We did it! After six months of providing the Elgin School Board with mounting evidence that Bastrop County residents want — and deserve — an environmental-friendly solar farm, the board voted unanimously to rescind the Chapter 313 application for the Dogwood Creek Solar project. On Oct. 24, an hour before midnight, the board voted 7-0 to stop the application from being sent to the Texas Comptroller for certification. The board had to weigh concerns of Bastrop residents with the substantial increase in taxable property the project would have provided to the school system. The company, Solar Proponent, estimated it would invest $669 million to develop the 3000-acre site — making it the largest capital investment in county’s history. Your incredible support — signatures, comments, and more than $750 in contributions — was critical in rejecting the application. In his opening statement, Friends of the Land Co-founder Skip Connett told the board: “It’s important to note that we haven’t heard a single person speak in favor of this project. Compare that to more than 1100 signers of our petition to stop this project and all the comments you have been so patiently listened to over the past six months.” While the company can still develop this site on its own dime, it has threatened taking the project to another state if the application was rejected. We will keep you posted. In the meantime, know that you have helped us clear the biggest hurdle to save nearly 2000 acres of forest in Texas. With so much of our woodlands and watersheds stressed by drought and threatened by scorched-earth development practices, you have clearly and decisively spoken for the trees!