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Natural Resources
Shenandoah National Park includes 300 square miles of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southern Appalachians. The park rises above the Virginia Piedmont to its east and the Shenandoah Valley to its west. Two peaks exceed 4,000 feet. The range of elevation, slopes and aspects, rocks and soils, precipitation, and latitude create a mix of habitats.
Tens of thousands of living creatures make their homes in the park, from black bear resting beneath rock overhangs, to tiny aquatic insects darting through cool mountain streams. The park�s many worlds are fascinating to explore.
Most of Shenandoah�s landscape is forested. In the process of photosynthesis, converting light, water, and minerals into foods, green plants give off water. From a distance this air-born water creates a faint haze giving the Blue Ridge its name. In recent years, the haze has taken on other ingredients, introduced by the human species. Air is among the resources the staff at Shenandoah National Park is duty bound to protect.
Hardwood forests dominate the park. The forests are the result of many disturbances, some measured in geologic time, others in minutes. Remnants of boreal forests remind us that continental glaciers came near. Strands of barbed wire embedded in trunks mark the edges of former pastures. Uprooted trees show the path Tropical Storm Fran made in 1996.
Plants
Plants are keys to life. They produce oxygen and are basic foods for living creatures. Shenandoah National Park is home to a wonderful mix of plant life, from algae to oak trees. The northern Blue Ridge Mountains have about 1600 different species of higher plants. Fewer than one hundred of these are trees and shrubs that make up the dominant vegetation that is visible year round.
The basic elements determining the species which dominate an area include: available moisture during the growing season, length of the growing season, extremes in temperature, soils, and the land disturbance patterns. Shenandoah is part of the North American Hardwood Shield. The requirements of deciduous trees such as oaks, hickories, and maples are so generously provided that they are able to thrive as the dominant plant life.
Much of Shenandoah today is an �oak-hickory� forest. That label is just a starting point. The forests would be incomplete without rose azalea, jack-in-the-pulpit, interrupted fern, lady slipper orchid, and British soldiers lichen. Whether a person likes to photograph wildflowers or needs to study fungi, Shenandoah National Park offers tremendous opportunities.
Black Bears
Black Bears are the only type of bear found in Shenandoah National Park. Although they are carnivores, their diet is quite varied. They'll eat grubs and other insects, roots, flowers, grasses, acorns, fruit, and carrion, as well as ground hogs, deer, and other mammals. Bears in the park enter winter dens in October and November, but some may rove about all winter if the temperature is mild. Females will have their cubs around February, and nurse their infants in the den. They'll emerge in April or May, usually after the adult males have been out of their own dens for a while. Mating time is early to mid summer. A female will keep her newborn cubs with her until she is ready to mate again, every other year. The park believes there are from 300 to 500 bears in Shenandoah National Park.
Virginia White Tailed Deer
Virginia White-Tailed Deer are the mammals most often observed by visitors to Shenandoah National Park. Reintroduced to the park in the 1930s, deer have repopulated many areas. There are several thousand in the park today. They are frequently seen along Skyline Drive and in developed areas such as campgrounds and picnic areas.
Spotted fawns, born in May and June, may be seen closely following their mothers. Bucks are growing antlers, which are covered with a thin, velvety skin until the end of summer. During mating season in the fall, bucks may be seen sparring with each other with their antlers.
Although it's tempting to get close, please observe deer and all other park wildlife at a distance. There's plenty of natural food in the park for the deer. From spring through summer, they feed on leaves, flowering plants, twigs, buds, and grasses. In autumn, they rely on acorns, leaves, twigs, and wild fruit to help them to build up the energy they'll need to get through winter.
Wildlife
Over 50 species of mammals live in Shenandoah National Park. The smallest inhabitants are shrews, the largest are black bears. A variety of mammals fall somewhere between, including the little brown bat, gray squirrel, striped and spotted skunks, gray fox, bobcat, and white-tailed deer. The most exciting to see is a matter of personal preference.
Shenandoah National Park is a great place to observe wildlife. Countless visitors spend hours watching deer snip and tear plants. Other people look for tracks and scat of bobcats, listen for the rustling of raccoons in the brush, and occasionally smell striped skunks. Because hunting and trapping are prohibited, some animals appear almost tame. They are wild, however. Even beautiful brown-eyed deer will defend their young from harm. Their elegant legs are powerful and their hooves are sharp; facts some creatures insist on learning the hard way.
Mammals are some of the most obvious residents of the park. Black bear and white-tailed deer are excellent subjects for studies that provide information not just on their lives, but about the complex ecosystem of the southern Appalachians.
