News Release

Shenandoah National Park announces recipient of national award for natural resource management

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Shenandoah National Park employee Dale Meyerhoeffer is a recipient of the 2023 Director's Awards for Excellence in Natural Resource Management for his successful establishment of biocontrols to save the park's hemlocks.

Tom Reece | NPS

News Release Date: January 15, 2025
Contact: Allysah Fox, 540-999-3500 ext.3487

LURAY, VA – Shenandoah National Park is proud to announce Dale Meyerhoeffer as a recipient of the 2023 Director’s Awards for Excellence in Natural Resource Management in a ceremony that took place in Washington D.C. on December 11, 2024. Meyerhoeffer, biological technician, was one of six recipients in the National Park Service who were recognized for their efforts in natural resource management.

Dale Meyerhoeffer’s efforts to save Shenandoah National Park’s remaining eastern hemlock trees preserved an ecologically important resource for the park. After the death of 95 percent of the park’s hemlocks from the invasive insect hemlock woolly adelgid, Meyerhoeffer, with help from volunteers and park staff, used insecticide treatments to protect more than 30,000 hemlocks. To reduce the park’s reliance on pesticide treatments, Meyerhoeffer worked with researchers from Virginia Tech to procure and release host-specific, predatory beetles and flies in hopes of controlling the invasive insect. Meyerhoeffer identified potential release sites, led aspects of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, and monitored the populations to evaluate success.

“I was honored to receive this award on behalf of many who made it possible,” said Meyerhoeffer. “It has truly been a team effort which has resulted in excellent beetle establishment and dispersal in the park.”

In 2023, Meyerhoeffer identified excellent beetle survival at several sites, marking a major success towards establishment of the biocontrol insect as a primary tool to save the park’s hemlocks.

This program was initiated through the vision and leadership of retired forest health supervisor Rolf Gubler, with monetary support from the Shenandoah National Park Trust.

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