National Parks Provide Refuge

"People traveling in the Shenandoah Valley in the early 1700s reported an abundance of various animals. As European settlers cleared land, hunted, and introduced domestic animals, wild animal populations decreased. Hunting eliminated American bison around 1798 and elk followed in 1855. Beaver and river otter disappeared in the late 1800s. The eastern timber wolf, eastern cougar, white-tailed deer, turkey, black bear, and bobcats were either extirpated or declined drastically. The exact number of native species lost is unknown. In the past century, most of these species have returned either through reintroductions on lands elsewhere in Virginia or through natural population recovery. The designation and management of the area as a National Park provides refuge to resident and migrating animals." ~ NPS
Day 81 ~ SE-81-25

Wilderness is a Spiritual Necessity

“Wilderness to the people of America is a spiritual necessity,
an antidote to the high pressure of modern life,
a means of regaining serenity and equilibrium.”
~ Sigurd Olson

Day 61 ~ SE-61-25