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Dominion Energy will reconsider plans to clear trees along much of the Washington & Old Dominion Trail following weeks of public criticism, but the utility intends to complete work already underway in Vienna and Dunn Loring.

The continuing work covers about four miles of trail and is tied to the replacement of a transmission line between Dominion’s Clark and Idylwood substations. Tree and brush removal is expected to finish by mid-April, while the overall construction project remains scheduled for completion this summer.

Dominion Senior Vice President of Electric Transmission Joseph Woomer called the forestry work essential to the safe and reliable operation of the transmission lines. He said it was the utility’s first significant tree maintenance in that area in 20 years.

Dominion spokesperson Aisha Khan said the utility does not have a count of the trees removed.

For roughly two decades, Dominion followed a voluntary agreement with trail owner NOVA Parks that generally limited cutting within the utility’s easement to trees presenting direct risks to electrical lines. The agreement also committed Dominion to replacing vegetation that was removed.

Dominion withdrew from that agreement last year, saying broader clearing was necessary in Vienna and Dunn Loring to protect the lines and comply with federal regulations. Construction on the 3.9-mile Clark-Idylwood line replacement began in July.

Broader clearing plan put on hold

Dominion had indicated that it intended to use a similar clearing approach along the other 29 miles of the W&OD Trail where its power lines run, beginning in Reston and extending through Loudoun County, Falls Church and Arlington.

Elected officials across the affected jurisdictions pushed back. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and other local bodies passed resolutions urging Dominion to stop removing trees, adopt a more selective method and negotiate a new vegetation-management agreement with NOVA Parks. Officials also called for invasive-species control and replanting.

Citing extensive feedback from residents and local leaders, Dominion now says it will temporarily halt additional forestry work outside the Vienna and Dunn Loring project.

“We have not yet determined the scope or timing of the tree clearing that will be necessary along the remainder of the Trail,” Woomer wrote to NOVA Parks. He said those decisions would follow a comprehensive review of the remaining trees and further community engagement.

The timing of the pause has nevertheless generated more frustration. A Dominion representative told the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors at its March 18 meeting that cutting would stop after about two more weeks. Dominion later said the pause would begin when the Vienna-area work was finished.

NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert said the resulting five-week timeline differed from the two weeks initially promised.

A spokesperson for Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, whose district includes Vienna, said Alcorn was disappointed that the pause did not cover the four-mile section where the clearing is already taking place.

Officials dispute Dominion’s outreach claims

Woomer said Dominion had spent months communicating about the Vienna-Dunn Loring project through meetings, mailers, digital advertisements and trail signs.

Dominion and engineering consultant Dewberry presented the project to the Vienna Town Council in early June 2024, when survey crews were still marking the utility easement. At that meeting, Dewberry project manager Andrew Dahlman said forestry crews would evaluate danger trees and could remove anything within the easement capable of falling near or striking a line.

That explanation came after council members warned against aggressive trimming.

Dominion also appeared before the Vienna Transportation Safety Commission in July. Khan said the utility conducted targeted outreach with elected officials, government staff, neighborhoods and businesses and distributed numerous mailers.

Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert said Dominion assured town officials that new trees would be planted along the trail. However, recent discussions with NOVA Parks have not produced a broader commitment to tree replacement.

Dominion’s late-February proposal included pollinator meadows across 50 affected acres but offered tree replanting only at the Vienna Town Green, according to Gilbert.

“We expect Dominion to keep its word by planting suitable, native trees in its regional park easement in Vienna,” Colbert said. She argued that planting would help restore wildlife habitat and other natural resources lost during the clearing.

Gilbert said NOVA Parks did not receive a clear explanation of the project’s removal plan—or notice that Dominion was ending the voluntary agreement in place since 2005—until after cutting began in November. He said the park agency learned only in late February that Dominion was considering clearing trees along all 33 miles of trail shared with its power lines.

“Communications related to the current and planned cutting have been an issue,” Gilbert wrote to Dominion, adding that NOVA Parks hoped greater transparency would become standard.

Staff for Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said calendar records showed no Dominion meeting with the supervisor about the project and no public meetings in her district, which includes Dunn Loring and Idylwood.

Alcorn’s office similarly said the supervisor had no project meetings with Dominion before construction. Dominion did arrange a Feb. 5, 2024, conference call with staff from several supervisors’ offices and the Town of Vienna, but an Alcorn spokesperson said the discussion offered little beyond information on the project website and focused on trail detours rather than tree removal.

Residents outside Vienna also reported limited outreach. An Idylwood resident said Providence District stakeholders did not receive the town halls and community meetings that were offered in Vienna.

Falls Church resident and wildlife conservation professional Danielle Brigida said she had not heard of a neighborhood meeting about the project since 2021. She criticized both the speed of the work and Dominion’s communication, warning that the area’s native tree canopy supports pollinators, insects, birds and mammals.

Restoration remains unsettled

Dominion and NOVA Parks are still discussing a long-term restoration plan involving pollinator meadows, low-growing native plants and increased control of invasive species.

“Our goal is to develop a plan that supports the Trail’s natural habitat and preserves low-growing native species, while also protecting the safe and reliable operation of the transmission lines,” Woomer wrote. “We’re confident we can achieve both goals.”

NOVA Parks may now develop its own proposal with local governments and present it to Dominion. Gilbert said that plan would call for substantial habitat restoration in damaged areas and a selective process for future cutting that follows high environmental standards.

“We need a thoughtful approach to the W&OD that honors that value of the park,” he said.