PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2026

CONTACT:
Elena Sorokina, Communications Director
elena@smartergrowth.net; (202) 675-0016 (ext. 7085)

Kevin O’Brien, VA Organizer, the Washington Area Bicycle Association
kevin.obrien@waba.org; (202) 964-5419

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA), Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Nature Forward, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets, as part of Fairfax Healthy Communities, are excited to see that NOVA Parks and Dominion have a new agreement to steward and restore the Washington & Old Dominion Trail’s natural resources, helping to ensure the trail remains a cherished open space for its nearly 3 million annual visitors.

Under the new agreement, Dominion will replant select areas along the 4-mile stretch between Vienna and Dunn Loring that were unexpectedly clear-cut last year. Dominion will also coordinate with NOVA Parks and local jurisdictions regarding future maintenance projects that involve significant native tree loss. The new agreement also establishes, for the first time, practices to reduce invasive plants and enhance native plants, with a focus on promoting and supporting pollinators. 

Last year, Dominion clear-cut more than 350 trees and vegetation along 4 miles of the trail between Vienna and Dunn Loring without a clear restoration plan. The utility informed NOVA Parks that it would no longer follow their 2005 agreement for managing vegetation on the trail. Grassroots groups sprang into action to voice residents’ concerns. Organizations from Fairfax Healthy Communities organized a rally in September to call attention to the clear-cutting, its immense negative impacts, and the need for Dominion to change its practices and negotiate, in good faith, with NOVA Parks on a new memorandum of understanding. Meanwhile, a WABA-circulated petition garnered signatures from hundreds of residents demanding protection for the W & OD’s tree canopy.

“When Dominion clear-cut an area of the W&OD Trail, it was not just NOVA Parks that responded; it was the community,” said Paul Gilbert, former Executive Director of NOVA Parks, who worked with Dominion to develop the new agreement. “The Sierra Club, Nature Forward, WABA (Washington Area Bicycle Association), Coalition for Smarter Growth, Fairfax Alliance for Better Bicycling, and Fairfax Families for Safe Streets, as part of Fairfax Healthy Communities, mobilized in support of the natural resources. Their leadership played a key role in getting Dominion to engage in meaningful discussions about protection and restoration efforts on the W&OD Trail.”

“This was an all-hands effort,” said Kevin O’Brien, VA Organizer for the Washington Area Bicycle Association, “The W&OD is such a treasured space for so many people, and for so many different reasons. After the first trees fell and we watched the initial negotiations stalled, we knew we needed to step up together. To see all that effort culminate in an agreement that recognizes the park and trail’s value and prioritizes collaboration and sustainability is remarkable.” 

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Fairfax Healthy Communities is a network of non-profit organizations who envision a Fairfax County where people can live, work, and play in connected communities that are healthy, sustainable, and inclusive.

Fairfax Healthy Communities  —  fairfaxhealthy.org

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading organization in the Washington, DC region advocating for walkable, bikeable, inclusive, transit-oriented communities as the most sustainable and equitable way for the region to grow and provide opportunities for all.

Coalition for Smarter Growth  — smartergrowth.net