Fairfax County’s supervisors consider that grassland birds deserve a protected nesting floor, even when it’s atop a former landfill.
The Board of Supervisors directed county staff on Feb. 20 to work with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia to determine areas inside the I-95 Landfill Complex in Lorton the place mowing might be minimized to guard grassland birds throughout their nesting season.
Owned by Furnace Associates, Inc., the landfill stopped accepting building and demolition particles in 2018, finishing the everlasting closure course of — which concerned capping and vegetation planting — in 2021.
Since its closure, the positioning has change into a habitat for 100 species of grassland birds, together with grasshopper sparrows, jap meadowlarks, bobolinks and American kestrels.
“These are all birds of concern because of declining grassland habitats,” Greg Butcher, the previous director of fowl conservation for the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, advised FFXnow in an e-mail.
The Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) at present has an settlement with the Audubon Society to allow fowl monitoring on the landfill.
Recently, the environmental organization reached out to the board, urging the county to think about restrictions on mowing in the course of the nesting season, from April 1 to mid-July, as a result of its potential to destroy nests and eggs and hurt fledglings and grownup birds.
However, since federal and state rules require mowing for post-closure upkeep of the landfill, DPWES and the Audubon Society should collaborate with DEQ to plan a method that each preserves nesting birds and ensures access to the landfill cowl and gasoline wells, whereas additionally sustaining correct drainage.
Representatives from DPWES and the Audubon Society are set to begin discussions quickly and intention to formulate a plan within the upcoming weeks, DPWES Deputy Director Eric Forbes advised FFXnow in an e-mail.
“We are anticipating about a month for the development and coordination of the pilot plan to try to be ready for this season’s bird nesting,” he stated. “The pilot plan would include a map showing no mow areas, access pathways to our landfill infrastructure (gas wells and stormwater conveyance), and a schedule for mowing in non-peak nesting season.”
For its half, the Audubon Society plans to ship volunteers to map the places of the birds and their potential nesting areas, Butcher says. But he famous the organization doesn’t know but how massive the “no-mow” space will should be.
It’s additionally unclear how a lot the mission will cost, however the board requested employees to offer an estimate in a report.
The county’s future plans for the now-closed elements of the landfill embody a photo voltaic panel array, a public park with trails, an amphitheater and different facilities, and doubtlessly, an indoor snowboarding facility from the Tysons-based firm Alpine-X.
