Table Of Content

TRUST MASSACHUSETTS ENVIRONMENTAL / MISSION The mission of the Massachusetts Environmental Trust is to fund and coordinate projects that: • Encourage cooperative efforts to raise environmental awareness and , • Support innovative approaches that can protect and preserve our natural resources, with a special focus on water and related resources of the Commonwealth. Massachusetts Environmental Trust Board of Trustees Maynard Goldman, Chair & Principal, Maynard Goldman Associates Charles H.W. Foster, Vice-Chair Adjunct Research Fellow and Lecturer JFK School of Government, Harvard University Dicken Crane President, Dicken Crane Logging President and Manager, Holiday Farm, Inc. John P. DeVillars Executive Vice-President, Brownfields Recovery Corporation Marion Fremont-Smith & Senior Counsel, Choate, Hall Stewart Senior Research Fellow, Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University Natalie Garfield Officer and Director, Marshall Marine Corporation James S. Hoyte - Assistant to the President/ Associate Vice-President, Harvard University John S. Llewellyn, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer (Retired), Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. Lincoln Pearson . American Red Cross Blood Services (Retired) Robbin Peach Massachusetts Environmental Trust Executive Director Bob Durand Secretary of Environmental Affairs CONTENTS Letter from the Chairman 2 Letter from the Executive Director 3 Living in Harmony with Our Environment 5 Coastal and Inland Waters 6 Resources for Change 8 Partners for Environmental Protection 9 Restricted Grants io Unrestricted Grants ii Settlements 21 Advisory Committees 22 Financials 24 TRUSHITSTORY THE OF The Massachusetts Environmental Trust was established in 1988 with initial funding from a $2 million settlement from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for violations of the federal Clean Water Act in Boston Harbor. Within four years, 12 reme- diation, research, and education projects were completed with the monies from this settlement, and the Trust had become a key force in promoting increased awareness, understanding, and protection of the Massachusetts marine environment. In 1996, the Trust expanded the geographic scope of its programs to embrace the water resources of the entire state. Initially established as an instrumentality of the state, the Trust operates with independent financial and policy-making status, enabling it to provide grants to nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and individuals in support of their efforts to restore and protect the Commonwealth's natural resources. The Trust's pri- mary sources ofincome—settlement proceeds and environmental — license plate revenues have funded more than 270 grants total- ing nearly $8 million and have helped to establish the Trust as one the largest environmental funders in the state. Throughout its history, the Trust has sought to be responsive to emerging opportunities and environmental needs through its grantmaking. From an initial offering of one funding program, General Grants, to its current suite ofseven, the Trust furthers its mission through the strategic design, implementation, and review ofits grants programs. In 2000, the Trust's programs explored such avenues as the expansion of environmental philanthropy (Community Foundation Endowment Program), the building of nontraditional coalitions and partnerships (New Alliances Program), and the development of proactive efforts on behalf of the state's water and related resources (New Horizons Program). — ~ CHAIRMAN LETTER FROM' THE As we enter the new millennium, we find ourselves living in quite a different world than that ofjust thirty years ago, when the tide ofenvironmental change began to turn. The first Earth Day and the 1970 Clean Air Act were watershed events whose impact still resonates three decades later. They in turn initiated a chain reaction of legislative programs designed to protect and restore the health of our threatened environment, including the Clean Water Act of 1977. These activities spawned a renewed concern for our environmental resources and the birth oforganizations — both large and small that have made great strides in reclaiming our natural heritage. The Massachusetts Environmental Trust is proud of its history offunding many of these organizations to make a significant difference in the preservation ofour Commonwealth's water resources. As one of the few organizations in the country that channels monies from settlements directly back into the environment, we have been instrumental in helping to restore our state's waters and related habitats with some $3.4 million in settlement proceeds. In 2000, we received a $500,000 settlement, the largest since the initial funding of the Trust in 1988 when it was established to manage $2 million in settlement monies to clean up Boston Harbor. In addition to these funds that are applied to our Restricted Grants Program, revenue generated from our environmental license plates has enabled us to make almost $8 million in grants to organizations that have had a remarkable impact on increasing public awareness and on understanding of these issues. This makes us one