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A new bill from D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) aims to shore up how the District maintains its forested areas by creating an office to manage invasive species that threaten native plants and make potential recreation space inaccessible to residents.
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While the federal government owns and operates 90 percent of parkland in D.C., the District owns some 500 acres of forested natural areas, according to Lewis George’s office. The city’s Departments of General Services and Transportation, among others, have roles in the upkeep of the city’s green spaces and wooded land, but their efforts are largely focused on managing trees and landscaping services — meanwhile some areas have become overrun with invasive species or turned into dumping grounds. Some of the forested areas maintained by the National Park Service have faced similar complaints.
Community groups have tried to fill the gaps through grass-roots cleanups and similar efforts, but Lewis George’s bill seeks to formalize the city government’s responsibility. Her legislation, introduced Thursday with 10 co-sponsors, would create the “Office of Natural Area Conservation” within the Department of Energy and Environment to handle trash and invasive species on city-owned forest land, promote native plants and explore ways to open up inaccessible areas through trails and signage.
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Her legislation, which does not yet have a cost estimate, gives the new office authority to develop memorandums of understanding with the National Park Service to help with the maintenance of federal forested areas; it further calls on the new office to develop long-term proposals for forest upkeep and stronger coordination among the various city agencies involved. The Park Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
“We have 500 acres of forestland in the District that could be a beautiful, viable space for us to learn, for families to experience,” Lewis George said at a news conference Thursday. “But right now, they are not managed well, they’re not managed consistently, and we need a plan for that.”
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Improved management of the city’s forests would offer an array of obvious benefits: improved air quality and additional recreational opportunities for residents top the list. However environmental advocates note how invasive species can threaten the city’s ecosystem by overwhelming saplings, hindering the growth of native trees and plants. Spending time in nature has proven health benefits for people, too, making forest maintenance a quality-of-life issue as well.
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Brenda Richardson, coordinator of the Anacostia Parks and Community Collaborative, said at the news conference that overrun forests are especially troublesome in areas of the city with a concentration of low-income neighborhoods, like Ward 8, which has over 500 acres of forestland, most of which is owned by the National Park Service and is largely inaccessible because of litter and invasive species. Despite its quantity of forest patches, Ward 8 has just a fraction of the walking trails that are available in other forested areas of the city.
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“In disfavored communities, especially east of the [Anacostia River], oftentimes we’re on life support,” Richardson said. “So as a result of that, our forests are on life support as well.”
Across the city, community and neighborhood-based groups have stepped up to keep forested parks clean, offering a boost to government agencies. The Shepherd Park Weed Warriors, made up of volunteers, formed in 2021 when neighbors took notice of invasive plants overtaking a forest in a park controlled by the Department of Parks and Recreation, said member Liz Crafford.
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They collaborated with DPR to remove the plants — but maintaining the land, she said, is a tall order for volunteers.
Lewis George’s bill looks to support them: The Office of Natural Area Conservation, if approved by the council, would be tasked with establishing a stewardship program to facilitate volunteer engagement, including technical assistance and small grant-funded support. A spokesman for Lewis George said the new office would be likely be operated by a team of three or four staff members, with a small grounds crew or local grantees handling on-site work like removal of invasive plants and vines.
“It’s a long job and a hard thing for a small group of volunteers to do,” Crafford said. “We need help, and this office is going to give us and other volunteer groups around the city inspiration to get involved in their own communities.”
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Thursday’s news conference, held in Ward 7, included a somber acknowledgment that upkeep of the city’s forests is a matter of public safety as well: Two men were shot in nearby Marvin Gaye Park on Wednesday afternoon, D.C. police said. One of the victims, a 64-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. Lewis George noted that community members have for years sought improved maintenance of the park’s forests; overgrowth is sometimes used to conceal criminal activity, she said, such as the disposal of firearms.
“As a result of this legislation, not only can the community heal, but we can start using our forest patches as a means of healing our neighborhoods that are often traumatized by gun violence and poverty and other things,” Richardson added. “This is a monumental occasion.”
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