Shenandoah preps for spring openings, prescribed burns

Beginning next month, the Shenandoah National Park plans to begin opening facilities that were closed for the winter, according to a news release from the park service.

The openings come with two new offerings from the park, said park spokeswoman Karen Beck-Herzog.

One program will allow park visitors to go “EarthCaching” on hikes with park rangers at Big Meadows and Little Stony Man.

EarthCaching is similar to Geocaching, in which participants use GPS units to find hidden containers with trinkets inside.

EarthCaching leads participants to visit locations with specific natural and geological features, Beck-Herzog said.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s way of integrating technology with traditional interpretation.”

The park is also introducing new a curriculum teachers can use to teach middle and high school students about President Herbert Hoover’s presidency and his work as a conservationist and humanitarian.

A second course allows students to learn about the social and political history surrounding the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. It includes the personal stories of members of the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program in the park.

The two courses cover material included in Standards of Learning testing, Beck-Herzog said.

“It fits in really nicely with what teachers are trying to do,” she said.

Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center is set to open on March 30, followed by Dickey Ridge Visitor Center on April 6.

Loft Mountain Information Center will remain closed.

Big Meadows Campground will open March 30, followed by Lewis Mountain Campground on April 6 and Mathews Arm and Loft Mountain Campgrounds on May 11.

The park has already opened Elkwallow, Pinnacles, South River and Dundo Picnic Grounds.

The park plans to open Big Meadows Picnic Grounds on March 30 and Dickey Ridge and Lewis Mountain Picnic Grounds on April 6.

The park service plans to open Big Meadows Wayside on March 23; Skyland Resort on March 29; Lewis Mountain Campstore and cabins on April 6; Elkwallow Wayside on April 20, Loft Mountain Wayside on April 27; Loft Mountain Campstore on May 11; and Big Meadows Lodge on May 16.

Shenandoah National Park plans to hold several prescribed burns in the park this year, according to a separate news release from the park.

Two sections totaling 508 acres stretching between Sawmill Run Overlook and Jarman Gap are set to be burned over two or three days in early spring.

The burn is meant to improve habitat for yellow pine and oak communities, which require fire to regenerate, the release said.

Prescribed burns are also set for portions of Big Meadows and at the park’s headquarters.

Because favorable weather conditions are needed for prescribed burns, the park service is unable to predict on which days burns will take place, the release said.

For more information about the park, visit www.nps.gov/shen or call (540) 999-3500.