The Shenandoah National Park Association, formed in 1925, became an instrument of this movement. In 9 months its members raised $1,249,000. Twenty-four thousand Virginians pledged this amount to buy up the necessary property at $6 an acre. The Virginia Assembly voted an additional million dollars to help buy up the 3,870 private tracts, and in 1926 Congress formally authorized establishment of the park.
Eight years went by before the land was totally acquired. In the interim the Skyline Drive, which early had been visualized as one of the major attractions of the park, was begun in 1931. In 1934 the first section was opened to the public.
At Big Meadows, on July 3, 1936, Shenandoah National Park was dedicated “to present and succeeding generations of Americans for the recreation and the re-creation” they were to find there.
PRESERVING THE PARK
You may wonder why dead trees and fallen logs are not removed, why streams are not dammed for swimming, and why certain plants and animals are not brought into the park and others removed.
The answer is in the fundamental policy of the National Park Service to maintain the National Parks in their natural state. The landscape scars—remnants of roads and fences, and grazed-over land—will disappear in time. The forests will come back to cover the farmlands, and in its own way the wildlife will balance and adjust to this forest ecology. These are the things you see taking place in your National Parks all over the country.
And so we ask you not to disturb the flowers or trees in any way, and not to collect rock specimens. You can help to protect the wildlife by driving carefully. Hunting is prohibited anywhere in the park.
PREPARING FOR YOUR VISIT
Books and Maps.
Knowing something about the park before your visit will help you enjoy it more. You can order books and maps from the Shenandoah Natural History Association (a nonprofit organization), c/o Shenandoah National Park, Luray, Va., or buy them at the visitor center or at park headquarters. The association will send you a list of titles and prices. The following publications are representative.