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Large Coalition Applauds Filing of
New Environmental Bond Bill
Leading Organizations Support Historic Bond Proposal
(Boston) Governor Deval Patrick and Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles today filed their new Environmental Bond Bill. This Environmental Bond, the largest and strongest the state has ever seen, will fund vital environmental programs throughout the state for years to come.
At the announcement members of the Coalition for the Environmental Bond, a diverse partnership of more than 130 groups and businesses across the state, representing more than 315,000 people, spoke highly of the Governor's bill and the need to pass a comprehensive Environmental Bond Bill in the upcoming 2008 legislative session.
Coalition members are energized now that the new Environmental Bond Bill has been announced and are planning, once the legislature comes back into session, to do all they can to ensure that a strong environmental bond bill passes in 2008.
The Coalition for the Environmental Bond includes organizations from across the state including
State and national environmental groups;
Hunting, fishing and recreation groups;
Municipal entities;
Water quality and watershed groups;
Land trusts;
Farmers;
Businesses.
(A full list of Coalition for the Environmental Bond members is below and at www.envirobond.org)
Funds from the most recent Environmental Bond, passed in 2002, have been largely expended. The new funding is essential to programs that protect our environment, health and safety. Without a new Environmental Bond, many state environmental programs will face major cuts.
Projects funded through the Environmental Bond directly affect communities across the state by protecting natural areas, safeguarding water quality, restoring rivers and streams, providing for dam removal, supporting working farms, building our economy and improving our quality of life.
More information on the Environmental Bond Bill as well as the Coalition for the Environmental Bond can be seen at www.envirobondorg.
STATEMENTS FROM A FEW OF THE MANY ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS:
Loring Schwarz, Acting State Director
The Nature Conservancy
"This robust investment in conservation demonstrates an outstanding commitment to the forests, rivers, coasts and marine waters across Massachusetts. We applaud the Patrick Administration for taking the lead to sustain these critical natural resources."
Bernie McHugh, Coordinator
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition
"This Environmental Bond shows that, without question, the Patrick Administration 'gets it' on the environment as a keystone of our quality of life. The commitments to land conservation, water protection, and fighting climate change are exceptional. We applaud Governor Patrick and Secretary Bowles. In this Environmental Bond, Governor Patrick has made an unprecedented commitment to implementing his three-pronged land conservation initiative for Commonwealth Urban Parks, Habitat Reserves and Working Landscapes."
Laura Johnson, President
Mass Audubon
"It is a bold move for the Patrick Administration to file the largest environmental bond in the Commonwealth's history. We especially commend the minimum of $50 million annually dedicated to land conservation. Because we are currently losing more than 40 acres of open space per day, this investment is critical to aid the quickly closing window for land protection in Massachusetts."
George Bachrach, President
Environmental League of Massachusetts
"Investment in the environment now is critical. Our water supply is so diminished that both drinking water and the prospect of future growth is at risk. Our air quality is so precarious that more children suffer from asthma and other toxic related illnesses. Our parks are in disrepair and our open space is rapidly dwindling. And the disastrous affects of climate change is more than an inconvenient truth. We need to act now, and this is a responsible first step."
Andrew Kendall, President
The Trustees of Reservations
"We are very pleased by the Administration's commitment, in its capital budget and its Environmental Bond bill, to meaningful funding for resource protection and DCR facilities. This is a refreshing reversal of the significant underfunding which has characterized the capital spending of recent administrations. Citizens and visitors of the Commonwealth are the real beneficiaries of the increased investment in resource protection and DCR facilities proposed in the Administration's Environmental Bond bill."
Whitney Hatch, Regional Director
The Trust for Public Land
"Many communities are seeking to preserve their defining landscapes before they're overwhelmed by development pressures. We find that communities are stepping up to the plate, but more often than not, a state matching grant is an essential piece of the conservation puzzle. We need this bond to replenish those grant programs. We thank Governor Patrick for this wise proposal to invest in our irreplaceable resources, and we hope the Legislature will quickly approve a new environmental bond."
Cris Coffin, New England Director
American Farmland Trust
"Consumers looking for locally grown foods definitely have a stake in this Bond Bill. Local food depends on local farms. This bill is our chance to provide the funding needed to protect the Commonwealth's farmland in perpetuity."
Andrew Falender, Executive Director
Appalachian Mountain Club
"The Appalachian Mountain Club applauds the Governor's commitment to protecting our natural resources through the Environmental Bond Bill, which will go a long way toward addressing the ongoing needs of outdoor recreation, parks and open space across the Commonwealth. Our 30,000 members in Massachusetts are active users of the state's parks, trails and rivers, and place a high value on ecosytem health and resource conservation, all of which will benefit from a strong environmental bond."
Frank Gorke, Director
Environment Massachusetts
"Every visitor to state parks, forests and beaches has seen the effects of years of underinvestment in these great places, which provide recreational opportunities for millions of residents and draw visitors from around the country. A great state needs a great park system, and restoring our park system to greatness begins with this strong environmental bond bill. The Governor's commitment to DCR in this bond should get us pointed toward clean, safe and accessible parks and beaches."
