Brief Summary

The stunning vistas of the Berkshires. The Boston Harbor Islands. The dairy farms of the Connecticut River valley. The pine forests and sandy beaches of Cape Cod. Our open spaces define our landscape, provide critical habitat, filter our drinking water, and provide countless recreational opportunities.

Development pressures and dramatic neglect are threatening the future of our parks and open spaces. It’s time to do something about it: Right now the governor and the Legislature are developing their capital spending plans for the next several years. We need to act soon to make sure they commit to reinvesting in both our public forests and parks, and conservation programs that protect threatened areas.

Parks are in disrepair, open space is disappearing

Massachusetts has almost 1 million acres of public land, comprised of hundreds of forests, parks, reservations and beaches. The Massachusetts forests and parks system supports dozens of rare species and critical natural communities, boasts exemplary old growth and champion tree sites, and annually attracts more than 30 million visitors who walk, play, camp, bike, hike and otherwise enjoy these natural resources. But as anyone who has visited recently knows, these parks are falling apart due to years of under-funding and neglect. In fact, the backlog of maintenance projects now totals nearly $1.2 billion.

Hanging in the balance

Aside from our public parks, there remain thousands of acres of precious open space—untouched forests, working farms—that could be turned over to second home developers or big box stores at any time. In fact, a recent study by Mass Audubon found that we are losing open space at a rate of 40 acres per day.