The chainsaws have gone quiet, but the fight to preserve trees along the Washington & Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail isn’t over yet.
A number of elected officials, nonprofits and community organizations plan to renew pressure on Dominion Energy over its approach to tree clearings with a rally tomorrow (Saturday) in Vienna.
Set for 10-11 a.m. at the Vienna Town Green (144 Maple Avenue East), the rally is being organized by the Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Nature Forward and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets.
Expected speakers include Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, state delegates Holly Seibold, Marcus Simon and Rip Sullivan, and Stella Koch, who represents Fairfax County on the NOVA Parks Board of Directors.
“Dominion’s plans for tree cutting would have devastating impacts for trail users and the environment,” Ann Bennett, the land use chair for the Sierra Club’s Great Falls group, said. “We are urging Dominion to work out an agreement that protects the W&OD, preserves its vital tree cover and ensures native habitat restoration on the parts of the trail that have been cut.”
Alarmed by Dominion’s removal of trees throughout the Vienna and Dunn Loring portions of the 45-mile trail starting last fall, NOVA Parks has been pushing the utility for months to agree to a new vegetation management plan that would limit future cuttings to trees directly in danger of interfering with power lines and require any cleared areas to be reseeded with new trees or native plants.
Dominion began cutting trees in conjunction with a project to replace an electric transmission line between the Clark and Idylwood substations. Withdrawing from a voluntary agreement with NOVA Parks that had been in place since 2005, the utility argued that more aggressive management was needed to protect its power lines and comply with current federal regulations.
While Dominion values the W&OD Trail “as a cherished community resource,” the utility also has an obligation ensure the reliability of an electrical grid that serves “hundreds of thousands of people across Northern Virginia,” community and media relations manager Aisha Khan said.
Under pressure from local government officials and residents throughout Northern Virginia, Dominion agreed in March to reassess plans to clear trees throughout the trail corridor, from Loudoun County to Arlington, and NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert expressed hope in May that the two organizations were making progress toward a new agreement.
However, Dominion announced in June that it would remove more than 100 trees in Herndon, Loudoun and Arlington that it believed could endanger the electrical grid.
According to Khan, Dominion has been “focused on the selective trimming and removal of overgrown, dead or diseased trees to prevent them from coming into contact with the power lines.”
“We’ve met with NOVA Parks and county arborists on multiple occasions to review the work before it began, and we’ve proactively communicated our plans with the community and local news media,” Khan said in a statement, though NOVA Parks previously denied that its staff had requested or expressed support for the recent tree removals.
With tomorrow’s rally, organizers hope to draw attention to the impacts of the tree removals, including a proliferation of invasive plants in the cleared areas, while also celebrating the W&OD Trail’s importance to the region.
“The trail is an incredibly important community resource — it’s where thousands of people congregate and recreate each week, it’s how they get to school and to work,” Washington Area Bicyclist Association Virginia Organizer Kevin O’Brien said. “For Dominion to act with such seeming disregard for how their tree-clearing is affecting a landscape that means so much is a shame. Dominion is part of this community, too, and we hope seeing so many neighbors out on Saturday is the wake up call they need to do the right thing.”
Both Dominion and NOVA Parks confirmed that they’re continuing to negotiate a new vegetation management agreement.
“The agreement will include plans to re-plant native trees, shrubs and pollinator habitats along the Trail,” Khan said. “We look forward to continuing our discussions in the coming weeks, and we’re confident we can reach an agreement that supports the long-term stewardship of the Trail.”
After sending over an initial draft agreement in late April, NOVA Parks received feedback from Dominion less than two weeks ago, Gilbert told FFXnow.
While “pleased” to get a response, the regional parks agency remains far apart from the electric utility when it comes to some conditions of the agreement. For instance, NOVA Parks proposed requiring restorations whenever at least five trees with an 8-inch diameter are cut in a 2,500-square-foot area, while Dominion countered with 10 trees that are 16 inches in diameter — a standard that would likely be rarely met, according to Gilbert.
“We’re at least in dialogue,” he said. “But we’re not at a place where Dominion’s responses are such that they would actually provide meaningful protection for the natural resources, and we’re hoping to get to that point.”
Gilbert noted that NOVA Parks wasn’t involved in requesting or organizing tomorrow’s rally, but he appreciates seeing the support from the community.
“We’re thrilled that they have stepped up and want to send a very clear message to Dominion that the natural resources need to be protected,” Gilbert said.
