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Last update 8/17/2010
Welcome to the Massachusetts Forest and Park Friends Network
Our Mission
The Massachusetts Forest and Park Friends Network is an independent grassroots organization of volunteer "friends" groups working together to better protect and enhance Massachusetts’ state forests and parks. Our goal is to foster mutual support among friends groups and to facilitate communication between friends groups and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and everyone else who cares about public parklands. Because forests and parks thrive under the special care that friends groups provide, we're working to see a friends group for every forest and park in the Commonwealth!
Visit this site regularly to keep abreast of the issues affecting forests and parks statewide. Sign up for our free e-newsletter and contact us for assistance in joining or starting a friends group in your area. If you belong to a friends group in MA please join the Friends Network!
Just In
Congratulations to All of Our Members!
The new off-highway vehicle law, Chapter 202 of the Acts of 2010 requires that the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs establish a state Off-highway Vehicle Advisory Committee, 1 of whom shall be a member of a friends group of the Massachusetts Forest and Parks Network.
We are pleased that legislators recognize the valuable input that could come from having a group that represents all legal park users participate in the OHVAC. We would like to thank our state legislators, Steve Kaiser, Friends group supporter, and Heidi Ricci, Senior Policy Analyst, Mass Audubon, for seeing that Friends Network members have a seat on the Advisory Committee.
Note: Please contact the Friends Network Facilitators if you are a friends group member who would like to be considered for the OHVAC. The OHVAC will meet at least twice a year and at the request of the secretary or the committee chair.
Become a Friends Network member by joining an existing friends group in your area, or start a group in your favorite forest or park. Let your voice be heard.
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The High & The Mighty - The Forests of Mohawk & Monroe
Exhibit at Western Gateway Heritage State Park - Visitors Museum, through September 26th
This summer’s exhibit will take visitors on an inspiring and captivating visual journey into the tall forests of the Mohawk Trail and Monroe State Forests. Teaming up with the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS) who are specialists in measuring some of the tallest trees in the state, the DCR’s Western Gateway Visitors Museum has produced a photographic tribute to the majestic trees and vistas of both of these forests which are noted for their beauty and varied forest environments.
The highlight of the exhibit are large format prints of some of the forests’ and the state’s tallest and most beautiful trees. Additional large color prints highlight the magnificent landscapes and terrain of both parks. The science and folklore of forests and trees are also part of the exhibit. Through this experience, the DCR and the ENTS hope to spark an interest and appreciation for the natural wonders that are available to us through the stewardship of the DCR.
Western Gateway Heritage State Park is located at 115 State Street, Building 4, North Adams, MA 01247. Visitors Museum hours: Daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission and parking is free. More information at this link. or contact the park directly at 413-663-6312.
Hot Topics
The 2011 Massachusetts Recreational Trails Program Grant Round is now OPEN!
Application Deadline: November 1, 2010. Visit the Recreational Trails Program web site for grant guidelines, application materials, and paperwork guidelines.Anti-Biomass Incineration and Forest Protection Campaign letter delivered to the US Congress and President Obama on behalf of Meg Sheehan and Save America's Forests.
Manomet Center for Conservation Science and its partners have released the results of a six-month study to better understand the implications of using wood for energy in Massachusetts, titled “Biomass Sustainability and Carbon Policy Study.” The study was conducted for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources.
Comments regarding the Manomet Study of Woody Biomass Energy sent to the MA Department of Energy Resources by Friends Network Facilitator Claudia Hurley
Friends Network Letter to DCR Commissioner Sullivan thanking him for his recent decision to require a Resource Management Plan for the Middlesex Fells Reservation.
Why MA needs Resource Management Plans — Middlesex Fells Trails Planning Process Letter from 4 Environmental Groups to DCR.
What You Can Do
The Governor Signed the Off-Highway Vehicle Bill!
Press Release GOVERNOR PATRICK SIGNS NEW OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE BILL INTO LAW July 31, 2001.
Read the changes to OHV laws here: Text of the House amendment to the Senate Bill regulating the use of off highway recreation vehiclesb(Senate, No. 2257), as reported by the committee on Ways and Means, as changed by the Housebcommittee on Bills in the Third Reading, and as amended by the House. June 9, 2010.
Please join the Friends Network in thanking the legislators who supported the OHV Enforcement Bill by sending your representative a personal thank-you note. More Details.
Sign up for the Friends Network Newsletter
We'd like to hear from you!
Contact the MA Forest and Park Friends Network FacilitatorsCurrent Issues & Concerns
Help Preserve Endangered Historic Resources in Forests and Parks
Myles Standish State Forest, Ted Stevens
