Trees are one of the most magnificent aspects of the beauty of nature that surrounds us. Belvoir means "beautiful view" in French, and the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Act) of 2005 set a series of events in motion that would ensure the view at Fort Belvoir would remain beautiful. In accordance with the plan from 2005, Fort Belvoir's future would include the major construction and growth of personnel we see today in 2012.
The massive and recently opened Fort Belvoir Community Hospital has replaced the relatively small Dewitt Army Hospital. The post has increased in size with the addition of Fort Belvoir North which can be accessed off of Fairfax County Parkway. A number of military and government organizations which were previously not on the post are now up and running. And of course, these events have led to an increase in the number of military and civilian personnel and residents on the post.
Influenced by the 2005 BRAC plan, Command Policy letters and the 2001 Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan; the post's leadership looked at the environmental impact of biological resources. The resource management plan established a policy of replacing trees at a two-for-one ratio. The leadership capitalized on this with its 2007 Record of Decision, which affirmed, that any tree of four inches or more in diameter removed to install a re-locatable building would be replaced with two other trees on Fort Belvoir property.
"We made a promise to the community to uphold our precious natural resource of trees through a tree replacement policy, which states that any removed tree over four inches in circumference due to construction, must be replaced by two trees," said Col. Mark Moffat, Deputy Garrison Commander for BRAC and Transformation. "While the revegetation and landscaping projects are ongoing, we want the community to know we're keeping our word. Thousands of specimen trees and seedlings, from oak to pine, have been planted to date with more to come during the spring planting period."
The beauty of Belvoir's natural resources is visibly being maintained throughout the post. In addition to post-wide tree planting, stream restoration is taking place alongside Surveyor Road and landscaping in the main post area is receiving a lot of work and attention. Brice Bartley of the Environmental Natural Resource Division said the largest ongoing project is the Fort Belvoir North revegetation. Thousands of seedlings are being planted to offset the tree loss due to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency contruction and infrastructure expansions.
"We're working hard to plant things that would grow here naturally (Oak, Dutch Elm and Downy Serviceberry). This is not only beneficial to wildlife, but to us managing these trees to make sure the trees have the best shot of surviving, " said Bartley. He explained that the average tree planted in the urban landscape only survives for seven years due to poor initial planting and cultural practices. He said, "anything we can do to buy something a little tougher gives real benefits." Each seedling that is planted has a tree tube placed around it with a wooden stake. The three-foot tall orange tubes create a greenhouse effect by maintaining moisture and warmth for the one-foot tall seedlings. Long gone are the days when an Army post was maintained solely by GIs cutting the grass with lawnmowers and trimming bushes with a machete. Contractors from professional landscaping companies and other organizations are now accomplishing the task. Contractors, soldiers and civilians are working together to maintain the natural beauty of Fort Belvoir for years to come.
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