Natural Resource Monitoring at Shenandoah National Park

The last remnants of fall cling to the trees as the sun begins to set on Bearfence
Fall colors at Bearfence, Shenandoah National Park.

NPS / Brett Raeburn

Shenandoah National Park is one of ten parks in the Mid-Atlantic Network which is part of a nation-wide effort of the National Park Service to generate scientifically sound information on the changing conditions of park ecosystems. Park staff conduct natural resource management activities, but also monitor the status and long-term trends of natural resources in order to better inform management decisions. Each year, park staff and volunteers collect information for several natural resource monitoring programs.

To learn more about these programs and key findings, choose from the options below.

Monitoring Programs

  • A view from an overlook on a mountain looking into a valley with foothills in the distance
    Air Quality

    Park managers benefit from knowing the type and extent of various air pollutants in order to evaluate their impacts on park resources.

  • Staff searching for benthic macroinvertebrates in a rocky creek
    Benthic Macroinvertebrates

    Staff at this park have sampled benthic macroinvertebrates for 25 years, initially in response to gypsy moth defoliation.

  • Brook trout swimming in a rocky stream
    Fish

    The relatively pristine and high elevation streams found in Shenandoah currently support increasingly rare coldwater fish communities.

  • Forest in the fall in Petersburg National Battlefield Park, with all of the leaves turned to yellow
    Forest Vegetation

    All Mid-Atlantic Network parks have forests that form an essential part of the landscape and provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife.

  • Device recording water chemistry at the edge of a stream beside a data sheet and pencil
    Water Quality & Quantity

    Monitoring water quality & quantity helps the National Park Service fulfill its duty to protect pristine (or improve impaired) park waters.

  • Climate monitoring station in a grassy clearing, with many scientific instruments scattered about.
    Weather & Climate

    Climate is a dominant factor driving the physical and ecologic processes affecting Mid-Atlantic Network parks.

Website Articles

Showing results 1-6 of 6

  • NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Shenandoah National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    mountain ridges and valleys

    Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

  • Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park System

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Hopewell Culture National Historical Park,Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site,Horseshoe Bend National Military Park,Hot Springs National Park,Hovenweep National Monument,
    • Offices: Appalachian Highlands Inventory & Monitoring Network,Arctic Inventory & Monitoring Network,Central Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network,Chihuahuan Desert Inventory & Monitoring Network,Cumberland Piedmont Inventory & Monitoring Network,
    A toad sits on red sand, looking into the camera.

    To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation.

  • 2023 Weather in Review: Shenandoah National Park

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Shenandoah National Park
    • Offices: Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network
    A visitor on an overlook with a pink sunset over wooded mountains.

    It was a record-setting year at Shenandoah National Park as 2023 was the warmest year ever recorded (since 1895) in the eight counties surrounding the park. It was also a dry year, ranking as the 28th driest on record.

  • 2022 Weather in Review: Shenandoah National Park

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Shenandoah National Park
    • Offices: Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network
    Silhouette of a tree against a blue sky with clouds

    In all, 2022 was warmer and wetter than average at Shenandoah National Park. The year ended as the 21st warmest and 35th wettest on record.

  • 2021 Weather In Review: Shenandoah National Park

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Shenandoah National Park
    • Offices: Mid-Atlantic Inventory & Monitoring Network
    Pink sunrise over mountains.

    Shenandoah National Park experienced an extremely warm 2021 with total precipitation that was below normal. The year ended as the 4th warmest and 41st driest year since 1895.

  • Bat Population Monitoring in Shenandoah National Park

    • Type: Article
    • Locations: Shenandoah National Park
    A little brown bat clinging to the side of a tree.

    Shenandoah National Park supports a number of rare species, many of which can be found at higher elevations in the park. Researchers have recently discovered that several rare bat species also prefer the park's mountaintops during summer months. Scientists are using acoustic detectors, radio telemetry, and mist nets, to better understand the park's bat communities.

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Park Monitoring Documents

Resource briefs are short PDFs summarizing our monitoring programs or results.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 4876 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Periodically, we publish reports that describe what we are learning in the field. These monitoring reports are more in-depth than resource briefs and include data analysis and a discussion of our findings.

Source: Data Store Saved Search 4879 (results presented are a subset). To search for additional information, visit the Data Store.

Last updated: January 21, 2022

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