The Fairfax County Restoration Project is a public-private partnership convened by the Office of Public-Private Partnerships at the Fairfax County Government in 2008.  The group coalesced around the deforestation of the 495 Express Lanes and the concerns voiced by organizations and homeowners impacted by this drastic change.  We held outreach meetings and workshops, VDOT's Virginia Megaprojects team joined our group and the contractors, Transurban & Fluor developed a grant program dedicated to mitigating the impacts while our legislators secured additional funding which was not part of the original contract.  We worked extensively to ensure refoliating the corridor became a reality by working to upgrade 5 of the planned stormwater ponds to create micropools now thriving with life and ensuring only native species were included in the landscaping plan.

Realizing the need for ecological restoration efforts throughout Fairfax County we decided to expand our focus areas and chartered in 2009.