Popular Park Home To Endangered Species (NAPSA)—National parks long have served as refuges for many plant, animal and insect species, and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is no exception. This park, which includes the historic 101-mile Skyline Drive, harbors more than 200 resident and migratory bird species, 50 mammal species, 30 fish species and 51 reptile and amphibian species. In fact, the park has more species than can be foundin all of Europe, remarkable considering it is about 105 miles long and only up to a mile wide in someplaces. In its recently released “State of the Parks” report, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as a watchdog of the parks, points out that Shenandoah’s extraordinary biodiversity, including someof its rare species, may be in danger from human encroachment. Seventy-four rare species have been recorded in the park, testament to the park’s rich biodiversity, but the seldom-seen Shenandoahsalamanderis the park’s sole federally listed endangered species. The small terrestrial creature, federally listed in 1989, is especially vulnerable becauseit can be found only in a small section of the park, typically along the rocky hillsides of the Blue Ridge Mountains, The Shenandoah Salamander is just one of many endangered species found in the park. which form the eastern rampart of the Appalachians between Pennsylvania and Georgia. The Plethodon Shenandoah resemblesa lizard at first glance, but its skin is moist and without scales. Because salamanders breathe through their clammy skin, they inhabit damp areas and are most active during periods of darkness and high humidity. The salamander’s slender body can grow to be about two to four inches long. Shenandoahis the largest fully protected area in the mid-Appalachian region, but the park’s animals and plants are not completely out of harm’s way, as the “State of the Parks” report attests. The potential effects of pollution and the impact of exotic insect species on the forest, for example, influence the Shenandoahsalamander’s available habitat. Additionally, preliminary research suggests that aggressive encounters with the closely related redbacked salamander may hinder the Shenandoah salamander’s ability to find food and shelter. Although humanscannot intervene in skirmishes between the Shenandoah salamander and the red-backed salamander, increased research and protections for Shenandoah National Park and the nearby Appalachian forests that the Shenandoah salamander inhabits may help to remove this remarkable animal from thelist of federally endangered species. NPCAinitiated the State of the Parks program in 2000 to assess the health of our national parks. The goal of the program is to highlight some of the problems inherent to America’s National Park System and particular parks and to provide information that will help elected officials, the public, and the National Park Service improve conditions. More information about NPCA andthe wildlife of Shenandoah National Park is available online at www.npca.org or by calling 1-800-NAT-PARK (628-7275).
