Noah Matson, Chief Conservation and Climate Officer at The Trustees
What do you do at The Trustees? What’s your role?
I am the Chief Conservation and Climate Officer for The Trustees. I oversee our conservation strategy for large landscapes, urban green spaces, and iconic special places. , This includes our ecological restoration and habitat management work, our agroecology work to sustainably manage our farmlands, and our policy work, among other things. We have an amazing team of experts in each of these areas.
Photo by Jerry Monkman
What is Nature for Massachusetts? Specifically, can you tell us more about the Protect Water and Nature Initiative?
Nature for Massachusetts is a broad coalition of land conservation, watershed protection, community, and farm protection organizations. We came together to advocate for land and water conservation to improve water quality, promote public health, protect against habitat and farmland loss, and support the growing outdoor recreation economy.
The idea is to create a dedicated Nature for All Fund with $100 million each year to support the conservation and restoration of water and land in Massachusetts, and to support the creation and improvement of parks, trails, greenspaces, and other outdoor recreation spaces. This would be funded by the state’s existing sales tax on sporting goods such as hiking boots and tents, without new taxes. This would more than 10x the amount of funding the Commonwealth provides to land and water conservation each year. Though $100 million sound like a lot of money – and it is for conservation – it is a fraction of a percent of the state’s budget.
Photo by Jerry Monkman
Why take this issue to the ballot in 2026?
Our coalition worked with lawmakers to introduce a bill in the state legislature to enact the Nature for All Fund. While we continue to work with lawmakers to pass this measure on Beacon Hill, our coalition decided this was such a game-changing law that we would run a parallel strategy to get this directly in front of the voters as a question on the ballot. The two strategies complement each other. As we gather signatures to get this on the ballot we are talking to voters which raises the visibility of the issue which in turn builds public support for passage either by the legislature or directly by the voters.
Photo by Jerry Monkman
Why is The Trustees invested in moving this initiative forward and being a part of this coalition?
The conservation need – for climate protection, biodiversity conservation, and equitable access to open space – is too big for any one organization to solve. It takes coordinated action by like-minded organizations and public policy to meet the scale of the need. The Trustees has a long tradition of advocating for groundbreaking policies – this is our generation’s opportunity.
What are the organization’s current goals as part of the coalition? What will future goals be?
Our goal is simple – pass this important legislation either through the legislature or by the voters on next year’s ballot. Securing this dedicated funding for conservation is critical achieving our organizational goals and the Commonwealths conservation and climate goals.
