NoVA County Boards Ask Dominion To Pull Back On W&OD Trail Tree Clear Cutting

VIENNA, VA — After residents around Vienna have been raising concerns about clear-cutting of trees for Dominion Energy work, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and regional counterparts are seeking to curb additional tree removal.

The tree clearing along about four miles of the W&OD Trail in the Vienna and Dunn Loring areas relates to an electric line replacement project to address growing electricity needs by Dominion Energy. FFX Now reported that the extent of tree removal that began in November 2024 has shocked local residents and W&OD Trail owner NOVA Parks. Dominion Energy has transmission lines along 33 of the W&OD Trail's 45 miles.

Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D-Hunter Mill), whose district includes the Town of Vienna, noted the resolution was a suggestion from W&OD Trail owner NOVA Parks. The resolution calls for Dominion Energy to stop its plans to remove most trees in areas of the trail with transmission lines. Instead, the resolution suggests pruning of trees that could impact transmission lines. The approved resolution calls for Dominion Energy to set a vegetation height limit to allow for wider variety of native trees. In areas where trees must be removed, the resolution asks Dominion Energy to replant with native species vegetation that supports pollinators.

"It's not often that we discuss at the Board of Supervisors the clear-cutting of a park, but that's what we're talking about here," said Alcorn at Tuesday's meeting. "Granted, it's not every park that is co-located with a Dominion easement and also includes high transmission lines. This is something that they started doing already."

According to Alcorn's resolution, Dominion Energy has removed "virtually all of the trees" in the four-mile stretch from Vienna to Dunn Loring. The resolution stated that Dominion Energy wants to remove many of the trees along the 33 miles where transmission lines exist between Shirlington in Arlington County to west of Leesburg in Loudoun County. Dominion Energy has indicated it doesn't want vegetation that could grow over 10 feet tall on the 33 miles with transmission lines.

Chairman Jeff McKay (D-at large) noted that along with Loudoun and Arlington counties' boards, Falls Church City Council is considering a similar resolution.

"What we're asking for here is a middle ground," said McKay. "None of us are interested in impeding the flow of electricity, but by the same token this is a park largely. We see it as a trail but it's also parkland to most people and there's certainly a better way, a more controlled way to do this."

At the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, the board heard from Dominion Energy's Rob Richardson about the justification for removing trees. Richardson said during the four-mile project between Vienna and Dunn Loring, trees that had grown up were causing electricity reliability concerns.

"During that time, we decided to look at the rest of the trail, about 36 miles or so," said Richardson. "We've identified what we think are reliability concerns for the trees along the trail."

Richardson told the board the company would look into pollinator habitats and other vegetation that wouldn't interfere with the transmission lines.

Loudoun County's resolution adopted on Tuesday mentioned the selective tree trimming approach Dominion Energy used under a previous memorandum of understanding with NOVA Parks. According to FFX Now's report, the utility provider backed away from a voluntary agreement with NOVA Parks from 2005 on vegetative clearing on the trail. The agreement called for limiting vegetative removal to trees that could get in the way of power lines.

At Loudoun County's meeting, Supervisor Juli Briskman (D-Algonkian) said she hosts bike rides on the W&OD trail many weekends. She noted growing new trees to maturity would take 20 to 30 years.

"I will tell you from my experience over the last 20 years, when that W&OD is not shaded, it is brutal," said Briskman. "It is absolutely brutal and unhealthy. I know folks might not believe it, but there's a lot of wildlife you see when you're on that trail. There's turtles, there's snakes, there's deer."

After the Vienna-Dunn Loring project, Richardson said the company would pause and examine other spans of the trail for trees causing reliability concerns that may need to be removed.