Understanding Question 6 and
the Nature for All Fund

Learn how dedicating the existing state sales tax on sporting goods will protect clean drinking water, conserve natural areas, and expand local parks — without raising taxes.

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$100 Million/Year: Dedicated funding to safeguard water, forests, and local parks all across Massachusetts through the Nature for All Fund.
No Tax Increase: Doesn’t raise taxes or create a new tax.
Existing Revenue: Dedicates the standard sales tax we already pay on sporting goods like camping gear, golf clubs, and fishing equipment to the Nature for All Fund.
Strict Oversight: Managed by a public oversight board with mandatory annual public reporting.
Broad Support: Supported by a coalition of over 90 land, water, and conservation organizations and businesses.

How Question 6 Works:
Dedicated Revenue Without New Taxes

Everyday Purchases

We buy sporting goods like camping gear, golf clubs, and fishing equipment, and pay the state's standard sales tax on those purchases.

Revenue Dedication

Instead of going into the state’s General Fund to support the $63 billion annual state budget, that existing sporting goods sales tax revenue is dedicated directly to the Nature for All Fund, raising as much as $100 million each year for water and nature.

Water and Land Conservation

Funds from the Nature for All Fund are used to protect land and water and build more parks and greenspaces all across Massachusetts.

Question 6 doesn't add a single penny to the cost of sporting goods; it simply ensures that the taxes we pay on outdoor gear go toward protecting the outdoors.

How the Nature for All Fund Will Be Used

Protecting Clean Drinking Water

Safeguarding the drinking water in our taps and wells by reducing polluted runoff to lakes, rivers, and streams.
Conserving Forests, Farms & Wildlife Habitats

Permanently protecting forests and wetlands, preserving working family farms, and preventing the loss of natural wildlife habitats.
Parks, Trails & Urban Greenspaces

Creating and upgrading local parks, urban community gardens, and public trails throughout the state.
Climate Resilience & Flood Prevention

Supporting natural flood control, storm damage prevention, and coastal wetland protection.

Guaranteeing Every Dollar Is Spent Responsibly

Public Oversight Board

Question 6 establishes an independent board to review and approve to all expenditures from the Nature for All Fund.
Annual Public Records

Question 6 requires annual public reporting so voters can track exactly where and how funds are spent.

Proven in Other States, Critical for Massachusetts Today

Other states including Virginia, Georgia, and Texas have already dedicated the revenue from their state’s sporting goods sales tax to land and water conservation and restoration, providing them with hundreds of millions of dollars annually to preserve, restore, and improve their land, water, forests, parks, greenspace, and outdoor recreation.

With federal conservation funding under threat and the effects of climate change worsening, Massachusetts needs to act now to protect our rivers, lakes, forests, and farms. Every year we wait, we lose more irreplaceable natural areas—and the cost to protect them only grows. There will never be a better time to prioritize water and land protection than today.