When Dana Milbank described in his July 2 opinion column, “How I learned to love toxic chemicals,” seeing two very different faces of the forest in Shenandoah National Park — one ravaged by invasive species, the other thriving with native plants — he was not exaggerating the severity of the devastation or the peace of restoration.
Shenandoah’s forests are battling a crisis of invasive plants. Though herbicides are helping, Shenandoah isn’t completely dependent on chemicals. The park and its nonprofit partners have long invested in alternative management methods — manual removal, controlled burns and biological controls — to minimize the need for herbicides. Perhaps the largest factor in protecting native ecosystems and building climate resilience is something more implicit in Mr. Milbank’s column: collaboration and individual stewardship.
As Mr. Milbank pointed out, Shenandoah is a long, skinny park, bordered largely by private lands that are managed differently. By sharing his exploration of invasive species management, Mr. Milbank brought needed attention to the issue and charted a collaborative path toward restoring the forest along the Blue Ridge Mountains. If every park neighbor shared Mr. Milbank’s vision of “nature regaining her balance,” it would lighten the burden of fighting invasive plants for all.
The Shenandoah National Park Trust has been a park partner for 19 years, providing $1 million in support of the park’s efforts. Through the trust, donors, partners and volunteers fill in federal funding gaps with philanthropic dollars. Though the sticker shock of removing and combating invasive plants appears overwhelming, the long-term cost of neglecting that investment would be devastating.
Jessica Cocciolone, Charlottesville
The writer is the executive director of the Shenandoah National Park Trust.
