An Act Providing Nature for All would create a permanent Nature for All Fund for the purposes of land acquisition, the restoration or improvement of nature to create parks and trails; the protection of forests, farms, wildlife habitat, and water resources; and advancement of climate resiliency and environmental justice goals. By setting aside just a portion of the revenue generated from the existing sporting goods sales tax, we would be able to dedicate as much as $100 million every year for the Nature for All Fund without any increase in taxes. With it, we could:
Create and improve parks, greenspace, trails, and outdoor recreation access, especially in environmental justice communities
Conserve and restore land to protect clean drinking water and the quality of streams, rivers, lakes, and coasts
Conserve land for climate resilience and restore the function and health of inland, wetland, and coastal ecosystems to advance biodiversity, climate adaptation, and resiliency
Conserve forests and farms to store carbon, preserve biodiversity, and achieve the Commonwealth’s natural and working land goals
Conserve important land parcels to provide connectivity between open spaces and habitats.
Conserve and restore lands of Indigenous cultural significance and restore access for Indigenous people
Provide on-going stewardship and management of these resources
Nature for Massachusetts is a large and diverse coalition of environmental, conservation, and community organizations and national corporations that seek to create a dedicated, annual revenue stream to conserve land, water, urban greenspace, and outdoor recreation access in Massachusetts. Thank you to the following organizations for endorsing the Nature for MA legislation. Members of the legislative steering committee are marked with an asterisk *
American Farmland Trust
American Rivers
Appalachian Mountain Club *
Arborway Coalition
Authentic Caribbean Foundation
Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
Bemis
Berkshire Natural Resources Council
Boston Food Forest Coalition
Boston Harbor Now
Brookline GreenSpace Alliance *
Buzzards Bay Coalition
Charles River Conservancy
Charles River Watershed Association
Community Land & Water Coalition
Concord Climate Action Network (ConcordCAN)
Connecticut River Conservancy
Conservation Law Foundation *
Dennis Conservation Land Trust
East Coast Greenway Alliance
Emerald Necklace Conservancy
Essex County Greenbelt Association
Friends of the Blue Hills
Garrison-Trotter Neighborhood Association
Greater Boston Trout Unlimited
Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council
GreenRoots
Groton Conservation Trust
Groundwork Lawrence
Hale Education, Inc
Kestrel Land Trust
L.L.Bean
Land / Water Associates
Land Trust Alliance
League of Women Voters Concord Carlisle
Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust
Mass Audubon *
Mass Parks for All
Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions
Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance *
Massachusetts Society of Municipal Conservation Professionals
Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition
Mill City Grows
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Mystic River Watershed Association
Native Land Conservancy
Native Plant Trust
Neponset River Watershed Association
New England Mountain Bike Association
No Loose Braids
Norcross Wildlife Foundation
Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA/Mass)
OARS
Ocean River Institute
Quincy Climate Action Network (QCAN)
Regional Environmental Council (REC)
REI
Speak for the Trees Boston
Sports Stop
Surfrider Foundation
Sustainable Marblehead
The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts
The Food Project
The Nature Conservancy
The Olmsted Way
The Trustees
Tree Eastie
Trust for Public Land *
Urban Farming Institute
Waypoint Adventure
Wildlands Trust