Put a bear on your bumper: License plates make a difference for Shenandoah National Park

By Walter Heeb

Skyline Drive is one of the most scenic roads on the East Coast. Winding around and over the peaks of Shenandoah National Park, the Drive is a crown jewel of Virginia, drawing millions of visitors to the Park to hike on over 500 miles of trails, enjoy breathtaking views from 75 scenic overlooks, and hopefully spot one of the Park’s 500-800 black bears.

With all these incredible opportunities for recreation, it’s no surprise there’s a high – and often unmeetable – demand on Park staff and their budgets for maintenance, conservation efforts, and more. In fact, Shenandoah’s educational programming is almost entirely dependent on philanthropy to the Park.

That’s where the Shenandoah National Park Trust comes in. As an official partner of Shenandoah, the Trust provides strategic investments in initiatives that help protect, enhance, and preserve the Park’s resources for all to enjoy – for this and future generations.

Without the generosity of donors, hundreds more native trees would be lost to invasive bugs and blights. Thousands of students would never experience the magic of turning over a rock and discovering red-backed salamanders. Millions of visitors might leave the Park with no significant connection.

Luckily, it’s easy to support Shenandoah– as easy as purchasing a license plate! Last year, the Trust gave the Park over $200,000 from revenue generated by these specialty plates.

Those dollars fund protection for black bears, seasonal ranger positions, treatments for threatened hemlock and ash trees, upgrades to campgrounds, educational programming, trail maintenance, and other urgent and long-term needs in Shenandoah.

If you’d like to put a bear on your bumper to support Shenandoah, go to www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#splates/info.asp?idnm=SNPT and click “Purchase a plate.” You can even customize it, and a portion of your fee may be tax deductible.

If you have questions, call the Trust at (434) 293-2728.

Walter Heeb is the secretary of the Shenandoah National Park Board of Trustees.