Reston's Environmental Advisory Committee is set to discuss and potentially vote on a bird-strike prevention plan Tuesday.
The panel will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Reston Association headquarters. Bird-strike prevention is the only discussion-and-action item on the agenda. EAC Chair Surekha Sridhar will lead the discussion, which centers on a five-point strategy memo first circulated at the committee's June meeting.
That memo proposes joining the Lights Out Coalition, partnering with the Wildlife Rescue League to obtain Reston-specific collision data from spring 2025 surveys, engaging Northern Virginia Bird Alliance Advocacy Chair Tom Blackburn, piloting a "Bird Safe Reston" recognition program for building managers and encouraging residents to report bird carcasses to iNaturalist.
EAC member Eric Goplerud identified the central Reston corridor, where larger, brighter buildings are concentrated, as a priority area at the committee's May meeting. The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance, headquartered on the Walker Nature Center campus in Reston, estimates more than 100 million birds pass over northern Virginia each spring migration, many flying at night when artificial light can disorient them.
"Bird Safe Reston is a great idea, but this will need a present detailed proposal for the Board," Sridhar said in a May 27 email to committee members, noting that any formal partnership with an outside organization requires RA Board of Directors approval.
Associate Member Christine Eustis has pushed for the committee to request bird-friendly windows and bird-friendly lighting as conditions in land use application reviews, connecting the issue directly to Reston's development pipeline.
RASER 2026 progress
The meeting also includes a progress update on RASER 2026, the Reston Association State of the Environment Report.
The 2025 RASER Report Card, tracking 91 recommendations, was accepted unanimously by the RA Board in February. Of those 91 items, 53 were progressing, 18 showed no substantial progress and 17 showed limited progress. The most recent full report, published in June 2024, rated Reston's stormwater management and climate change response as "poor," urban forests and lakes as "fair" and drinking water as "good."
The 2026 edition is being prepared in a condensed format. Anne Buckelew, a former U.S. Forest Service employee in urban and community forestry, volunteered for the urban forest section. Eden Anderson was added to the land use chapter.
Eustis will also present the EAC Communications Plan, a near-final draft covering the Reston Sustainability Challenge, web presence, events coordination and deer communications.
Environmental Program Manager Ben Rhoades will deliver a staff update touching on the golf course land use conversation, a hydrilla monitoring and management plan for Lake Thoreau and a certified invasive removal volunteer pilot program.
How to attend
The meeting is open to the public. Residents can attend in person at RA headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, or join via Zoom (Meeting ID: 843 1506 8468; Passcode: 312738). The meeting is scheduled to end around 8:30 p.m.
The EAC meets the first Tuesday of each month. Its next meeting is expected Tuesday, Aug. 4.
