The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks) is turning up the pressure on Dominion Energy to end widespread tree clearings along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail.
At the regional agency’s request, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-0 to approve a resolution on Tuesday (March 18) urging Dominion to halt reported plans to cut down any tree along the 45-mile-long trail that might someday interfere with its overhead power lines.
The resolution calls for the utility to instead return to “selective pruning” as a means of managing trees, establish a height limit that would allow for a wider variety of native vegetation, and commit to addressing invasive plants and installing pollinator gardens in areas where trees are removed.
According to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, who introduced the resolution, Dominion has stated that it plans to cut most trees and will no longer allow any vegetation on the 33 miles of the W&OD Trail that coincide with its electrical transmission lines.
With the potentially affected section of the trail stretching from Shirlington to Leesburg, the Arlington and Loudoun county boards passed similar resolutions at their meetings Tuesday night. The Falls Church City Council is expected to follow suit, Fairfax County Board Chairman Jeff McKay said.
“The plan’s alarming. What we’re asking for here is a middle ground,” McKay said. “None of us are interested in impeding the flow of electricity, but by the same token, this is a park largely. We see it as a trail, but it’s also park land to most people, and there’s certainly a better way, a more controlled way to do this, and that’s what we’re asking for here, which is a reasonable request … Hopefully, this will get better collaboration.”
Dominion Energy began cutting down trees along a 4-mile stretch of the W&OD Trail in Vienna and Dunn Loring last November in conjunction with a project to replace a 230-kilovolt transmission line between its Idylwood and Clark substations.
When NOVA Parks questioned the aggressiveness of the tree clearings, Dominion informed the authority’s leaders that it was backing out of a memorandum of understanding that had governed vegetation management along the trail since 2005. Under the voluntary agreement, cuttings were generally limited to trees in direct danger of tangling with the power lines, and the utility agreed to replant any felled trees.
According to Dominion Energy, trees in the area have become “an unacceptable risk to the safety and reliability of the grid,” which needs infrastructure upgrades to keep up with increased energy demand. The agreement was also no longer compatible with federal regulations that have changed since 2005.
However, NOVA Parks leaders have expressed alarm at the extent of the tree clearings and the utility’s apparent reluctance to negotiate a new vegetation management agreement that could include replanting affected areas with pollinator meadows.
At a Jan. 9 meeting, Dominion offered a one-time contribution of $50,000 — an “insufficient” amount compared to the ecological damages caused by the clearings, which allow invasive plants to proliferate in addition to reducing the tree canopy, according to NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert.
In response to Feb. 6 letters from McKay, Alcorn and state Del. Holly Seibold (D-12), Dominion Energy President Ed Baines said the utility was developing a long-term plan that would include pollinator gardens and invasive species management.
Dominion agrees to some pollinator garden plantings
Dominion’s proposal, which was shared with NOVA Parks on Feb. 28, involves planting pollinator meadows on 50 acres of the affected trail, managing invasive species along the full trail, and replanting native species in accordance with an existing Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM) plan that promotes “early successional habitat” in its transmission line right of way.
“Early successional habitats provide essential food and cover for a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators, ground, nesting birds, and other native plant species,” a Dominion Energy spokesperson said. “In addition to our IVM plan, the enhanced control of invasive species along the trail will promote a native plant community.”
NOVA Parks remains unconvinced by Dominion’s offer, though, arguing that the scope of proposed meadow and tree plantings still doesn’t adequately reflect the scope of the utility’s impact.
“The plans they have now would impact hundreds of acres,” Gilbert told FFXnow. “They have currently agreed to replant just 50 acres in the meadow, with no commitment to more trees other than the Vienna Town Green. They need to cut much less and plant much more.”
According to Gilbert, Dominion confirmed it plans to expand the clear-cutting at a recent meeting with his agency as well as representatives from Fairfax County and the Town of Vienna. The group was told that 33 miles of the W&OD Trail would be cleared over the next two years.
The utility previously indicated that Reston would be targeted next, with the Clark-Idylwood project expected to wrap up this summer.
Gilbert says he was “excited” to see the Fairfax County board unanimously support the resolution calling for Dominion to change its approach. The NOVA Parks board is also expected to discuss the topic in a closed session when it meets at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday).
“We are hopeful that Dominion will stop the cutting, adopt a more selective approach, and commit to a robust replanting plan that includes a wide range of native plants including trees,” Gilbert said.
According to the Dominion spokesperson, the utility is working on “a comprehensive engineering review” to refine the scope and schedule of its tree clearings along the W&OD Trail.
The spokesperson noted that all of the trees being reviewed are in Dominion’s right of way, and the utility “will do the work necessary to comply with” federal regulations that require minimizing the encroachment of vegetation on electrical transmission lines.
“Dominion Energy and NOVA Parks are still working on a long-term plan that will align with our requirements to maintain a safe and reliable electric transmission grid,” the spokesperson said.
There is precedent for agencies reversing course on plans to cut trees in Northern Virginia.
According to Gilbert, Dominion’s now-canceled agreement with NOVA Parks emerged in response to opposition to clearings that occurred in 2005. Just last year, community activists convinced the National Park Service to reevaluate plans for clearing trees and vegetation along the George Washington Memorial Parkway as part of a rehabilitation project.
