Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 20, 1993 TAG: 9311200137
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LURAY LENGTH: Medium
The figures, gleaned from 2,300 visitor surveys, indicate that some counties can do more to take advantage of the tourism generated from the park, Public Affairs Director Sandy Rives said.
Virginia Tech researchers also asked visitors about their perceptions of scenic quality, park management, the natural environment, other visitors and wildlife in the park, which extends between Waynesboro and Front Royal along Skyline Drive.
During the summer, 56.8 percent of visitors said haze was moderately to extremely noticeable, but attributed the haze to natural sources and not pollution. Additionally, visitors were generally more concerned about the possible impact of litter than about dead and defoliated trees ravaged by acid rain and gypsy moths.
Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Bill Wade was criticized last year for trying to close a section of Skyline Drive to save money and ease environmental pressures.
Wade said closing a section of the drive during the winter would save $200,000 in his already strapped budget. He said the lack of traffic also would ease some of the park's pollution problems.
Local residents, fearing economic losses with the drive closed, petitioned elected representatives to intervene and got the Department of Interior to overturn Wade's order.
"This report for the first time gives us data on the economic impact of Shenandoah National Park to the surrounding region," Wade said. "For a long time, county government leaders, business interests and others have wanted solid data on the impacts of the park."
The surveys were distributed during the winter through fall of 1992. They showed that less than 10 percent of park visits originate from the counties surrounding the park, but more than one-third of the visitors were from Virginia.
by CNB