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Food, water, shelter, medicine and livelihoods — Massachusetts' lands and waters provide for our most basic needs.
From Plymouth’s pine barrens to the deep woods of the Berkshires, Massachusetts’ forests are our best and least-costly water filtration system, a vital nexus of a $15 billion annual tourism industry and the foundation of a wood products industry that generates between $500 to 800 million per year. Coursing through these forests and other wild, rural and urban lands, 11,000 miles of rivers and streams provide communities with drinking water, energy and scenic spots to fish, boat and swim. And where these rivers reach the sea, salt marshes and shellfish reefs sustain our fisheries and protect coastal communities from storms.
The Nature Conservancy is working to create a sustainable planet where natural habitats and human communities coexist — a world where the climate is stable and natural resources such as forests, fisheries and energy are renewable, plentiful and secure. Working together with communities, government and our conservation partners in Massachusetts, we can ensure the health and survival of lands and waters that sustain us all.
Rivers and Streams
Pass the Sustainable Water Resources Act (SWRA)
Water is a valuable calling card for Massachusetts, giving the Commonwealth the competitive edge over other states. But despite the fact that we receive about four feet of rainfall annually, meeting summer water demands is challenging for numerous communities, and many rivers routinely run dry. Less water means increased water pollution, declining fisheries and fewer recreational opportunities. We need to better manage flows to meet the needs of both people and nature and upgrade our water infrastructure so that it can moderate these impacts.
Download a Fact Sheet on the Sustainable Water Resources Act (.pdf)
Forests
Secure Incentives for Private Forest Landowners
Although the pace of forest conversion in Massachusetts has remained fairly level for the past two decades, the potential for change in that trend could reduce the ability of our forests to absorb and store carbon, offer flood protection, filter and clean stream water and provide habitat for wildlife. More than 220,000 private landowners own 78 percent of forest land in Massachusetts, and many of them will be making critical decisions about the future of their lands over the next decade.
After leading last year’s successful campaign to enact land conservation tax incentives into law, the Conservancy is eager to explore additional state and federal incentives to help private forest landowners conserve and protect their forest lands.
Explore Our Conservation Vision for Massachusetts Forests
Oceans and Coasts
Better Facilitate Coastal Restoration
Meadows of eelgrass and shellfish reefs hidden within Massachusetts’ bays and estuaries provide essential habitat for the lifecycle needs of many marine fish and crustaceans. Their aggregations stabilize the seafloor bottom and our shores, and they filter excess nutrient pollution from the water. But centuries of human activity have degraded many of these ecosystems.
Though restoration is complex in Massachusetts, the Conservancy is working to change the rules so that we and our partners can re-establish these engines of life. The Conservancy is pursuing policy strategies to help facilitate oyster bed and eelgrass restoration projects through partnerships with environmental state and local officials and exploring the possibility of influencing regulatory and statutory changes to submerged land leasing.
Learn More on the Massachusetts Oceans and Coasts Page
Land Protection
Ensure Environmentally Sound Renewable Energy
As part of our climate change campaign, the Conservancy strongly supports policy to reduce greenhouse gases, including an objective balance between the development of clean, reliable sources of renewable energy and natural resource conservation.
The Conservancy is working closely with the Massachusetts Administration and Legislature to advocate for science-based standards, practices and guidelines for operation of hydropower, siting of wind energy facilities and use of biomass fuel.
Read More in Our Climate Change Section
State Budget
Secure Funding for the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program
The Department of Fish and Game’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program, instituted 23 years ago in partnership with the Conservancy, is one of the most effective Heritage programs in the nation. Heritage staff collect, manage and distribute scientific data about rare and endangered species and habitats. This data guides developers through environmental impact review processes; assists state agencies, municipalities and private conservation partners to protect resources and manage projects; and makes the implementation of the Wetlands Protection Act and Endangered Species Act possible.
Explore the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program
Secure Funding for the Department of Conservation and Recreation to Hire Management and Service Foresters
Sustainable management of forests can ensure their long-term health and resiliency while enhancing Massachusetts’ economy through timber production. At least ten new state foresters must be permanently hired to implement and maintain Green Certification on state-owned forest lands and help citizens manage their private lands in ways that protect forest health and maintain key natural processes.
Read FAQs about Sustainable Forestry in Massachusetts
Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © Cheryl Rose (Winter ice encases branches of trees in forest, Massachusetts); Photo © Kerry Crisley/TNC (Kate Killerlain Morrison at the Wellfleet restoration site).
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