Park parsimony

THE STATE beaches, parks, pools, and ice-skating rinks operated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation contribute much to the quality of life of Massachusetts residents, especially those who cannot afford a long vacation in Maine or Nantucket. The roads, parkways, and bridges inherited by the DCR in the merger with the Metropolitan District Commission are crucial to the transportation system of Eastern Massachusetts. But all these facilities have suffered from years of underfunding by the state.

Governor Romney will never come through on his 2003 promise of a ''world class" parks system until he takes the lead in campaigning for major increases in the DCR's operating and capital budgets. The gap between that promise and the reality of the state's run-down facilities gives the lie to the governor's notion that the state's needs are substantially met and much of the current revenue surplus can be used to reduce the income tax rate.

Beyond the crown jewels of state parks, such as the Charles River Esplanade and Walden Pond, facilities suffer from $750 million in deferred maintenance. Although there has been a slight upward blip in DCR funding with the recent improvement in state revenues, parks funding is still more than 10 percent below its 2002 level, which was hardly a golden age in the state's stewardship of its parks. Since 2003, the DCR has lost 13.5 percent of its workforce, which helps explain the shorter hours and shorter seasons at the state's recreational facilities. It also explains the unmown lawns and unscrubbed graffiti that mar so many DCR properties.

Data compiled at Indiana University for the National Association of State Park Directors show that Massachusetts ranks 34th among the states in per-capita state park funding. The national average is $6.10, with this state spending $4.85. Massachusetts residents who use the camping grounds or hiking trails of other states that give parks a higher priority are quick to notice the difference. Even DCR Commissioner Stephen Burrington has lamented what happens ''when you don't have enough people to go around."

To be fair, the DCR has succeeded in gathering information on its properties, their needs, and construction projects in one database. Also, the challenge of merging the old MDC into the Parks Department has obviously slowed improvements.

But no administrative magic will compensate for years of disinvestment in recreational attractions that could help the state hold onto the young professionals it is so worried about losing to states with lower housing costs and, sometimes, lower taxes. A world-class parks system could be a way to justify the state's high living cost -- but the state DCR is far from serving that purpose now.