Please contact your state legislator today to let them know you value our state parks and want to make sure they are adequately funded.  See sample email below.

While more people than ever are visiting state parks like the Blue Hills, funding to support the park system has been on the decline since the 2008 recession. The December 2021 Legislative Special Commission report on the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) found that Massachusetts ranks last in the nation for per capita spending on state and municipal parks.

The House of Representatives is now developing the state budget for 2024.  Please send an email to your state representative in support the amendment that will best fund our parks. 

The good news is that the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s proposed budget increases the Department of Conservation and Recreation operations funding by $22 million. The House Ways & Means Committee recently released a budget with an increase of 17 million, a $5 million cut from the Administration’s proposal.

To restore the $22 million increase proposed by the Healey-Driscoll administration, Rep. Smitty Pignatelli has introduced Amendment 278.  Please contact your state representative to support this amendment which would help to restore badly-needed funding for our park system.

You can look up your state representative here.  Look below for a sample email.

Thank you for caring about our parks!

Sample Email

Dear Rep. xx,

Please co-sponsor Amendment 278, which would provide much-needed funding for our state parks, like the Blue Hills Reservation.

House Ways & Means is proposing a budget that includes funding for the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Parks and Recreation Operations Account (2810-0100) that is $5 million less than the Healey-Driscoll Administrations budget.

Rep. Smitty Pignatelli has offered Amendment 278 to support our state parks and restore the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s support for the DCR. I’m asking you to step up for our state parks: co-sponsor Amendment 278 and support it on the House Floor.

I truly appreciate the House’s recent support for DCR. But our parks need champions like you to counteract the massive cuts DCR sustained following the 2008 recession when we saw Massachusetts fall to last in the nation in support of public parks. While we’ve made considerable progress since then, there is still more work to do.

For that reason, I respectfully request that you co-sponsor Amendment 278 and support it on the House floor. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Name
Address

Photo: Jasmine Smith

Thanks to Mass Conservation Voters for working with the Friends to support our state parks.