A Dominion Energy transmission tower in the right-of-way of the W&OD Trail in the Town of Herndon Photo by Mercia Hobson.
2025 is shaping up to be a watershed year for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's W&OD Trail, also known as the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park and Dominion Energy. It is at a point where the course of events can irrevocably alter the park’s future.
“Fantastic news,” Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks), said on Friday, May 23, before the start of the Memorial Day weekend.
"We proposed a draft MOU to Dominion Energy on Arbor Day, April 25, and what we got this week was a message from Dominion, a very positive message that Dominion is interested in developing an MOU for the future,” Gilbert said. “We are currently scheduling the follow-ups and advancing that matter." Dominion is also amenable to working with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to develop a replanting and restoration plan, according to Gilbert.
Dominion suspended and previous understanding, and cleared a four-mile path in the Vienna-Dunn Loring area. While clear-cutting can be a necessary tool in certain situations, it can be a contentious practice, particularly in areas such as parks. Clear cutting can destroy natural habitats, reduce biodiversity, and negatively impact water quality and carbon sequestration.
People often refer to the W&OD Trail as the skinniest park in Virginia. It is a 100-foot-wide park that runs 45 miles through the urban heartland of Northern Virginia and into the countryside. The park connects Shirlington, five miles southwest of the District of Columbia, and Purcellville, situated in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Down the park’s center is a 45-mile paved trail for running, cycling, or skating built on the former roadbed of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad. The trail has become a walking and cycling commuting route, taking vehicles off the crowded roads. There is a parallel gravel bridle path dedicated to horseback riding that runs alongside the paved trail for approximately 32 miles of the park's 45 miles.
Vegetation and trees grow on each side of the trail’s pavement, providing a green ribbon and a wildlife corridor through a highly developed part of Northern Virginia, and shading much of the trail. It is within the green ribbon that Dominion Energy (then VEPCO) developed its electric transmission lines after purchasing the property in 1968. In 1977, Dominion sold the property to NOVA Parks for $3.6 million to develop the Trail, while retaining the right to an easement to maintain its electric transmission lines.
Gilbert acknowledged there have not been any follow-up meetings since the clear cutting. NOVA Parks is assembling a team of arborists and landscape architects to develop the replanting plan and is seeking Dominion's comments on the draft Memorandum of Understanding.
"The new MOU we are developing is primarily a response to cutting practices that the community considers unacceptable," Gilbert said.
Gilbert recalled that on March 18, the Arlington County Board, Fairfax Board of Supervisors, and Loudoun Board of Supervisors all voted unanimously on the same day to request that Dominion cease cutting, adopt a selective cutting plan, and reengage with NOVA Parks on a Memorandum of Understanding. Since that time, the City of Falls Church, the Town of Vienna, and the Town of Herndon have all passed similar resolutions.
"So it really is the Northern Virginia community at large that has said to Dominion, the W&OD Trail is more than a power line right away. It is one of the most used and valued parks in all of Virginia, and we want to see it maintained as a park," Gilbert said.
Gilbert clarified that a memorandum of understanding is an agreement, but it may not be fully legally binding. NOVA Parks had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Dominion from 2005 until late 2024, which covered vegetative management on the community trail. “That MOU originated in response to a similar, very aggressive cutting by Dominion that occurred in 2004-2005. So it did happen about 20 years ago," Gilbert said.
On March 26, of this year in letter addressed to Gilbert regarding Dominion Energy Work Along the W&OD Trail, Joseph Woomer, senior vice president, Electric Transmission, Dominion Energy Virginia wrote, “The forestry work we are currently performing on the four-mile section of the Trail in Fairfax and Vienna is is vitally important for the safe and reliable operation of the transmission lines along the trail.”
Woomer said that it had been 20 years since Dominion last performed “significant forestry maintenance in the area, and tree growth now poses a risk of coming into contact with the transmission lines alongside the Trail.” He added that trees could potentially touch or fall on the lines, thereby "jeopardizing reliability of customers’ electric service and the integrity of the regional grid.” It could also result in substantial penalties if they did not comply with federal requirements overseen by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
Woomer said after community feedback, Dominion decided to “temporarily pause” additional forestry work; it has not determined the scope or timing of future tree clearing, and such will not be determined until after “a comprehensive review of the remaining trees and engag[ing] with the community.”
Gilbert acknowledged the need for reliable power lines; no one wants trees to grow into power lines. But they have the opportunity to create a "beautiful park under the power lines," which includes trees, bushes, and flowering meadows.
Gilbert reaffirmed that the draft MOU focuses on plants that support pollinators, such as flowering plants, meadows, bushes, and trees, all of which are native to the area. It would significantly improve the biodiversity and ecological value of the W&OD.
Gilbert added that numerous invasive plants require attention. It's not just planting the new stuff," Gilbert said. There are "really aggressive plants that are nonnative that choke out the native plants. … With an intentional focus, we can make the W&OD into a beautiful garden of native plants," Gilbert said.
Woomer concluded his letter saying, “We are working with NOVA Parks on a long-term plan for re-plantings of pollinator areas and low-growing native species, as well as enhanced control of invasive species along the entire Trail. 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.