The Northern Virginia Daily

Article date: June 16, 2007

Signs of wildlife are welcomed at cleanup of former Avtex site

By: Robert King

The chirping of birds can mean wonders for the people behind the cleanup of the former Avtex Fibers rayon plant.

The site of the former plant is undergoing a massive cleanup effort, and eventually will be home to an industrial park and conservancy area.  As the cleanup continues, scientists and researchers are monitoring the land for signs that wildlife is returning.

“Aside from just cleaning up the contamination, a real, solid ecological habitat has to be restored,” said John Torrence, and environmental contractor who is the site manager.

The plant, once a major employer in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, was classified as a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1986.  The plant closed in 1989.  FMC Corp., a former owner of the plant, has been funding the cleanup since 1999. 

One part of the effort focuses on 240 acres of viscose and sulfate landfills and basins near the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, where the conservancy park and an open area will be located.

The EPA is supervising the capping of the basins and landfills.

Researchers identify wildlife by sightings, the sounds of certain species, and locating eggs.

The purpose of the surveys is to chart the health of the ecosystem, said M. Victoria McDonald, a research associate with the Smithsonian Institution’s Conservation and Research Center, which is located near Front Royal.

Researchers detected 55 – 60 bird species from 2001 to 2004, according to a report from William McShea, a wildlife biologist with the Smithsonian.

“There hasn’t been much change in the populations during that time,” he writes.  “This is good news because the amount of disturbance at the site has been tremendous.  As the site restoration nears completion, it will be interesting to observe which bird species arrive and which disappear.”

McDonald particularly wants to know if wildlife is reproducing on the site because that indicates a healthy ecosystem.

“Amphibians are the best indicators of the health of an ecosystem,” McDonald said.  “Amphibians are sensitive to toxic [conditions] and air quality,”

So far McDonald hasn’t found any evidence of amphibian reproduction.  McDonald said she is confident some species of birds are reproducing in addition to other species, such as deer.

McDonald said since the redeveloped land is bare and near the river, it could bring some unwanted plants to the ecosystem.

She pointed out one invasive plant called an ailanthus tree

that has sprouted on the site.  The tree takes proteins that native trees rely on.

Even though the trees threaten the foliage, cleanup officials cannot cut them down because of EPA’s rules, Torrence said.

Redevelopment efforts at some areas of the site have enabled new habitats to emerge, he said.

Cleanup officials moved a sulfate basin near the South Fork because the chemicals could have contaminated the river over time due to erosion, Torrence said.

“When we were done we had a pond,” he said.  “That pond is about 6 to 10 feet deep, and one of the trespasser issues we have is fishermen”.

The conservancy area calls for other former sulfate basins to be turned into wetlands, Torrence added.

McDonald writes in a report that the wildlife recovery isn’t the only aspect on the land that will change when the cleanup is finished.