A  from The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit

“The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit would like to thank each and every one of you that attended our August 25 Jumping Exhibition event on the Boston Common. Also, we would like to extend a very special thank you to those who attended the Rooftop Reception event at the Taj Boston. Without your donations and tireless support, the Friends would not have reached their September payment.”

We sincerely thank you and hope to see you at our next event.

The Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit

We are the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit. Formed in the last weeks of summer 2010, we have come together in an effort to save the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit, an iconic staple of Boston’s Emerald Necklace.

The Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit was created in 1982 through an initial effort by the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. It has since grown into a program that once boasted more than twelve patrol horses and twenty-four year-round park rangers plus the addition of seasonal rangers. However, due to budget constraints, the program has been halved and is under consideration of total disbandment.

When the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit faced disbandment last year, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy raised $140,000 in donations to maintain the unit through the fiscal year 2010 and the early part of 2011. The efforts of the Conservancy saved jobs and protected the safety of the park system by providing funding to local enforcement to continue providing mounted security to the Emerald Necklace.

Now, facing a renewed effort to cease the mounted program, the Friends of the Boston Park Rangers have taken up the cause. Through fund-raising and donations, we hope to reach our goal of providing the city of Boston with $155,000 to maintain the Boston Park Rangers Mounted Unit through the fiscal year, and further prove the mounted program’s importance and necessity in maintaining the safety of Boston’s park system.