Links || Welcome to the Center for Rural Massachusetts || A Project of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

The Highland Communities Initiative (HCI) is a grant-funded program to promote land conservation and community preservation in rural western Massachusetts. The Highland Communities Initiative (HCI) is administered by The Trustees of Reservations, the oldest and largest conservation organization in Massachusetts.

http://hci.thetrustees.org/

The Massachusetts Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD), a "super agency" created by Governor Romney to oversee the coordination of four state agencies: the Division of Energy Resources (DOER), the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA), the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), and the Executive Office of Transportation (EOT). OCD's mission is to care for the built and natural environment by promoting sustainable development through the integration of energy, environmental, housing, and transportation investments, policies, programs, and regulations. OCD is administered by Secretary Douglas Foy.

http://www.mass.gov/ocd/

The Commonwealth Capital (CC) policy of the Office for Commonwealth Development (OCD) coordinates state capital spending programs that affect development patterns to ensure that state investments promote projects consistent with the State's Sustainable Development Principles.

http://www.mass.gov/ocd/comcap.html

The overall mission of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) http://www.mass.gov/envir/ is to safeguard public health from environmental threats and to preserve, protect, and enhance the natural resources of the Commonwealth.

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) http://commpres.env.state.ma.us/content/cpa.asp

allows communities to create a local Community Preservation Fund in the municipality to be used for funds through a surcharge of up to 3% of the real estate tax levy on real property for open space, historic preservation and low and moderate housing. The act also creates a state matching fund of more than $25 million annually, which will serve as an incentive to communities to take advantage of the provisions of this legislation.

Executive Order 418 (EO418) http://www.mass.gov/dhcd/eo_418/default.htm is comprised of a comprehensive approach to help communities identify suitable locations for new housing production throughout Massachusetts. The Commonwealth provides communities with needed resources and incentives for housing production from a variety of sources.

The Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/

Through the MEPA office, the Secretary conducts environmental impact reviews of certain projects requiring state agency action. Agency actions include granting state permits or licenses, providing state financial assistance, or transferring state land.

Citizen Planning Training Collaborative (CPTC) is a resource for planning board members and citizens interested in planning related issues. CPTC sponsors training events, an annual conference, and is a source for educational resources for planners. www.umass.edu/masscptc

Green Neighborhoods: Open Space Residential Design (OSRD) is a method of planning residential development that conserves open space in a new subdivision. http://www.greenneighborhoods.org/site/Index.htm

Commonwealth of MA Capacity Building Resources http://www.mass.gov/ocd/CapacityBuilding-6-OpenSpacePreservation.html includes links to several state grant and training programs related to open space preservation.

EOEA's Water Protection website http://www.mass.gov/envir/water/default.htm also includes their guide to Low Impact Development (LID) http://www.mass.gov/envir/lid/default.htm

Smart growth recognizes connections between development and quality of life. Smart Growth Online's website is an excellent resource for tools, techniques, examples and links to related topics.
http://www.smartgrowth.org/default.asp

New Rules Project Institute for Local Self-Reliance promotes our communities and our regions not only as places of residence, recreation and retail but as places that nurture active and informed citizens with the skills and productive capacity to govern their own lives utilizing principles of "new localism." http://www.newrules.org/index.htm

Community Preservation Partnerships and Resources includes links to Massachusetts 13 Regional Planning Agencies (RPAs) and pertinent state agencies and nonprofit organizations.
http://commpres.env.state.ma.us/content/partnerships.asp

"The Environmental League of Massachusetts is dedicated to protecting the air, water, and land for the people of the commonwealth. We do this by voicing citizens' concerns, educating the public, advocating for strong environmental laws, and ensuring that our laws are implemented and enforced."

http://www.environmentalleague.org/index.html