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Dominion Energy is developing a long-term vegetation plan after its removal of trees and shrubs along four miles of the W&OD Trail drew objections from NOVA Parks and Fairfax County leaders.
The utility began clearing the corridor in November 2024 while replacing wires on the electric transmission line above the trail. Work stretched from Mill Street NE in Vienna to Sandburg Street near Dunn Loring, covering mile markers 9 through 12. NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert said Dominion also plans similar work extending into Reston.
The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park is a 100-foot-wide linear park containing the W&OD Trail. NOVA Parks administers the trail as part of the more than 10,000 acres of parkland it owns and operates across Northern Virginia.
Gilbert said Dominion performed much of the work during late fall 2024 and early winter 2025, when snow reduced use of the paved trail. Crews cleared brush and trees beneath the transmission line and within the utility easement.
Earlier vegetation agreement abandoned
Dominion withdrew from a 2005 memorandum of understanding governing vegetation management along the trail, according to Gilbert. The nonbinding agreement outlined the parties’ roles, responsibilities and goals, but participation was voluntary.
In a Dec. 12, 2024, letter to Dominion Energy representative Mark S. Allen, Gilbert warned that the withdrawal created an unwelcome vacuum for Dominion, NOVA Parks and the public.
“The W&OD Trail is unlike any other right-of-way,” Gilbert wrote, noting that millions of people use the urban park each year and thousands of residents live nearby. He said the community places high value on its trees, creating ecological and political concerns that do not exist along typical utility corridors.
Gilbert proposed converting cleared portions of the corridor into large pollinator gardens planted with carefully managed native grasses and wildflowers. Such vegetation could improve biodiversity without threatening the transmission infrastructure, he said.
His second proposal called for a new agreement requiring Dominion to pay the long-term cost of creating and maintaining pollinator gardens on every acre affected by the cutting.
Local officials press Dominion
As clearing continued, Del. Holly Seibold and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay sent separate letters to Dominion President Edward Baine on Feb. 6, 2025.
Seibold criticized the company for proceeding with extensive cutting without a comprehensive strategy to address damage to the environment and tree canopy.
She called Dominion’s rejection of the 2005 agreement “extremely unfortunate” and also objected to the company declining NOVA Parks’ native-plant restoration proposal because of its ongoing cost. Dominion offered a one-time donation, she said, but the amount was significantly below what would be needed.
Seibold urged the utility to revive a vegetation-management agreement or provide adequate funding for NOVA Parks’ plan to replant native grasses, flowers and shrubs.
McKay said the loss of vegetation harmed the park and communities in Vienna, Dunn Loring and Reston. While acknowledging Dominion’s responsibility to maintain and upgrade energy infrastructure, he urged the utility to collaborate with NOVA Parks.
“I am troubled that Dominion will not consider a new agreement with NOVA Parks,” McKay wrote. He said Dominion should take responsibility for the damage and adopt sustainable practices when capital projects disturb the land, including native planting and maintenance methods that reduce herbicide use.
Dominion changes course
On Feb. 19, nearly two weeks after the officials sent their letters, Baine responded to McKay and included Supervisor Walter Alcorn, whose district covers Vienna, Reston and part of Herndon.
Baine, president of Utility Operations and Dominion Energy Virginia, acknowledged the importance of supporting the trail while maintaining a safe and reliable electric grid.
Following additional talks with NOVA Parks and local jurisdictions, he said Dominion was developing a long-term plan that it expected to share with the park agency by the end of February.
The proposal would address ideas previously discussed with NOVA Parks, including pollinator habitat plots and stronger control of invasive species, while meeting Dominion’s requirements for transmission-grid safety and reliability.
Alcorn said he was encouraged that Dominion recognized the need for a plan to prevent the effects of widespread tree removal. He said he looked forward to seeing the company’s proposal for working with NOVA Parks to restore cleared areas along the trail.