Tag: Testimony

Massachusetts Conservation Voters Testimony on H.4720 May 13, 2022 Subject: Mass Conservation Voters Testimony on H.4720 Dear Chairman Lesser, Chairman Parisella and committee members, I write today to voice Mass Conservation Voters’ support for proposed appropriations to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) via the Baker Administration's H.4720, An Act Investing in Future Opportunities for Resiliency, Workforce, And Revitalized Downtowns (FORWARD). MCV is the only statewide, non-partisan, non-profit NGO dedicated primarily to supporting our state parks and the millions of residents and visitors who visit them. The Special Legislative Commission on DCR confirmed what we all knew for some time. In addition to suffering from more than a decade of chronic underfunding for parks and recreation operations, including the loss of 300 FTE’s since 2009, DCR is also hamstrung by a $1.0 billion deferred maintenance backlog. The Special Commission also noted that for a state our size, Massachusetts has one of the largest state park systems in the nation, yet we are dead last in...