The Woodlands Partnership of Northwest Massachusetts is embarking on a public safety services study of the 21-town region with the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The Collins Center will focus on municipal services in the Woodlands Partnership region as they relate to increasing tourism, use and accessibility of public forests, and the ability of first responders to provide rescue services on conserved state-owned land. Funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, it is the intention that this study will provide towns with direction and support in receiving additional funds and identify strategies, as well as inform state policy and procedure.
Though the large expanse of forests in the region places a strain on municipal services, it also provides invaluable ecosystem services to the Northwest Massachusetts region and beyond. As such, the Partnership Plan articulates a goal to “secure sources of funding to support municipal services and tax bases while recognizing ecosystem services and benefits to the Commonwealth and larger region provided by our forests.”
In Losing Ground: Nature’s Value in a Changing Climate, Mass Audubon estimates the non-market value of the services natural areas provide within the state (i.e., flood control, climate mitigation, water filtration) at billions of dollars annually. However, current policies regarding state aid (like Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) payments) do not recognize this value of conserved land in the Partnership region and, instead, place priority on assessed value, which results in many lands in Eastern Massachusetts receiving much higher payments. Therefore, reconciliation is needed between unrecognized ecosystem services—in the form of payment—and the resulting underfunded municipal services.
Arguably, in recent years, tourism in the area has outpaced natural resource-based economic development focused on local wood production. As such, municipalities in the 21-town region find themselves underfunded and understaffed due to the influx of visitors—which has affected everything from housing availability due to short-term visitor rentals to road maintenance.
Healthy town budgets, with adequate health and public safety services, are critical if the Commonwealth hopes to increase land conservation in the Partnership Region to fulfill climate goals. As it now stands, rural municipalities are strained and often view land conservation efforts as out-of-touch.
A main goal identified in the Ten-Year Woodlands Partnership Plan (2022-2032) is to “provide funding to participating towns for municipal services related to outdoor recreation and tourism, and to address governmental ownership of lands and forest conservation restriction programs related to local tax bases.”
The completed study by the Collins Center, a public sector management consultancy created by the state legislature, will be accompanied by an outreach event hosted by the Woodlands Partnership and coordinated with its Education, Outreach, & Research Committee. New England Forestry Foundation, serving as Administrative Agent for the Woodlands Partnership, will support the Municipal Financial Sustainability Committee in guiding the study in consultation with the Executive Committee. The Partnership’s goal is for the study to be robust and inclusive with input from the Region’s residents and municipal leaders familiar with the challenges of providing public safety for residents and visitors alike.
Liz Kidder, Leyden representative to the Woodlands Partnership, has experience working with the Collins Center in developing an Intermunicipal Agreement and speaks highly of the planning work they conduct. “They have an incredible depth of knowledge of public safety and how rural communities are struggling to provide the services that their towns need to not only support their residents but to respond to the needs of visitors as well,” she said. “They do their research and present clear and practical suggestions for helping towns to work together to achieve their public safety goals.”
