As the new home of MASSPIRG's environmental work, Environment Massachusetts can be contacted regarding this news release.
NEWTON—MASSPIRG,
the statewide environmental and consumer advocacy organization,
presented Representative Ruth Balser with their Public Interest
Champion Award last night at the Newton Town Hall. Representative
Balser, who has served in the House of Representatives since 1998, has
championed a number of crucial environmental issues. She has fought to
strengthen protection for open space and public land throughout the
commonwealth and is a champion in the fight to stop an out-of-state
energy company from building an LNG facility in the Boston Harbor
Islands State Park and National Recreation Area.
“Representative
Ruth Balser has championed our public parks and open spaces, standing
up time and time again to protect these resources, to ensure that they
receive adequate funding, and to increase public access, allowing
citizens to enjoy these wonderful places,” said Jen Baker,
Environmental Policy Associate for MASSPIRG.
Representative
Balser has also worked on the local level to preserve open space in
Newton. She organized and chaired a Task Force dedicated to the
restoration of Hammond Pond, and also helped to secure an agreement
from the MWRA to restore the platform under Echo Bridge in Hemlock
Gorge, providing public access to the natural resource.
“Representative
Balser's work on the behalf of the citizens of Massachusetts aims to
preserve the public's right to enjoy open space, public parks and
natural resources as they were intended. She has made great strides to
enhance our quality of life in Newton, and I know she will continue to
fight to protect the natural resources throughout Massachusetts for
generations to come," said Newton Mayor David B. Cohen.
“We
know that it’s not always easy being green, so we want to applaud
Representative Balser for all that she has done and will continue to do
on behalf of the environment” added Baker.
Also
in attendance were members of the Friends of Hemlock Gorge and Green
Decade Coalition, two local environmental groups who have worked
closely with Balser to preserve public land in and around Newton.