of the largest environmental grant makers within the Commonwealth. From vernal ponds, lakes and streams, to coastal waters and rushing rivers, the purview of the Massachusetts We Environmental Trust has grown to embrace water resources throughout the entire state. have funded diverse programs that range from protection ofour drinking water supply to sustaining the habitats ofrare and indicator species, and from groundwater management to environmental publications and educational programs. This Annual Report details our various grant programs and the funds the Trust awarded in 2000 — to organizations throughout the state from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. It also details how we channel settlement monies from various lawsuits. In addition, we are pleased to have added a full-time staff member, bringing our total to three. The Trust continues to strive to further its mission through developing innovative grant programs that encourage environmental philanthropy, coalitions and partnerships, and proactive efforts on behalfof our water and related resources. With independent financial and policy-making status, We the Trust continues to be responsive to environmental concerns. are proud ofour twelve-year heritage and poised to step into a year ofeven greater possibilities for our environment in 2001. — <juA VQpla<A^^x PAGE EXECLUETTTEIR VFROEM THE DIRECTOR This past year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the Galapagos Islands, renowned as an evolutionary and ecological crossroads where the intrinsic value ofbiodiversity and the ecological principles of interconnectedness and interdependency are exquisitely obvious. This pristine environment, however, strikes a precarious balance with the presence and impact ofhumans. Recently the scales were tipped when an oil spill threatened the islands and the many species that rely on the coastal zone. While here in Massachusetts we have no marine iguanas or Galapagos penguins, our state's biodiversity and natural resources are no less wonderful or important, and we are no less bound by ecological principles. As the third most densely populated state in the nation, Massachusetts' natural communities and human communities are inseparable. We are familiar, by now, with many of the negative impacts human activities can have on the natural environment. Urban and suburban sprawl, the introduction ofnon-native species, and the overuse ofnatural resources are leading to polluted land and waterways, a rapid loss ofopen space and species diversity, and an overall decline in the quality of life for us and for future generations. Our prospects, however, are not entirely bleak. Working tirelessly throughout the state are hundreds of agencies, organizations, and individuals who are trying to strike a balance between the needs ofhumans and the environment. The Trust is fortunate to work with these dedicated people, and this report serves as testament to many of their achievements in 2000. We are proud ofour twelve-year history of funding important efforts to protect and enhance the state's water and related resources, and I am grateful to all the organizations and individuals who contribute their time and effort to these endeavors. ; PAGE 3 "There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with surroundings." its — Rachel Carson, "Silent Spring" PAGE HARMONY LIVING N I ENVIRONMENT WITH OUR With the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, Rachel Carson inspired a new appreciation for the delicate balance between humans and the environment. Since that time, we've gained a greater understanding ofour impact on the environment and the implications for future generations. Short-sighted and careless In recent years, we have made great strides in reclaiming our human actions contribute to the pollution and exhaustion of the waters and educating ourselves about our impact on nature. We resource we depend upon to feed and replenish all living things recognize that all waters are bound together in a complex on earth: water. We depend on the ocean, lakes, ponds, streams relationship. Watersheds are a point of entry for the pollution of and watersheds for sustenance, but they in turn depend on us for streams and rivers, and eventually coastal waters. Never before has there been such concerted effort to protect the environment. protection from contamination and depletion. New grassroots groups are forming throughout the Common- wealth, state conservation agencies are developing and delivering more effective programs, and new alliances are forming between these conservationists and other sectors ofsociety, including busi- nesses, schools, health care providers, and the arts community. By using innovative techniques to accumulate funds for grantmaking, the Massachusetts Environmental Trust plays a unique We role in protecting our water resources and watersheds. turn settlement proceeds from environmental lawsuits into targeted grants that address specific environmental problems. Through the Trust's environmental license plate program, we provide individuals with an opportunity both to raise environmental awareness and to contribute to the advancement of the Trust's mission. We can make a