Shenandoah National Park Trust launches license plate fund drive

At this moment it’s likely someone is thinking about, preparing for, or actually visiting a certain dear friend.

This friend is always available. And during every visit it offers a multitude of things to do and paths to take, each of which invariably leads to new places and discoveries that can touch the soul.

For nearly 75 years Shenandoah National Park has been this friend to countless people. And because friendship is a partnership, there is the Shenandoah National Park Trust.

When the trust was founded in 2004 it was a committee within the National Park Foundation. The NPF is an organization established by Congress to support all 58 national parks.

In 2007 the trust decided to establish itself as an independent, nonprofit partner of the park. Its mission is to heighten awareness of all the park has to offer, and to raise funds for projects and programs that will “maintain and enhance” its natural and historic resources.

Because national parks are entities of the federal government they’re not allowed to raise funds. That’s why organizations such as SNPT are vital.

“The trust is one of dozens of what are called ‘friends groups’ of national parks throughout the country,” said Susan Sherman, executive director of the trust. “These groups have cropped up because the federal government has not been able to take care of the parks to the level they need.

“There are huge backlogs in Shenandoah, and all across the country, in maintenance projects and base-level projects such as keeping roads in shape and habitat in tact. Federal funds are not providing enough, so groups like the trust assist in providing funds so our national parks are the beautiful, thriving places they deserve to be.”

The trust recently launched a new license plate program, with the hope that it will provide a major, ongoing stream of funds for the park. The project illustrates the type of work the trust does to benefit Shenandoah.

It first got legislation approved, which allowed them to create a design for the license plate and start collecting applications. They had to get at least 350 people to submit orders for the new plate, with payment, to DMV by July 30.

Plates to spare

That deadline was successfully met, with 50 plates to spare. That success triggered DMV’s approval process, which ensures the plate meets all rules and regulations and that the design can be replicated.

If all goes smoothly the first 400 plates will be issued within eight to 10 months. At that point the plates will become available statewide.

After 1,000 plates are sold, DMV starts kicking $15 per plate back to the trust. Other partner groups that started license plate programs years ago have proven it to be very lucrative.

“Big parks like Yosemite probably bring in $800,000 to $1 million a year in revenue from their license plate programs,” said Peter G. Rice, who has served as chairman of the trust since its inception.

“It takes a long time to build up to that, but it can provide a serious amount of funds. Now that we’re an independent, nonprofit organization, we’re really positioned to start raising some serious money.

“For me this is a labor of love. My family lives in Madison County so we’re in the park all the time. All our children first hiked on our backs, and then on their feet up White Oak Canyon, Old Rag, Bearfence Rock and all these great places.

“Now our grandchildren are doing the same thing. A lot of the quality of life people who live in this area talk about is because of that park.”

Each year the superintendent of SNP and the senior staff compile a wish list of programs and projects federal dollars aren’t going to cover. The trust, which consists of 22 board members, discusses the list and then commits to a certain amount for its fundraising efforts that year.

Funds generated by the trust have been used to restore the Old Rag Overlook. Donations have also been used to finance first-response rescue equipment that has been placed near the summit of the mountain, greatly reducing response time during emergencies.

The trust is also helping to preserve the Mount Vernon Furnace, considered one of the most significant historic features in the park. The furnace may have supplied iron ore to James Madison’s iron works.

Long neglected, the furnace needs emergency stabilization. To this end the trust has provided a grant to the National Park Service Historic Preservation Training Center to conduct field investigations on the furnace to best determine how to prepare a stabilization plan.

It has also provided funds for GPS Ranger devices at the park. The hand-held guiding units provide visitors with interpretive messages regarding where they are and what they’re seeing when they reach certain coordinates during hikes.

The trust also supports the Junior Rangers Program, which provides learning experiences for children that can result in the presentation of a badge and certificate by a park ranger. It also helps to fund the Youth Conservation Corps, which brings students ages 15 to 17 to the park to participate in restoration, resource management and conservation projects.

Loft Mountain overhaul

In the coming months the trust will launch a capital campaign to raise funds for a complete overhaul and restoration of the Loft Mountain area. This is the first development people get to when they come in the southern entrance to the park.

“About 10 years ago the Loft Mountain area was a very active, vibrant place for visitors,” Sherman said. “It had ranger programs, wonderful campground, an amphitheater and great trails.

“It was a very popular place, but funding decreased over the years and programming was cut. In trying to figure out long term what the vision of the park needs to be, it was felt that programs at Loft Mountain needed to be brought back, but not in the existing configuration.

“The park wanted to re-envision this by creating a LEED [leadership in energy and environmental design] certified ranger station there. This would not only help with carbon emissions within the park, but can also be used as an educational tool.

“So a goal of Shenandoah National Park is to build a carbon-neutral project, and become a carbon-neutral park.”

The recently passed federal stimulus package has earmarked $17 million for SNP. But according to Martha Bogle, superintendent of the park, that will only scratch the surface of what needs to be done.

Because of that she said the trust is “absolutely critical” to the park’s long-term health and prosperity.

“Since striking out on their own the trust has been through its infancy stage,” said Bogle, who took the helm of the park last September. “I think it’s now on the threshold of being able to do great fundraising.

“The license plate they’ve designed is gorgeous, and I think that alone will be a great source of revenue.”

75th around the corner

The trust is also about letting people know about a great friend whose welcoming arms stretch from Rockfish Gap all the way to Front Royal, some 105 miles to the north. As it nears its 75th birthday, the greatest gift it can get is support from its friends.

“There’s sort of a friendly competition in the National Park Service between the western mountain parks and the eastern mountain parks,” Bogle said. “Rangers who work out west say to me, ‘Well, these parks in the east, they’re not mountains.’

“As a person raised in the South, I tell them they should respect their elders, and that at one time these mountains were higher than the Alps or the Himalayas. They’re just old and have weathered away.

“But the biggest point I bring out to them is that the mountains in the west are breathtaking, and they shout at you. Our mountains whisper.

“They’re like open arms that welcome you and say, ‘Come, relax, enjoy this peaceful place.’”

Those wishing to learn more about the Shenandoah National Park Trust can visit http://www.snptrust.org. Donations can be sent to Shenandoah National Park Trust, 414 E. Market St., Suite D, Charlottesville, VA 22902. The telephone number is 293-2728.