Deer, bear, bobcat, turkey, and animals that were rare or absent have now returned. Deer and smaller are often seen. Bear are found mostly in backcountry areas but are occasionally spotted elsewhere. About 200 species of birds have been reported. A few, such as ruffed grouse, barred owl and woodpeckers are permanent residents. More are seen during the warmer months. These include flycatchers, thrushes, and 35 species of warblers. The park is home to several species of salamanders, and 2 poisonous snakes, the timber rattlesnake and the copperhead, are occasionally reported, as are several harmless species.
Endangered Species
National parks are havens for animal, plant, and insect species that may be threatened with extinction through habitat loss or changes in their environment. National parks also provide opportunities to study and preserve the ecosystems that may help us to prevent loss of species in and outside the parks.
74 rare species and community types have been recorded in Shenandoah National Park. In a 1993 report, the authors wrote: "The significant number of natural heritage resources in Shenandoah National Park is testimony to its rich biodiversity. The park's large area, range of elevations, varied topography, and assemblage of substrates provide diverse conditions suitable for more rare species and significant natural communities than any other Mid-Atlantic Region national park unit." (Report of the Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage)
The park is home to the globally rare Shenandoah Salamander, found only in a few locations here and nowhere else in the world. State-rare species include the Zorro Clubtail, a type of dragonfly; birds such as the Winter Wren and Blackburnian Warbler; Gray Birch, a northern tree; and plants such as Herb Robert, Speckled Alder, Canadian Burnet, Blue Flag Iris, Leathery Grape-Fern, and Large Purple-Fringed Orchis.
From 1994 to 1998, a pair of Peregrine Falcons nested in the park, raising a total of eight chicks. The couple was the only known nesting pair of wild falcons in the mountains of Virginia. In 1999, the female did not return, and, since falcons mate for life, she was presumed dead. We hope that the male will return in 2000 and attract another female, and that other falcon nests will be located in the park. Falcons came back to Shenandoah only after a five-year reintroduction effort, mandated by the Endangered Species Act.
Air Quality
Air pollution, like the wind that carries it, knows no boundaries. Research and monitoring of air quality and its effects in Shenandoah National Park has shown that air pollution is affecting park resources. That same air pollution, however, is affecting lands and people outside the park. The amount of air pollution being generated in Virginia has steadily increased during the past ten years. Exceptionally fast growth in northern Virginia, coupled with an increasing use of coal to fire new power plants, could more than double the amount of air pollution that was emitted in Virginia in 1985.
Shenandoah National Park has five major concerns about air pollution and its impacts to park resources:
Air pollution is everyone's problem, and it will take everyone working together to clear the air and keep it clear. Anyone who uses electricity, anyone who rides in a car or bus, contributes to air pollution. We can all be a part of the solution by conserving energy and recycling waste products. Because we are all stewards of the resources we have, we should work together to take care of them.
Water
A variety of insects and other water dwellers without spinal columns are the aquatic invertebrates of Shenandoah. Rarely do their images appear on postcards, but aquatic invertebrates are important. They are primary indicators of stream health.
While humans and other mammals visit the cool mountain streams, aquatic invertebrates make their homes in them. They may spend one or all of their life cycles in streams. Their lives depend immediately upon the water quality.
What is learned about aquatic invertebrates goes beyond the park�s boundary. Shenandoah�s streams form the headwaters of three of Virginia�s nine watersheds, all of which empty into the Chesapeake Bay. When the dragonfly larvae are healthy in Shenandoah National Park, it�s good news for the enormous estuary downstream.
Seasons of Shenandoah National Park
Spring begins in March with the blooming of red maple, serviceberry, and hepatica. Chipmunks and groundhogs appear. The weather may change quickly. The green of the leafy trees moves up the ridge at the rate of about 100 feet a day and does not reach peak until late May. Wildflowers bloom during April and May, and the large-flowered trillium carpets the forest floor. Pink azalea blooms in late May followed by mountain laurel in June. Migrating birds in the breeding plumage are numerous. The park visitor encounters new sights, colors, sound-everywhere.
Summer brings a mantle of deep green to the ridges and hollows. Many birds are nesting, and the catbird, indigo bunting, and towhee abound. Fawns are often seen. The variety of wildflowers increases as the summer progresses, and by late summer they cover the roadsides and open areas.
Fall is the season of brilliant colors and crisp days. Many people come to the park to see the brilliant fall colors, which is usually at its best between 10 - 25 October. The southward migration of birds is highlighted by large numbers of hawks moving along the ridge. Most facilities close about 01 November, but Skyline Drive remains open.
Winter, with its many clear days and lack of leaves, offers the best opportunities for distance views and finding evidence of the people who once lived here. Skyline Drive is closed during and after periods of bad weather because of the buildup of ice and snow on the road.
Between Skyline Drive and the park boundaries are ridges and valleys, hills and hollows, laced with sparkling streams and waterfalls. Trails take you into the forest of Shenandoah where you can see plants and animals and experience the beauty and peace of this vast recycled land.
Information provided from the National Park Service
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