difference. We are both humbled by and proud of this opportunity to help safeguard Massachusetts' waters and related resources. PAGE WATCOEASTRALS INLAND & Three percent ofthe Commonwealth's surface is covered by open water, including more than 10,000 miles of rivers and streams and 1,638 ponds and' lakes. The Massachusetts coastline stretches 1,519 picturesque miles and features 684 barrier beaches, 48,000 acres of salt marsh, and more than 40,000 acres of tidal flats and productive estuaries. With the increase in the — Trust's purview from the waters ofthe coastal region to those of — the entire state came the added challenge of addressing the pressing environmental concerns of the state's 28 watersheds and diverse ecoregions. The Massachusetts Environmental Trust has been instrumental in supporting forward-looking projects that improve the health and quality of our water resources statewide for future generations. Since 1988, we have awarded nearly $8 million in grants for over 270 projects, which have benefitted more than 200 non-profit organizations and municipalities. Our grants have supported efforts to monitor pollution levels in waterways, protect endangered species, nurture partnerships between business leaders and environmentalists, and raise the public's awareness of threats to natural resources and the opportunities for conservation. PAGE 6 LOCATIONS OF GRANTEES 2000 RECSOUHRCAESNG FOR The Massachusetts Environmental Trust strives to identify and develop innovative techniques to build funds that will benefit our environment. The Trust is one of the few organizations in the country that uses settlement monies from lawsuits to fund We environmental conservation efforts. leverage our grant dollars by encouraging and, in some cases, requiring matching funds. And we maintain a steady source of funding from our highly successful environmental license plate program. Channeling Settlement Funds Back to the Environment Driven to Support Our Environment Since its initial charge to administer the $2 million Boston Over 60,000 Massachusetts drivers currently display one of the Harbor settlement, the Trust has become a national model for Trust's three environmental license plates. The tax-deductible channeling settlement monies to organizations that are poised contribution that each driver makes to obtain a plate has gener- to help our threatened waters. Nearly $4 million in settlement ated revenues of more than $7.2 million to date. This revenue is proceeds have been directed to the Massachusetts Environmental subsequently granted out through the Trust's Unrestricted Grants Trust, allowing us to fund 26 grants that have had a widespread Program each year to benefit the water and related resources of impact on the environment. Massachusetts. In 2000, the Trust received the largest single payment in its All Massachusetts drivers have the option ofselecting a "Preserve twelve-year history since the Boston Harbor settlement. The the Trust" license plate at the Registry of Motor Vehicles, allow- Commonwealth directed $500,000 to the Trust as a result of a ing citizens to proudly display their support for the environment. lawsuit settlement with Global Petroleum Corporation for a series The three plates offer widespread appeal and are representative of of gasoline leaks that polluted Chelsea Creek and, consequently, the coastal, central, and western regions ofthe state. The first and Boston Harbor. As stipulated in the settlement agreement, the most popular plate, offered since 1994, features the fluke of a funds will be used to secure significant environmental and public northern right whale and two roseate terns. Both ofthese animals health benefits by controlling discharges of contaminated storm are federally listed endangered species and rely on Massachusetts water and remediating pollution in Town Line Brook, which resources for their survival. Encouraged by public response to the flows through Revere, Maiden, and Everett. first plate, and eager to reflect its recently expanded commitment The Trust reached another milestone in 2000 when it added to the entire state, the Trust worked with legislatAors to introduce a second plate in 1998 featuring a brook trout. native to the a Restricted Grants Program Coordinator to its staff. While managing the program's many active grants and advisory state's western streams, the brook trout serves as a symbol ofboth the pristine water in which the fish thrives, and the recreational committees, the Coordinator will also work to build awareness in benefits of a healthy environment. Finally, in 1999, the Trust the legal community about the Trust's unique ability to receive introduced the Blackstone Valley license plate, featuring the settlement proceeds. This increased capacity to receive and manage settlement funds enables the Trust to provide more image of a water mill building. The Blackstone Valley, running through the central part of the state, was the birthplace of the support for environmental conservation efforts across the state. American Industrial Revolution and exemplifies the connection between a healthy economy and healthy waterways. Together, the three plates generated $1.2 million in revenue this year. PAGE