Invasive species, an overpopulation of deer and climate change are threatening Reston’s valued forests, a report released earlier this summer found.
Reston Association’s 2024 State of the Environment Report (RASER), published in June, deemed Reston’s urban forests to be in “fair” condition due to the “collective severity” of those and other challenges, including negative impacts of construction and yard debris getting dumped in natural areas.
According to the report, which was crafted by a team of volunteers with assistance from RA staff, Reston is home to 1,300 acres of open space, including approximately 800 acres of forest managed by RA, and nearly 50% of its land overall is covered by trees, supporting a variety of wildlife among other ecological benefits.
“The importance of trees to a healthy Reston can hardly be overstated,” the RASER said.
However, those benefits can only be realized if existing trees are carefully maintained and monitored, the report says.
Per the 2024 RASER, non-native invasive plants have now taken over “a high percentage” of Reston’s forests, and insects like the spongy moth, hemlock wooly adelgid and spotted lanternfly are similarly posing threats to trees. The Asian emerald ash borer beetle, for example, “has virtually eradicated” native ash trees over the past decade.
In addition, Reston has been losing many older chestnut, white and red oak trees.
“This oak decline is thought to stem from several contributing factors, but climate-driven extreme weather events play a role,” the report says.
RA already employs professional arborists, replaces lost trees with native species and coordinates volunteers who help remove invasive plants from its properties, but the homeowners’ association is now developing an urban forest management plan to guide future efforts.
As part of the planning initiative, RA will conduct a tree canopy and forest species inventory, starting this year, though details on what that will involve are limited so far.
“We’re still in the planning and design process and working with the State Forester,” RA communications director Cara O’Donnell said by email. “[Our] goal is to launch prior to the end of this year with goals of identifying/classifying tree species, measuring tree canopy and assessing tree health.”
Stormwater management in “poor” condition
Overseen by RA’s Environmental Advisory Committee, the RASER has generally been published every two years since 2017, providing an overview of Reston’s environmental conditions and trends that can inform future policies and programs.
For the 2024 update, the project team analyzed 23 “environmental attributes,” from urban forests, drinking water and air quality to solid waste management and climate change response. Though the overall condition ratings were ultimately unchanged from the previous update in 2022, mostly landing in “fair” territory, the report identified “positive” trends in some areas.
On top of monitoring the water quality in Reston’s lakes and streams more regularly, RA has been working with Fairfax County on stream restoration projects in the Piney Run tributary and a tributary of Lake Newport. Construction on the former is expected to start this fall.
A group of scientists, including researchers from Virginia Tech and the U.S. Geological Survey, also reintroduced freshwater mussels to Snakeden Branch in 2023 to see how the creatures might improve the downstream water quality. The project will expand to the Glade stream valley “in the coming months,” according to RASER.
The report labeled the condition of Reston’s lakes, streams and ponds as “fair,” its drinking water and wastewater treatment as “good,” and its stormwater management as “poor.”
One of the main environmental challenges facing Reston since the original RASER was published, stormwater runoff continues to increase in volume and velocity as the area becomes more developed, contributing to erosion that exposes sewer lines and tree roots, while also funneling sediment and pollution into local lakes.
According to the report:
Much of Reston’s infrastructure for handling stormwater is somewhat antiquated – dating to times when county and state regulations controlling stormwater were less rigorous than today. Rather than treating and retaining stormwater on site, stormwater often was channeled or piped directly to the nearest stream. Consequently, heavy precipitation events generate flows that can exceed a stream’s carrying capacity resulting in streambed and bank erosion.
Progress on responding to climate change
The report also named climate change as one of the most notable threats to Reston’s environment, rating the community’s response as “poor” based on a lack of policies and programs to address the seriousness of the potential impacts — some of which are already being felt.
RASER does note that both Reston and Fairfax County as a whole have become more aggressive recently in pursuing climate-related initiatives. RA established an Environmental Resources Department and participates in the Resilient Fairfax Community Advisory Group, which is helping inform the county’s efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
RA has seen an increase in residents and property owners undertaking renewable energy projects, with 169 homeowners and eight businesses installing solar panels since 2017. The commercial installations have included one of Reston Town Center’s parking garages and the Reston fire station.
Reston also now has more than 200 public electric vehicle charging ports in 52 different locations, according to the report, citing the U.S. Department of Energy. The Harpers Square cluster became the first neighborhood in Fairfax County to install communal chargers under the Charge Up Fairfax program.
Six other clusters are participating in the program, which provides technical and financial assistance to organizations looking to install EV charging infrastructure. This summer, the county expanded eligibility for Charge Up Fairfax to include nonprofits and faith-based organizations in addition to residential communities.
According to RASER, along with stormwater runoff and climate change, the other most serious environmental threats facing Reston right now are:
- non-native invasive species
- deer over-browsing
- obstacles to greening the infrastructure
- limited recycling options
“It is noteworthy to recognize that none of these threats are unique to Reston,” the report said. “They are widespread problems now facing most urban communities exhibiting population growth in the United States.”
In a July 10 press release, RA Director of Environmental Resources Mike Reynolds said his department is already working to incorporate the report’s findings into its activities.
“We remain committed to environmental stewardship as a core value of the community and encourage our members and stakeholders to review the RASER and take part in many opportunities to help shape Reston’s sustainable future,” Reynolds said.
