06/07/2026
There had been quite a bit of chatter about GBT’s agreement with Boralex. HERE ARE THE FACTS:
The Grassland Bird Trust (GBT) and renewable energy company Boralex recently announced that Fort Edward Solar will support GBT's mission by funding the acquisition of more land in the Washington County Grasslands for grassland birds.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
1. The Reality of Development: Over the last decade, land all around the grasslands has been subdivided and developed for housing, commercial and industrial development. Development in the Washington County Grasslands is inevitable and accelerating.
2. Stopping the Solar Project Wouldn’t Protect Grassland Bird Habitat: The land for the Boralex project is privately owned and not protected in any way today. Even if the project were stopped, the land would be entirely unprotected and continue to be threatened by development.
3. Permanent Protection Secures the Future: Today, the only permanently protected grassland habitat in the Washington County Grasslands is GBT’s 153 acres and New York State’s nearly 500 acres.
4. Over five years of discussions with Boralex, GBT worked to substantially reduce the size of the solar array and create a bird flyway. Most important, GBT secured funding and, as a land trust, will acquire and permanently protect more grassland habitat in the Washington County Grasslands. That protection will endure forever.
5. To Keep a Grassland, You Have to Manage It: Grasslands have to be mowed at the right time, invasive plants have to be removed, and native plants restored to provide the right conditions for birds to feed, breed and raise their young. Unmanaged grasslands turn into shrubland and forests where grassland birds can’t survive. It takes funding to do this work.
THE BOTTOM LINE – Protect It or Lose It: The ONLY way to protect this habitat forever is to buy and conserve the land. Without funds to buy and manage the land, the land remains vulnerable to unrestricted development and leaves the birds with no protection at all.
GBT’s sole mission is to conserve critical, vanishing habitat for endangered, threatened, and rapidly declining grassland birds. The funding from Boralex directly and exclusively supports that mission.
