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Though budget problems and land-use issues are important items which shouldn’t be discounted, they pale in comparison to the air quality degradation that is affecting the long, thin park which spans eight counties.
Using EPA guidelines and testing procedures, the Park Service has been monitoring air quality in Shenandoah for the past 10 years, Ms. Thomas said, and has seen a decrease in visibility, an increase in ozone pollution, and an increase in water acidity which has lead to a decrease in fish populations.
“The views from the Skyline Drive are one of the reasons why this park was established,” Ms. Thomas said. “On a good day ... you can see a little over 30 miles. In the enabling legislation for the park in the 1920s, it was documented that you could see the Washington Monument from the drive, about 70 air miles away. That doesn’t happen much anymore,” she added.
But the degradation to the park’s waters may be “the most serious thing that we have going in the Shenandoah National Park,” Ms. Thomas said.
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