Photo: Bobolink, Gerald Sneegas/Audubon Photography Awards
Eastern Meadowlarks, Haoyu Li/Audubon Photography Awards
First, the bad news: The U.S North American Bird Conservation Initiative just released its State of the Birds 2025 report, and the birds with the most dire losses continue to be grassland birds, a 43% decline since 1970. The report calls out the need for proactive conservation initiatives, particularly across the Midwest and Great Plains, where conversion of grasslands for row-crop agriculture, woody plant invasion, and drought are causing collapse of a crucial resource. The report cites some positive actions, including a National Audubon Society initiative, the Conservation Ranching program, which is creating partnerships to convert marginal cropland to grassland.
Grasshopper Sparrow, Susan Ward/Audubon Photography Awards
Now, the good news: Although urbanization in northern Virginia has eliminated most grassland habitat in our area, Fairfax County’s I-95 Landfill has taken steps to protect grassland birds by adjusting mowing procedures at the landfill. NVBA had suggested that the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) find a way to protect grassland birds at the closed landfill while still complying with regulatory mowing requirements that ensure adequate landfill monitoring. In response, in February 2024, the Board of Supervisors directed DPWES to identify a no-mow area for the bird nesting season and develop a pilot plan for landfill procedures that could protect grassland birds.
Blair Evancho, a DPWES intern, then organized a survey conducted between August 22 and October 17, 2024, and produced the I-95 Landfill Complex Grassland Habitat Program Pilot Study Report, which identified 39 bird species in the study area, including three of regional or continental concern: Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink, and Grasshopper Sparrow. The most recorded birds were Grasshopper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, American Kestrel, and Eastern Meadowlark, all of which are experiencing population declines. The study confirmed that grassland birds were using the habitat provided by the no-mow area.
The study outlines a bird-friendly standard operating procedure for the landfill:
Annual mowing in the no-mow area only between September 15 and April 1, except where required to maintain methane well access
If feasible, annual mowing scheduled to take place only between February 15 and April 1
Setting blades for mowers and bushhogs to eight inches or higher
A staff survey around the methane well mowing path before turning the blade on
No more than two mowers and/or bushhogs active at the same time in the no-mow area
The study includes some further recommendations for conservation: long-term monitoring at the landfill, identifying and monitoring the locations of nests in the no-mow area, installation of additional American Kestrel nest boxes inside and outside of the no-mow area, planting native grasses and forbs to replace the predominant non-native grasses, and additional public education. To learn more about the study and the landfill listen to Fairfax County’s EnviroPod Episode 52.
NVBA is truly grateful that Fairfax County developed and implemented a plan to protect grassland birds within its jurisdiction. We hope this initiative can serve as a model for other closed landfills, creating islands of valuable habitat for grassland birds.