Boston Harbor Islands Partnership
Encyclopedia
The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership is a non-profit partnership
organization based in Boston, MA, whose purpose is "to coordinate the activities of the Federal, State, and local authorities and the private sector in the development and implementation of a general management plan" for the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
. The Partnership was established by the United States Congress
in 1996, as part of the law which designated the Boston Harbor Islands as a unit of the national parks system.
The Island Alliance, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the National Parks Service made a joint decision to select Eastern National to manage the park bookstore located in the Visitors' Center on Georges Island as well as the retail location at the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion.
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
organization based in Boston, MA, whose purpose is "to coordinate the activities of the Federal, State, and local authorities and the private sector in the development and implementation of a general management plan" for the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...
. The Partnership was established by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1996, as part of the law which designated the Boston Harbor Islands as a unit of the national parks system.
Member organizations
- National Park ServiceNational Park ServiceThe National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
(NPS) - Federal agency which provides a staff of park rangers who offer educational and interpretive services to visitors on Georges Island (for example, they lead tours of Fort WarrenFort Warren (Massachusetts)Fort Warren is a historic fort on the Georges Island at the entrance to Boston Harbor. The fort is pentagonal, made with stone and granite, and was constructed from 1833–1861, completed shortly after the beginning of the American Civil War...
). NPS also provides a staff of rangers for the Downtown "Gateway Area" to the park, which includes the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion and an additional booth on Long WharfLong Wharf (Boston)Long Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts "was the busiest pier in the busiest port in America during early colonial times." It extended nearly a half-mile into the harbor, beginning from State Street...
. NPS is not a land-owning member of the Partnership.
- Massachusetts Department of Conservation and RecreationDepartment of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
(DCR) - State agency which provides a staff of park rangers at visitors' centers on both Georges Island and Spectacle IslandSpectacle Island, MassachusettsSpectacle Island is an island in Boston Harbor, situated some offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island has a varied history, and today is a public park, forming part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area...
. DCR rangers provide visitors with the same educational and interpretive services as NPS rangers. DCR is the primary land-owning member of the Partnership.
- United States Coast GuardUnited States Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
(USCG) - Federal agency which owns and maintains the three lighthouseLighthouseA lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s in the park area. Boston LightBoston LightBoston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States...
is located on Little Brewster IslandLittle Brewster IslandLittle Brewster Island is a rocky outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is best known as the location of Boston Light, the only remaining Coast Guard-manned lighthouse in the United States, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the Port of Boston...
. It was the first lighthouse to be built in what would become the United States. It also has the distinction of being the only non-automated lighthouse remaining in the United States (USCG personnel act as light keepers).
- Massachusetts Port AuthorityMassachusetts Port AuthorityMassachusetts Port Authority, or Massport, is a port district in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It operates seaports and airports in eastern and central Massachusetts, mainly the Port of Boston. Its headquarters is located in the Logan Office Center, adjacent to Logan Airport in East Boston,...
(MASSPORT) - State agency which operates Logan International AirportLogan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, as well as a variety of maritime industrial facilities (e.g., the Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal, and the North Jetty).
- Massachusetts Water Resources AuthorityMassachusetts Water Resources AuthorityThe Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is a public authority in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that provides wholesale drinking water and sewage services to certain municipalities and industrial users in the state, primarily in the Boston area.The authority receives water from the Quabbin...
(MWRA) - State agency which owns and operates the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Nut Island Headworks. These facilities provide wastewater treatment for 43 communities, and have eliminated the discharge of sewage into the harbor.
- City of Boston - The City is a land-owning member of the Partnership; it owns Long IslandLong IslandLong Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, Moon Island, Rainsford IslandRainsford IslandRainsford Island, formerly known Hospital Island, Pest House Island, and Quarantine Island, is a island in the Boston Harbor, situated between Long Island and Peddocks Island. The island is composed of two drumlins, reaching an elevation of above sea level. The shoreline is predominantly rocky...
and part of Spectacle IslandSpectacle Island, MassachusettsSpectacle Island is an island in Boston Harbor, situated some offshore of downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island has a varied history, and today is a public park, forming part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area...
). It also provides funding for environmental remediation projects on the various islands, for example the cleanup of asbestosAsbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
contamination from Gallops IslandGallops IslandGallops Island, also known as Gallups Island, is an island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated between Georges Island and Long Island and just over from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further , and is composed of one...