James Bryan McCaffrey, Director
Sierra Club of Massachusetts
“The administration's $1.4 Environmental Bond is a true ‘Holiday Bonus’ for our forests and parks system. We look forward to working with the administration and the legislature to ensure this gift keeps on giving in 2008 and beyond by providing funding for land acquisition and the ongoing needs of our threatened forests and parks system.”
BELOW IS A LIST OF ENDORSING ORGANIZATIONS TO DATE (list in progress):
Land Conservation
Ashburnham Conservation Trust
Belmont Land Trust
Berkshire Environmental Action Team
Berkshire Natural Resources Council
Beverly Conservation Land Trust
Brewster Conservation Trust
Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts
Concord Land Conservation Trust
Deerfield Land Trust
Essex County Greenbelt Association
Franklin Land Trust
Greater Worcester Land Trust
Groton Conservation Trust
Hilltown Land Trust
Kestrel Trust
Littleton Conservation Trust
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition
Metacomet Land Trust
Minnechaug Land Trust
Nantucket Land Council
Natural Resources Trust of Mansfield
North County Land Trust
Opacum Land Trust
Rutland Land Conservancy
Sconset Trust, Inc.
Sheffield Land Trust
Southwest Corridor Conservancy
Stockbridge Land Trust
Sudbury Valley Trustees
The Nature Conservancy
The Trustees of Reservations
Trust for Public Land
Tuckernuck Land Trust
Upper Charles Conservation Land Trust
Wellfleet Conservation Trust
Weston Forest & Trail Assoc
White Oak Land Conservation Society
Municipal & Governmental
Amherst Conservation Commission
Auburn Conservation Commission
Berlin Conservation Commission
Bolton Conservation Commission
Braintree Conservation Commission
Chatham Conservation Commission
Duxbury Conservation Commission
Edgartown Conservation Commission
Fitchburg Conservation Commission
Framingham Conservation Commission
Gloucester Conservation Commission
Hanson Conservation Commission
Holden Conservation Commission
Ipswich Conservation Commission
Kingston Conservation Commission
Lakeville Open Space Committee
Leicester Conservation Commission
Lexington Conservation Commission
Lincoln Conservation Commission
Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions
Newton Conservation Commission
Pepperell Conservation Commission
Phillipston Open Space & Recreation Committee
Plainfield Conservation Commission
Plymouth Conservation Commission
Rockport Conservation Commission
Sheffield Conservation Commission
Southwick Conservation Commission
Stow Conservation Commission
Uxbridge Conservation Commission
Wakefield Conservation Commission
Wenham Conservation Commission
West Newbury Conservation Commission
Weston Conservation Commission
Williamstown Conservation Commission
Conservation Advocacy
Environment Massachusetts
Environmental League of Massachusetts
Global Warming Education Network
MA League of Environmental Voters
MA Smart Growth Alliance
Mass Audubon
Sierra Club of Massachusetts
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety
Water Resources Protection
American Rivers
Back River Watershed Association
Charles River Watershed Association
Coastal Trails Coalition
Gulf Watershed Association
Hoosic River Watershed Assoc.
Lake Nippenicket Assoc.
Merrimack River Watershed Council
Nashua River Watershed Association
Neponset River Watershed Association
North & South Rivers Watershed Assoc.
Ocean River Institute
Parker River Clean Water Association
Pembroke Watershed Association
Taunton River Watershed Alliance
Water Supply Citizens Advisory Committee
Watershed Alliance of Southeastern MA
Civic, Communities & Parks
Arborway Coalition
Boston Natural Areas Network
Charles River Conservancy
Citizens for Lexington Conservation
Coalition for Buzzards Bay
Esplanade Association
Friends of Leverett Pond
Friends of the Blue Hills
Housatonic Valley Association
Island Alliance
Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, Inc.
Neponset River Greenway Council
Sportsmen & Recreation
Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club-Berkshire Chapter
Callahan Dog Owners Group
Charles River Recreation, Inc.
Ducks Unlimited
Gun Owners Action League (GOAL)
MA/RI Trout Unlimited
MassBike
Agriculture, Horticulture & Gardening
American Farmland Trust
Berkshire Garden Club
The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts, Inc.
Education, Science & Business
Center for Applied Regional Studies
Earth Our Only Home
Environmental Business Council
Kettle Pond Farm
Law Office of Susan J. Crane
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences
Maria von Brincken Landscape Design
Markus Pinney - Land Use & Environmental Consultant
New England Reptile & Raptor Exhibits
New England Wild Flower Society
Perlmutter and Associates
Rainwater Recovery, Inc.
The Virtual Agency
Historic & Cultural Preservation
Preservation Mass (formerly Historic Mass)
Forest Resources
New England Forestry Foundation