Massachusetts’ character comes from the state’s classic New England
landscape—whether it be the sweeping hills of the Berkshires or a
little patch of woods down the road, the dozens of dairy farms of the
Connecticut River valley or the few farms left within the 128 belt, the
rivers of the Merrimack or Nashoba Valleys or the streams and brooks
that only run with the snow-melt every spring, the rolling hills and
small towns along Route 2, the Emerald Necklace of parks and green
spaces that surround Boston, the pine forests and sandy beaches of Cape
Cod. In a sense, this landscape defines Massachusetts. This landscape
gives us a sense of place, and contributes to a quality of life that we
cherish and that keep residents here for generation after generation.
Unfortunately, this landscape looks very different now than it did
twenty years ago. Too many of our precious natural and recreational
resources have been lost to overdevelopment or harmed from years of
under-funding, limited stewardship and neglect. We lose 40 acres per
day to development — the equivalent of paving over the Boston Common
daily. As regions of the state continue to develop at an alarming rate,
ecosystems fragment -- endangering valuable plant and wildlife habitat.
What will our environment look like twenty years from today? Will
the human impact on our natural world here in Massachusetts continue to
grow? Or will we find a way to develop without sprawl? To benefit from
natural resources like lakes and rivers without degrading them? To
close the circle of production and disposal so we reduce waste and
toxic pollution?
Environment Massachusetts is working to protect Massachusetts’ last
remaining wild places, critical wildlife habitat, recreational havens
and treasured public parks.
To move toward a greener commonwealth, where our economy and lives take a smaller toll on our natural environment, we need to:
- Protect our farms, open spaces, and wetlands;
- Protect our public conservation land from development;
- Increase resources for public land management and acquisition;
- Adequately staff state agencies to protect critical natural resources;
- Make protection of our unique natural and cultural resources the primary objective of acquisition and management;
- Protect areas of high natural resource value first by including protection of outstanding agricultural, forestry, habitat, recreational, scenic, and water supply resources;
- Increase citizen stewardship of our public lands and open space;
- Redirect growth into existing communities;
- End taxpayer subsidies for over-development; and
- Provide incentives to protect natural resources and open space, including working farms and forests.
