The Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation, founded per St 1919, c 350, was replaced by the Dept. of Natural Resources (DNR) by St 1953, c 631. Initially this department was organized into three divisions: Division of Forests and Parks; Division of Marine Fisheries; and Division of Law Enforcement (later the Environmental Police); with a fourth division, Division of Fisheries and Game not under direct department control. Later added were the Division of Conservation Services per St 1963, c 664 and the Division of Mineral Resources per St 1968, c 736. The Dept. of Natural Resources was placed in the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs per St 1969, c 704, s 3, effective Apr. 30, 1971). St 1974, c 806, s 1 (effective July 1975) replaced the department, and its state forests and parks system function was placed in a new Dept. of Environmental Management. Other divisions were placed with other departments or directly under the office of the secretary of environmental affairs. Series consists of minutes of the five-member Board of Natural Resources, established per St 1953, c 631, s 1, which had policy oversight over the department and its divisions. Contents range from the first monthly meeting of September 1, 1953 to the final meeting of June 25, 1975. Background documents, relating to meeting topics, 1954-1970, are filed in a separate sequence, and are not included in the digital version of the minutes.