(the island is therefore closed to the public until further notice).
- Boston Redevelopment AuthorityBoston Redevelopment AuthorityThe Boston Redevelopment Authority is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts legislature in 1957...
(BRA) - The City of Boston's planning, economic, and industrial development agency. BRA initiated the development of the HarborWalk program which, when complete, will provide a 43-mile pedestrian walkway along the waterfront of Boston and its neighboring communities. BRA also owns and operates both Long WharfLong Wharf (Boston)Long Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts "was the busiest pier in the busiest port in America during early colonial times." It extended nearly a half-mile into the harbor, beginning from State Street...
(which is the central Downtown terminal for water transportation on Boston Harbor), and the Boston Marine Industrial Park (which is a 152-acre maritime facility located in the Seaport District).
- Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center (TIOBEC) - Non-profit organization which owns and manages Thompson IslandThompson Island (Massachusetts)Thompson Island is an island in the Boston Harbor, some 4 miles offshore from downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The island is managed by the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, a non-profit education organization. The island is open to visitors on summer Sundays; otherwise access is by...
. It also operates the island's educational institutions, which offer summer and year-round programs for the Boston Public SchoolsBoston Public SchoolsBoston Public Schools is a school district serving the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States.-Leadership:The district is led by a Superintendent, hired by the Boston School Committee, a seven-member school board appointed by the Mayor after approval by a nominating committee of specified...
, as well as an Outward BoundOutward BoundOutward Bound is an international, non-profit, independent, outdoor educationorganization with approximately 40 schools around the world and 200,000 participants per year...
program. The island is only open to the public on Saturdays during the summer, through tours which are led by the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands.
- The Trustees of ReservationsThe Trustees of ReservationsThe Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
(The Trustees) - Non-profit organization which owns and operates 89 reservations (totaling nearly 22,000 acres) throughout the state of Massachusetts. A land-owning member of the Partnership, The Trustees manage Worlds End for public recreational uses. Worlds Ends is located on a mainland peninsula and can be reached on foot, bicycle, or by car. The reservation charges an entrance fee, and is open every day of the year.
- Boston Harbor Island AllianceBoston Harbor Island AllianceThe Boston Harbor Island Alliance is a 5013 non-profit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, As one of the many advocacy groups involved with the Boston Harbor Islands, the Island Alliance "promotes the use, enjoyment and awareness of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area".The Island...
- Established in 1996 solely to provide financial support to the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. The Island Alliance works to attract capital investment from the private sector, and coordinates outside activities to secure financial support for the park system. The Island Alliance directly supports park facilities on the mainland (e.g. construction of the "Gateway" to the park system: the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion), as well as the renovation of existing facilities (e.g. the Visitors' Centers located on Spectacle Island and Georges Island). The Island Alliance also provides financial management services for the other members of the Partnership
- Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council - The Council advises the Partnership in the planning and operation of the park through public involvement. It helps to facilitate the public process in connection with the general management plan for the Boston Harbor Islands park system. It has two seats on the Partnership, and consists of 28 members (appointed by the NPS director) which represent seven distinct interest groups:
- municipalities
- educational and cultural institutions
- environmental organizations
- business and commercial entities
- Boston Harbor advocacy organizations
- Native American interests
- community groups
Affiliated organizations
Members of the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership often work closely with other Harbor-affiliated organizations (both non-profits and for-profits) that are not themselves members of the Partnership.- Eastern NationalEastern NationalEastern National is a non-profit organization based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, that partners with the National Park Service in the United States...
(EN) - 501(c)(3) non-profit "cooperating agency" which operates bookstores at over 150 National Parks and related public trusts. It is a philanthropic organization, distributing its revenues both directly and indirectly in the form of grants that support the educational and interpretive programs offered by its partners.
The Island Alliance, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the National Parks Service made a joint decision to select Eastern National to manage the park bookstore located in the Visitors' Center on Georges Island as well as the retail location at the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion.
- Boston's Best Cruises (BBC) - For-profit company that provides ferry services from Long WharfLong Wharf (Boston)Long Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts "was the busiest pier in the busiest port in America during early colonial times." It extended nearly a half-mile into the harbor, beginning from State Street...
to Spectacle Island and Georges Island.
- Jasper White's Summer Shack Restaurant - operates food service concessions on both Spectacle Island and Georges Island.