. But first, it’s important to point out that baked into the process is the fact that the original 2003 enabling legislation did not see fit to stagger the councilors’ seven-year terms. While the lag time between term expirations and new appointments has given some de-facto term staggering, it is theoretically possible to remove most existing councilors and replace them with new appointees in very short order. In recent months, the Baker Administration has appointed four new councilors to fill vacancies. Some of these vacancies are the result of...