Dominion Energy continues its 'vegetation-maintenance' along W&OD

by Gene Powell, Staff Writer

Dominion Energy has started a new round of clearing trees and brush near its transmission line towers along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. The work, which began Oct. 20, is expected to last three to four months.

This phase covers a 2.6-mile stretch of the trail between Vienna and the Hunter Mill Road area near Reston. In an Oct. 9 letter to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks), Dominion said it plans to remove “36 dead, dying, or diseased trees,” along with “overgrown brush and invasive plant species” within its right-of-way beside the trail. Dominion describes the work as part of its regular vegetation maintenance program, meant to keep transmission lines secure and ensure safety for trail users. The company holds an easement along much of the W&OD Trail—land access rights it retained when it sold the corridor to NOVA Parks in 1974 to establish the trail. The route had been owned earlier by the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, which shut down in 1968.

Earlier this year, Dominion’s tree-clearing between Dunn Loring and Vienna drew criticism from residents and local officials, who called it unnecessary and damaging “clear-cutting.” In response, Dominion paused its next phase and worked with park staff to develop a more selective approach, which resumed later in the summer. In its recent letter to newly appointed NOVA Parks Executive Director Justin Wilson, Dominion said it had completed a “walk-through” of the next work area with park staff—a step NOVA officials had requested before any new clearing began. Dominion also proposed meeting with park staff to finalize a replanting plan, possibly including pollinator habitats or native, low-growing trees and shrubs.

The company noted that replanting would need to start soon, before colder weather sets

in. Wilson confirmed that discussions with Dominion are ongoing. While NOVA’s earlier, more

extensive replanting and longterm vegetation management plan is no longer under consideration, he said communication between the two groups has improved. Both sides are now working toward a new “Memorandum of Understanding.”

“We walked the 2.6-mile portion of the trail recently, and while we’re still working through some details, the engagement was much better,” Wilson said, noting that the new work will be more selective and “not clear-cutting.”

Dominion’s transmission lines run beside the eastern 30 miles of the 45-mile Washington & Old Dominion Trail, managed by NOVA Parks. The trail stretches from its eastern trailhead in Shirlington through Falls Church, Vienna, Reston, and Herndon in Fairfax County, and west to Sterling, Leesburg, and Purcellville in Loudoun County.