July 20, 1998

Contact: Nam Kapur

617-742-2553

Boston - Environmentalists across the commonwealth applauded today when the legislative Conference Committee released a budget for the fiscal year that began July 1. Overall, the Conference Committee is recommending $14,843,328 million in additional environmental spending for this new fiscal year, an increase of 7.8%. The increase comes after a coalition of environmental groups had spent several months advocating for "The Green Budget," a proposal that was developed with the input of the state’s environmental agencies, members of the state legislature and their staffs, and many of the nonprofit organizations of the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative.

"We are very pleased with the Conference Committee’s budget," said Namrita Kapur, Legislative Director at the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM), "We asked the legislature to ‘show us the money’ and they did."

The proposed budget includes $4.5 million of new money for the Department of Environment Management’s (DEM) Forest & Parks System -- $3 million for general maintenance and permanent staffing and $1.5 million for seasonal hires. The substantial increase in park funding comes in year where the Massachusetts Forests & Parks System is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and at a time when a consulting report commissioned by the state commented that the state’s park system is "broken and requires a major overhaul."

"This is great news for those who work in the parks, visit the parks, and for all lovers of the land in Massachusetts," said Mark Primack, Executive Director of the Wildlands Trusts.

Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg (D-Amherst) and Representative Paul R. Haley (D-Weymouth), chairmen of the respective legislative Ways and Means Committees, led the way in positioning the state’s environmental programs favorably at the opening of Conference Committee discussions.

Each turned out budget proposals containing strong new support for a variety of environmental programs, which led directly to the significant funding increases contained in the final version. The allocations jointly incorporated into the final budget make a major contribution toward restoring funding levels to environmental programs that have suffered a significant loss of purchasing power over the last decade.

In addition to the Forests & Parks System, programs that received substantial increases included:

• $510,000 for a statewide geographic information system (GIS) to provide spatial data for natural resource and development issues;
• $500,000 to provide "circuit riders" and other assistance to local conservation commissions in implementing the Wetlands and Rivers Protection Acts;
• $250,000 in grant money for volunteer water quality monitoring projects;
• $200,000 in increased funding for river and stream protection/restoration efforts;
• $138,000 in additional funding for the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program.

Amy Luckey, Director of the Massachusetts Environmental Collaborative praised the new budget, "The new spending recommended by the Committee will protect our air, water and land across the Commonwealth. This is an example of what environmentalists working together can do to protect the resources we all care about."