Overview of the Department of Conservation and Recreation

Additional information about the department and its responsibilities.

Overview

The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is authorized by Section 1 of Chapter 41 of the Acts of 2003. It operates under the direction of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs and is responsible for the administration and oversight of state parks, forests, reservations, and recreational facilities (e.g., campgrounds, swimming pools, and bike trails). According to its website, DCR’s mission is “to protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well-being of all.” The number of full-time DCR employees has been reduced from approximately 1,120 in 2007 to about 850 in 2017.

DCR received state appropriations of $86.8 million and reported other revenue of approximately $22.3 million in fiscal year 2016. In fiscal year 2017, it received state appropriations of $90.3 million and reported other revenue of $23.6 million. Its other revenue included approximately $4.8 million in fiscal year 2016, and $5.8 million in fiscal year 2017, from fees associated with its use agreements. DCR also generates lesser amounts of revenue from the operation of skating rinks and the collection of parking and entrance fees at DCR-managed state reservations.¹

User Agreements

DCR was created in 2003 when its two predecessor agencies, the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) and the Department of Environmental Management (DEM), merged to form a single agency. Both MDC and DEM had previously been responsible for entering into use agreements for various properties under their jurisdictions, such as park and reservation concession stands, skating rinks, boat clubs, cottages, and utility towers.

Currently, DCR’s Long-Term Permits and Leases (P&L) Unit is responsible for the administration and oversight of use agreements for its properties, to ensure that all use agreements are properly executed in a timely manner and in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. During our audit period, DCR had four full-time staff members in its P&L Unit. The DCR Revenue Unit, consisting of six individuals, is responsible for the billing, collection, and recording of all use agreement fees. In April 2014, DCR hired a contractor to provide a tenant management system, known as the MRI application, which DCR uses to maintain an official record, or register, of all use agreements; set up recurring invoices for lease payments; track cash receipt payments; record revenue; and manage accounts receivable, as well as to send out all associated invoices for payment. Payments are then remitted to DCR, which in turn sends a monthly banking report to the contractor so it can credit payments received for each existing use agreement within the MRI application. In addition, the contractor manages an application called LandTracker that allows DCR employees to view P&L assets (e.g., boathouses, towers, skating rinks, and pools) and the use agreements (e.g., leases, licenses, legislatively authorized leases,² and high-ground agreements³) that are associated with those assets.

The table below summarizes the use agreements, by program, and the fees owed to DCR in fiscal year 2017 based on available supporting documentation.

Program	Number of Agreements	Number of Fee-Paying Agreements	Total Fees Due
Boat and Yacht Club	32	32	$    829,901
Concession	82	68	950,647
Cottage	151	151	412,960
High Ground	114	49	1,099,003
Legislatively Authorized Lease	10	5	617,770
Memorandum of Understanding*	202	38	1,369,479
Skating Rinks	36	28	447,475
Utility Provider	96	46	130,791
Advertising	5	2	23,983
Total	728	419	$ 5,882,009

*    A Memorandum of Understanding is a mutually beneficial agreement to use DCR facilities or property, established with either a public entity or a private for-profit or nonprofit entity.

1. In addition to this general fund revenue, DCR receives various types of federal grant revenue as well as trust fund revenue such as water supply protection reimbursements received from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority. Such non-general-fund revenue was not included in our follow-up audit.

2. Leases for the use of DCR property are sometimes directly authorized or mandated by acts of the Legislature, bypassing regulatory provisions and competitive selection processes.

3. High-ground (telecommunication tower) permits are issued to private and public telecommunication entities to construct towers on DCR property or install equipment on existing DCR towers.

Date published:	June 14, 2018