By Elnora Thompson and Andrew Sharpe
Visit the Neponset River any time of year, and you’ll find people. From families walking, biking, or rollerblading on the Neponset Greenway Trail, to people kayaking or fishing in the river itself —and the many parks that surround it — the scene is a source of peace and fresh air amidst our bustling city streets.
Places like the Neponset River are a big part of what makes Massachusetts — and our neighborhoods of Dorchester and Mattapan — so great. Our state’s rivers, lakes, forests, farms, and other natural areas play a critical role in our everyday lives — improving our daily routines, boosting our health, and strengthening our state’s economy.
Whether we’re exploring the Blue Hills, walking or fishing along the Neponset, gardening in one of the 175 community gardens in Boston, or just taking a breath while sitting on a bench in a local park, access to nature helps our physical and mental health, and gives our kids more ways to get outdoors.
Our state’s forests and other natural areas help reduce runoff in our lakes, rivers and streams — protecting the quality of the drinking water in our taps and wells. And by supporting our outdoor recreation industry, providing clean water and locally grown food, and attracting tourism, our state’s forests and farms help strengthen our entire economy.
But as a state, we need to do more to protect our valuable natural resources, including here in Dorchester and Mattapan. With federal funding for land and water conservation under threat, and the effects of climate change threatening our forests and watersheds, Massachusetts needs to act to protect our legacy of natural beauty — before it’s too late.
In recent years, Dorchester has seen how coastal flooding can cut us off from our homes and workplaces. And for many of our neighbors who come from island nations, we know just how much damage storms can cause without resilient infrastructure, such as wetlands and forests that help absorb stormwater.
But right now, Massachusetts is losing our forests, farms, wetlands, and clean water sources at an alarming rate of more than 10,000 acres every year. We face a growing backlog of polluted rivers and streams that need to be cleaned up. And the longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to protect these irreplaceable natural resources.
This year, Massachusetts has an important opportunity to protect our rivers, lakes, forests, farms, and other natural areas by supporting the Protect Water and Nature ballot intiative that would generate $100 million each year to support the conservation and restoration of water and natural areas in Massachusetts, and to create more outdoor recreational spaces like trails and parks that everyone can enjoy.
It does this by dedicating funds from the existing state sales tax on sporting goods to protecting and conserving water and nature.
The Protect Water and Nature ballot initiative isn’t a tax increase — consumers and businesses wouldn’t pay a penny more. It simply ensures that a portion of the sales tax we already pay on sporting goods like golf clubs, RVs, and camping gear will go toward protecting our land and water. The initiative would also establish a public oversight board that would approve all expenditures.
Eligible projects include permanently protecting forests and wetlands, adding and improving trails in local parks and forests, removing pollution in rivers and streams, and improving our state’s climate resiliency to reduce the damage from storms and flooding.
After decades of inadequate funding for land and water conservation, this ballot initiative would let Massachusetts protect our outdoor spaces the way we should be doing so. While $100 million is a fraction of the state’s $60 billion-plus annual budget, it’s four times the state’s current annual spending on land and water conservation.
The Protect Water and Nature ballot initiative would help deliver much-needed funding to protect water and nature right here in Dorchester and Mattapan. That could include projects like building new urban parks, restoring access to more of the Neponset River waterfront, and supporting community gardens. All without raising taxes.
That’s why local organizations like Authentic Caribbean Foundation are supporting the ballot initiative, along with leading nonprofit land and water conservation groups including Appalachian Mountain Club, Mass Audubon, Massachusetts Rivers Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, The Trustees, and Trust for Public Land. If you’d like to find out more or support the campaign yourself, you can visit natureforma.org.
The Legislature still has a chance to act on parallel legislation over the next few months, and advocates hope they will do so. But if they don’t, get ready to hear more about the Protect Water and Nature campaign throughout the year. And in November, we hope you will join us in voting to protect the places we love — clean water, healthy forests, more trails and parks, and access to the outdoors and nature for everyone in Massachusetts.
Elnora Thompson is a Dorchester resident and garden coordinator of the Nightingale Community Garden. Andrew Sharpe is a Dorchester resident and the Founder and CEO of the Authentic Caribbean Foundation.
