Projects You Support

Core to the SNP Trust’s mission is to help preserve and protect the outstanding natural beauty, ecological vitality and distinctive cultural resources of Shenandoah National Park for the inspiration and enjoyment of all generations.

Featured Projects

Shenandoah has a robust bear population, but it takes all of us to keep them safe and healthy. Improperly stored or disposed of food attracts bears, putting visitors and bears in potentially harmful situations. Bears learn where to find easy food sources, and they will return time and time again. This behavior can force the park to label them “nuisance” bears. Nuisance bears must be trapped and relocated to remote regions. Nuisance bears that find their way back to humans’ food or trash may face more dire consequences.

SNP Trust supports the Education Program operation at Shenandoah National Park to provide a broad range of recreational, educational, and service-learning experiences in Shenandoah National Park for youth through adult audiences.

The goals of Play, Learn, Serve is to provide meaningful national park experiences for audiences of all ages that instill a love and appreciation for Shenandoah National Park and national parks in general.

SNP Trust works to make sure all visitors to the park have the experience of a lifetime, especially from the park’s highest peak: Hawksbill Mountain.

Hawksbill Mountain is home to many plant and animal species – some that are found nowhere else in the world. An example is the Shenandoah salamander, a rare and endangered species unique to the park’s highest peaks. It can live only in certain environments, such as the relatively cool, moist, high elevation of Hawksbill Mountain. 

Current Projects

The Trails Forever Fund

In December 2022, winter storms brought down over 600 trees across Skyline Drive, closing the park for nearly two months. Volunteer crews joined park staff…
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Media Liaison Intern

Project Title: Media Liaison Intern Project Purpose: to increase brand awareness for the Trust, highlight donor impact on Shenandoah, and coordinate messaging between the Trust…
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Nipping it in the Bud

Project Title: Nipping it in the Bud – Support for Invasive Plant Early Detection/Rapid Response in Shenandoah National Park Project Purpose: To mitigate the threat…
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Trailer Pad Upgrades

Project Title: Trailer Pad Upgrades Project Purpose: To upgrade at least four trailer pads at various locations in Shenandoah National Park to provide full-service hookups…
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Track Trails

The Limberlost Trail in Shenandoah is a flat, 1.3-mile loop trail that is accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Thanks to donors of…
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Shenandoah Youth Corps

Project Title: Shenandoah Youth Corps Project Purpose: to prepare the next generation of Park stewards and accomplish much-needed work Project Goals: to create opportunities for…
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Internships at Shenandoah

Anyone who has worked with or managed interns knows it is an investment of time and resources. But, if the internship is well-structured and the…
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Play, Learn, Serve

SNP Trust supports Shenandoah National Park’s Education Programming, providing a broad range of recreational, educational, and service-learning experiences in Shenandoah National Park for youth and…
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Volunteer Coordinator

The Natural and Cultural Resources Volunteer Coordinator is funded to be the project facilitator in the Park’s Natural and Cultural Resources Division. This position allowed…
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Keeping Bears Wild

Shenandoah has a robust bear population, but it takes all of us to keep them safe and healthy. Your donations support park employees whose job…
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Artists-In-Residence

The Hudson River School painters of the mid-1800s were instrumental in the birth of national parks. Until this time, American artists had focused primarily on…
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Courtesy of tylerareber.photography

Edge Fund

The Trust has provided funding to assist landowners with fees associated with establishing conservation easements on properties that protect the viewshed from the park, maintain…
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Past Projects

Big Meadows Air Quality Monitoring

Many visitors to Shenandoah National Park are unaware of its chronic air quality issues. Particulates and toxins from power plants and other industrial facilities blow…
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Bike Repair Stations

BIKE REPAIR STATIONS in Shenandoah National Park are made possible by the generosity of donors to the Shenandoah National Park Trust, including lead gifts from…
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Robert Jacobsen Employee Development Fund

Named for a beloved retired superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, the Robert Jacobsen Employee Development Fund supports park employee participation in leadership and other career-enhancing…
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Expert in Residence Fund

This fund allows park managers to engage outside experts in natural resource protection, cultural resource preservation, and other park-related goals for short- to mid-term projects.…
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Electric Car Charging Stations

Donors like you have supported electric charging stations currently in operation at Byrd Visitor Center. Over 1.5 million people visit Shenandoah each year simply to…
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Hawksbill Observation Platform

In celebration of the National Park Service Centennial, the Trust committed to restore the stone observation platform at Hawksbill, along with the trails leading up…
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Pinnacles Research Facility

Improving the Historic Pinnacles Research Facility  The Shenandoah National Park Trust requested a $20,000 grant from the Oak Hill Fund to support improvements to the…
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Research Fellowships

The National Park Service faces a number of increasingly complex issues that threaten the integrity of natural ecosystems, cultural resources, and visitor experiences at Shenandoah…
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Consider supporting Shenandoah today.