CRWA anger over parks money cuts

Last week, advocates for the commonwealth's parks system in Boston delivered 350 signed postcards to Senate President Robert Travaglini, urging him to work with his colleagues to develop a budget in the Senate that more effectively funds parks and recreation. The House budget slashed funding for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, which manages all of the state's parklands, by 8 percent in 2005, bringing the overall decrease to 37 percent over the last four years.

"The people of Massachusetts were promised a 'world-class parks system,' and we now have the management structure and leadership to achieve that. But if it isn't funded properly, then we'll kill any possibility for meeting that goal," said CRWA Executive Director Bob Zimmerman. "That pledge doesn't mean anything if funding continues to be cut at such an extraordinary rate."

The Massachusetts House of Representatives proposed a budget of $67.2 million for DCR for 2005, down from $73.0 million in 2004. Additional new costs to operate zoos and lease office space mean that DCR needs $80 million to remain level funded in 2005. Spending on parks and recreation has already been cut $33.8 million since 2001 when the former Metropolitan District Commission, or MDC, and Department of Environmental Management, or DEM, were allotted $106.8 million for the year.

The Charles River Watershed Association combined forces with many groups, including the Metropolitan Parklands Coalition and the Forest and Parks Partnership, to advocate for level funding for parks and recreation.