DCR allocates $755,000 for new park projects, Cape included

Matching funds awarded to 21 capital projects across the Commonwealth

Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr. today announced the agency is awarding $755,226 in matching funds for improvement and enhancement projects in state parks and other facilities across the Commonwealth. The money, allocated through DCR’s Partnerships Matching Funds Program, will support 21 new projects.

An additional $800,000 will be reallocated to 15 existing projects that were not able to be completed last year. This program is funded through DCR’s five-year capital budget.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to help fund such diverse endeavors as upgrading maple sugaring equipment at Blackstone River & Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge, installing a bridge along the MassCentral Rail Trail in Oakham, and purchasing lighting equipment for basketball and tennis courts in Southwest Corridor Park in Boston,” said Commissioner Sullivan. “These projects enhance DCR’s mission of reaching out to our Friends groups and helping them do what they do best, which is to support our forests, parks, and beaches.”

“These projects enhance DCR’s mission of reaching out to our Friends groups and helping them do what they do best, which is to support our forests, parks, and beaches.” - Richard J. Sullivan Jr., Commissioner

The Partnerships Matching Funds Program accepts applications from Friends groups and other park advocacy groups, civic and community organizations, institutions, businesses, and individuals with an interest in improving the Commonwealth’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources. DCR considers applications that will provide a match of non-state funds for capital projects in state parks. DCR assigns a project manager to each approved project; the manager will oversee implementation of the project in close consultation with the partners making the contributions.

Approved projects include building a shade structure on the dunes at Salisbury Beach State Reservation in Salisbury, replacing four water fountains on the Esplanade in Boston, restoring the historic overlook area on the Charles River at Watertown Square, and completing all necessary work on the hull of the 113-year-old schooner Ernestina, the official ship of the Commonwealth.

“Governor Patrick ran on the theme of ‘Together We Can,' and I think this is the embodiment of what the governor is talking about,” said Sarah Freeman of the Arborway Coalition in Jamaica Plain. DCR awarded the coalition a $26,000 matching grant to remove 400 feet of chain link fence from the median of the Arborway, a DCR roadway, and replace it with more historically appropriate and visually appealing fencing. “This is a perfect example of state government and the citizenry working together to promote the common good.”

New projects have been approved in the following communities: Boston, Cambridge, Falmouth, Framingham, Holyoke, Lawrence, Natick, New Bedford, Newton, Oakham, Revere, Sutton, Uxbridge, Wayland, West Boylston, and Williamstown.

Projects that began last year and will be completed this year are in Amherst, Boston, Brewster, New Bedford, Princeton, Quincy, Salisbury, Sandwich, Watertown, Westminster, and Westport.

The program received 49 applications this year, two of which were encouraged to reapply next year, and 28 of which were declined outright. Among the projects that were declined, some were not on DCR property, and others did not meet DCR’s standards for the program.

For more information on the Partnerships Matching Funds program, and to receive an application for Fiscal Year 2010, call 617-626-4917, or send an e-mail to ethel.stafford@state.ma.us.  Information and applications also are available at www.mass.gov/dcr.

Release courtesy of the DCR.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), an agency of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, oversees 450,000 acres of parks and forests, beaches, bike trails, watersheds, and dams, in addition to 278 bridges and miles of roadways. Led by Commissioner Richard K. Sullivan Jr., the agency’s mission is to protect, promote, and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural, and recreational resources. To learn more about DCR, our facilities, and our programs, please visit www.mass.gov/dcr. Contact us at mass.parks@state.ma.us.