Support from the State House: Cape legislative day focuses on conservation challenges ahead

Partnerships are essential to land preservation projects, and for Cape Cod conservation organizations, support from state legislators and state government is an important component of many success stories.

“State grants combined with town funds and donor philanthropy are the key financial ingredients to saving special places,” said Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) Executive Director Michael Lach. “We’re fortunate that the Cape legislative delegation is so supportive. Whether Democrat or Republican, they all agree that preserving land helps protect drinking water, scenic views, community character, and provides other benefits that enhance our shared quality of life.”

This sentiment was front and center at the recent Cape & Islands Conservation Legislative Day, hosted by the Barnstable Land Trust (BLT) at their beautiful Fuller Farm property. Leaders from many Cape Cod land trusts joined town officials and state legislators to celebrate accomplishments, look at the challenges ahead, and reaffirm the importance of working together on land-saving projects.

Community support for land conservation

“People love what is natural about Cape Cod and they want to keep it that way,” BLT Executive Director Janet Milkman told the group. “And we see demonstrated every time we do a project how much support there is for conservation in our community.”

For Cape land trusts, “our work is much harder if we don’t have state grants, if we don’t have state policies that support our work,” added Milkman. “The barriers to saving more land faster, which we need to do, are funding and capacity. We have an infrastructure here, we have the land — there is a lot of land left to protect — but we really need more funding that will allow us to build capacity to do more.”

“The Cape and Islands delegation really cares about these issues, really cares about land stewardship and protection,” said Dylan Fernandes, State Senator for the Plymouth and Barnstable District. The State Senate recently passed its version of the environmental bond bill — a key driver in the state’s annual capital budget for environmental programs for the next several years.

“It’s taken a long time to do this environmental bond bill, but we’re really excited that it’s finally moving,” said Fernandes. The state House of Representatives is expected to debate and pass its own version of the bill soon, after which a conference committee will resolve differences between House and Senate versions and forward a final bill to the Governor for signature.

Robb Johnson, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition (MLTC), broke down components of the bond bill, asking folks to urge state representatives to support these components:

—Expanding the Conservation Land Tax Credit from $2 million to $5 million per year to address a lengthy waitlist that limits the power of this important conservation incentive.

—Streamlining permitting for wetland restoration projects that provide nature-based solutions to climate change.

—Implementing a flood risk protection program to compensate property owners so their flood-prone properties can be restored for climate resilience.

Protect Water and Nature Ballot Initiative

Johnson also touched on the Protect Water and Nature Ballot Initiative, which would create a dedicated Nature for All Fund with $100 million each year to support the conservation and restoration of water and land in Massachusetts, and to support the creation and improvement of parks, trails, greenspaces, and other outdoor recreation spaces, without raising taxes.

The initiative is supported by more than 100 conservation organizations in the state, including HCT, Mass Audubon and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod (APCC).

“We’ve decided as a conservation community that we believe the voters value conservation at a much higher level than the state has been willing to budget,” said Johnson. “We want to affirm that at the ballot.”

Starting next week supporters will fan out across the state to collect 21,000 signatures by June 14th to get the initiative on the ballot. If you would like to sign the petition, stop by the HCT office (947 Route 28 in Harwich) on weekdays from Wednesday, May 13th through Friday, June 5th, from 9 a.m. to noon.

After the speakers finished, conversation continued about the work to do and the value of partnerships. It was clear that the Cape and Islands legislative delegation believes in the power of land conservation to help improve the quality of life in our communities.

And it brought to mind the observation about collaboration that is often attributed to Henry Ford: “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

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—Your tax-deductible contributions help fulfill the mission of the Harwich Conservation Trust to preserve land that protects woods, water, wildlife and our shared quality of life. And your land-saving financial support helps us preserve beautiful properties that can become stellar trail destinations. Find out how to donate by clicking here.