VISTAS, VISITORS, AND VEGETATION: HOW GEOLOGY IS TAKING ROOT AT SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK

Shenandoah National Park boasts scores of rock outcroppings that offer dramatic views and intriguing climbs, but people aren't the only ones attached to these sites. Many of the cliffs, boulder fields, and ledges also host communities of rare plants that compete with the footprints and climbing ropes for space. This may be a problem for the park, but it's an opportunity for a geologist interested in the National Park Service. Four summers after an initial stint at Lake Meredith NRA in Texas whetted my appetite for national park geology, a chance to study rocks, plants, and interagency cooperation brought me to Virginia for another shot at a dream.