Article Text

Nearly a year after complaints from Northern Virginia communities prompted Dominion Energy to pause tree cutting along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, the utility and NOVA Parks have reached a new agreement governing vegetation work.

The memorandum of understanding seeks to balance the safe, reliable operation of Dominion’s transmission lines with the safety and experience of people using the popular walking and biking trail.

Dominion will provide 30 days’ advance notice of transmission projects and major maintenance by mail and signs posted along the trail. NOVA Parks, nearby local officials and residents will receive the notices.

Before major work begins, Dominion must also give NOVA Parks a GPS vicinity map showing the location, an inventory of affected tree species and sizes, and plans for new plantings and invasive-species treatment.

The utility will replant selected portions of an approximately four-mile stretch in the Vienna and Dunn Loring areas where cutting occurred in 2024 and 2025.

The agreement calls for pruning existing trees when feasible, although it acknowledges that some removals will remain necessary. It also promotes controlling invasive species and planting low-growing native trees and pollinator-friendly vegetation to improve the trail’s appearance and long-term health.

Dominion purchased the W&OD property in 1968 to build electric transmission lines. It sold the land to the park authority in 1977 under an agreement allowing the utility to maintain the broader transmission right of way.

The new framework follows repeated disputes over how to maintain those lines while limiting disruption and damage along the trail.