Air pollution, like the wind that carries it, knows no boundaries. Research and monitoring of air quality and its effects in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) has shown that air pollution is affecting park resources. That same air pollution, however, is affecting lands and people outside the park. The amount of air pollution being generated in Virginia has steadily increased during the past ten years. Exceptionally fast growth in northern Virginia, coupled with an increasing use of coal to fire new power plants, could more than double the amount of air pollution that was emitted in Virginia in 1985.

SNP has five major concerns about air pollution and its impacts to park resources:

1. Visibility
Annual average visibility declined 60 percent between 1948 and 1983, with an 80 percent decrease in summer months and a 40 percent decrease in winter months. From 1991 to 1996, good visibility days (over 30 miles) during the summer have increased from 16 percent to 31 percent.

2. Aquatics
Many streams in the park are moderately to extremely sensitive to acidifying effects of acidic deposition. Streamwater acidification is causing adverse effects on aquatic fauna.

3. Soils
Because of the underlying bedrock of SNP, soils have up to now adsorbed acid deposition. This limited capability is being depleted, perhaps permanently. Acidification of soils affects acidity of water getting into streams, but also affects availability of plant nutrients in the soil.

4. Vegetation
Ozone, a secondary pollutant caused by reactions between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, is causing visible injury to sensitive vegetation.

5. Human Health
Ozone levels in Shenandoah are frequently above 80 parts per billion (ppb), a level which the American Lung Association says is high enough to cause adverse effects in many people.

Management Action
Under the Clean Air Act, the Federal Land Manager has been given the "affirmative responsibility" to assure that air quality in Class I areas, such as SNP, does not deteriorate. Personnel at SNP work with other state and federal agencies in the eastern region of the United States for the same goal: cleaner air to breathe.

Significance
Air pollution is everyone's problem, and it will take everyone working together to clear the air and keep it clear. Anyone who uses electricity, anyone who rides in a car or bus, contributes to air pollution. We can all be a part of the solution by conserving energy and recycling waste products. Because we are all stewards of the resources we have, we should work together to take care of them.