City of Alexandria officials are hosting a meeting to update residents on a proposed “natural channel restoration” project that has drawn criticism from local environmentalists.
The meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. via Zoom (register here).
The Taylor Run project covers about 1,900 feet of stream near the Chinquapin Recreation Center and in Chinquapin and Forest Parks. The project is intended to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, but local environmental groups say “natural channel restoration” in this case would do more harm than good.
Environmental Council of Alexandria members and local residents are most concerned about the removal of potentially hundreds of trees in an attempt to “restore” the stream to a prior state. According to documents, the City of Alexandria plans to plant new trees and shrubs to replace those lost.
In a letter to City Council sent ahead of Tuesday night’s meeting, the Environmental Council of Alexandria wrote, “The project will not result in better water quality in the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay, as required under federal and state guidelines. It will cause significant environmental damage to existing trees, plants, wetlands and other fauna that still flourish in this section of the watershed, far more than is either desirable or necessary.”
They attached to the letter an analysis document by John Field, an experienced fluvial geomorphologist from Portland, Maine, who the group engaged to conduct a preliminary review of the plans for Taylor Run.
The group has started a GoFundMe campaign that has so far raised $1,050 of a $5,000 goal. Funds would be used to hire an outside expert who would work with Alexandria to restore streams like Taylor Run “in a much more natural, sensitive way.”
