Massachusetts forests and trees are crucial to keeping our state livable through the rising heat and storms of the climate emergency. Forests and urban trees remove harmful greenhouse gases from the air, cool and clean the air, clean water for drinking, reduce flooding, promote human health, provide habitat for wildlife, and more.

Only 2% of the forest land in our state has permanent protection from logging. But logging releases greenhouse gases and kills the underground networks that make forests resilient, so logging to site solar panels is not green. Biomass energy from wood is more polluting at the smokestack than coal. Urban trees are dying from gas leaks and have virtually no protection from being cut for unsustainable development practices, and more—especially in low-income communities—making heat, poor air quality, and flooding worse.

There are bills now before the MA legislature that will protect public forests and expand the urban tree canopy. But we need your voice to counteract the money, access, and influence of commercial lobbyists trying to hamstring these bills!

ASK YOUR STATE REPS TO CO-SPONSOR FOREST AND TREE PROTECTION BILLS!

Bills that have more co-sponsors are more likely to pass in the legislature. Please ask your legislators to co-sponsor the following

FOREST BILLS

• H.4150 and H.904 will make permanent reserves without logging in 412,000 acres of Dept of Conservation and Recreation lands and in 30% of Wildlife Management Areas.
• H.894 and H.895 will create an independent Advisory Council overseeing publicly owned forest lands  and bring carbon-counting practices into compliance with state climate laws.
• H.3211/S.2137 and H.3210/S.2136 will remove state subsidies for biomass energy.
• H.2082 and S.1319 will allow municipalities to require environmentally responsible siting of solar panels.

URBAN TREE BILLS

• H.869 and S.452 will fund municipalities to plant more trees and require a reforestation plan for long-term maintenance and preservation of their trees. It prioritizes environmental-justice neighborhoods and communities.

Please take action to tell your legislators that you support these bills and want them to co-sponsor the bills.