The Regenerative Farming, Forests and Food Systems (RF3) working group would like to form a subgroup to develop a focused strategy to promote the following two forest bills:
H 912 – An Act Relative to Forest Protection, sponsored by Representative Michael Finn, 6th Hampden District
This bill would designate all 412,000 acres of park, forest, and watershed lands administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as parks or reserves. It would expand the existing system of parks and reserves where natural processes are allowed to proceed with minimal human management, similar to the stewardship of our National Parks.
The text of the bill can be found here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H912
H 1002 – An Act Relative to Increased Protection of Wildlife Management Areas, sponsored by Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, 1st Hampshire District
This bill would expand and make permanent the existing system of reserves on public Wildlife Management Areas administered by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. It would direct the designation by 2030 of at least 30%, or about 51,000 acres, of the agency’s lands, consistent with the latest biological and climate science, and would give these areas permanent protection.
The text of this bill can be found here: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H1002
We would love to have individuals and representatives of other climate and/or forest activist groups participate in this effort. If you are interested, or know someone who you think would be interested, please contact Lynne Man, lynneman@gmail.com. This will be an all out team effort to pass these bills!