News

  Our bill authorizing New York State to pay taxes on lands it owns in the Washington County Grasslands has been sent to the Governor for his review. He has 10 days to sign or veto the bill.  Let’s make sure he signs it! PLEASE CALL Governor Cuomo today and ask him to sign Bill […]

NYS DEC Press Release, 07-30-18: $326,000 Acquisition Increases Size of Protected Grassland Habitat to 466 Acres New York State has purchased 180 acres of land to add to the Washington County Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today. The $326,000 land acquisition, located along […]

ALBANY Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D-Round Lake) announced the passage of legislation in the NYS Assembly on June 19 that will benefit grassland birds and the Washington County towns they call home. The Senate previously passed a companion bill introduced by Senator Betty Little (R-45th Senate District). The legislation would authorize New York State to pay […]

Tell New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Ways and Means Chair Helene E. Weinstein you want critical habitat for NY’s endangered and threatened grassland birds protected NOW! Tell them to pass Bill #A-6759 so that Short-eared owls and other imperiled grassland birds do not disappear from New York State. We have only four weeks left to get this bill passed! […]

Give Back to the Places You Love on May 5, 2018 I Love My Park Day is an annual event that brings together thousands of volunteers to celebrate and enhance New York’s parks, historic sites, and public lands. DEC has events at a variety of locations – from trails in the Forest Preserve to popular […]

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Land Trust Alliance (LTA) announced $2.29 million in Conservation Partnership Program grants at the New York State Land Symposium in Albany on Tuesday. Fifty-one nonprofit land trusts across the state will receive a total of seventy grants. Friends of the IBA (FIBA) received a […]

This little Short-eared owl was found starving to death in late December. He’s pictured here with wildlife rehabilitators Dave Larrow and Cathy Lehman at the moment of his release during FIBA’s March field trip.  (photo courtesy Gordon Ellmers) WASHINGTON COUNTY GRASSLANDS IBA, FORT EDWARD “Ready? I’m going to open the box.” The Short-eared owl erupted […]

Grassland birds prey on insects and rodents that damage crops or carry diseases such as Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. They share their habitat with bees and butterflies that pollinate fruits, vegetables, hay and other crops. Farmers and gardeners would see their crop yields decrease without the FREE ecological services these birds provide. Losing these […]

Snowy owls and Short-eared owls journey south from breeding grounds in the Arctic every year to spend the winter in the Washington County Grasslands Important Bird Area (IBA).  They come seeking abundant populations of the mice, voles and other small prey they depend on for survival. Thousands of bird watchers and photographers flock to the […]

Help FIBA Raise $60,000 to Purchase & Protect 64 Acres of critical habitat for Short-eared owls and other at-risk grassland birds!  Friends of the IBA is the only nonprofit acquiring and conserving critical habitat in the Washington County Grasslands for NY’s endangered and at-risk grassland birds.  Short-eared owls, Northern harriers, American kestrels, Eastern meadowlarks, Upland […]