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Old Rag Parking Lot

Shenandoah National Park » Old Rag Parking Lot » Document List

Shenandoah National Park plans to determine a long-term solution to ensure continued public access to Old Rag Mountain from the park boundary in the Nethers area of Madison County. The park will undertake a new Environmental Assessment (EA) with the primary objective of ensuring a long-term and environmentally responsible solution to parking issues in the Nethers area of Old Rag. We anticipate this solution would also reduce park visitor impacts to the Nethers neighborhood, improve visitor experiences which are impaired by the lack of parking and/or poor trailhead access (requiring adding 1.6 miles round trip hiking distance by walking along the road), and resolve concern for visitor safety caused by high numbers of vehicles and pedestrians sharing the same narrow roadway. The EA for this project will be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to provide the following decision-making framework:

• Analysis of a reasonable range of alternatives to meet project objectives.
• Evaluation of potential issues and impacts to natural and cultural resources and values.
• Identification of mitigation measures to lessen the degree or extent of those impacts. We encourage your participation through the NEPA process. You will have two opportunities to formally comment on the project – once during public scoping and again following release of the Draft EA.

After considering public comments, the EA was completed and signed. Construction design work and permitting are underway in 2013.

Contact Information

Jennifer Flynn
Deputy Superintendent
Shenandoah National Park
540-999-3500 x3200

Karen Beck-Herzog
Management Assistant/Public Information Officer
Shenandoah National Park
540-999-3500 x3300