Environmental groups are seeking a full trail along the GW Parkway

A coalition of environmental rights groups hopes so recent controversy over the felling of trees along the Potomac River prompts creative thinking about the future.

Leaders of the nine organizations sent a letter to Christine Smith, acting director of the National Park Service. George Washington Memorial Park (GWMP). While much of the letter focused on cutting down the trees, there was also a call to find ways to redeem and move forward.

“As an example, the National Park Service could use the George Washington Memorial Park land on the Arlington Boulevard side to create a GWMP-Arlington County connected trail along the entire length of the Arlington Wall from Rosslyn to Pimmit Run,” the organizations wrote. .

“A trail like this will open up numerous stunning views of the Potomac Gorge and create entirely new opportunities for hiking in the DC area,” they said.

National Park Service officials in mid-September announced plans to rehabilitate 15 “historical views” between North Donaldson Overlook and Spout Run Parkway. About three hectares of trees, mostly non-native and invasive species, were planned to be removed.

The initiative aimed to provide a better view of the river for those at road level. However, after criticism from some members of the community, it stopped after a few weeks at Smith’s behest.

The groups that sent the joint letter joined critics who say the original plan didn’t make sense.

“The majority of GWMP users are commuters traveling on the parkway, which is a two-lane road in each direction with little or no shoulder, at speeds above 60 mph,” they wrote.

The authors argued that tree-clearing efforts violated the spirit, if not necessarily the letter, of state and local environmental laws and ordinances.

Signatories included the Bird Alliance of Northern Virginia, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Faith Alliance for Climate Change, Friends of Dyke Marsh, Friends of Little Hunting Creek Conservancy, Sierra Club Great Falls Group, Sierra Club Potomac River Group and the Virginia Native Plant Society.