Shenandoah National Park - Biodiversity

I found My Maps to be very user-friendly after watching the short YouTube tutorial that explained the software and its features. I also liked that it is synchronized with Google Earth, allowing users to access high-quality aerial imagery. Overall, I think it is a useful and effective mapping tool. My favorite feature was the ability to add photos to individual pinpoints, which makes maps more informative and visually engaging.

Biodiversity surrounds us in our everyday lives, from complex mammals and towering trees to microscopic organisms such as bacteria and fungi. It is crucial to the health and stability of the world we live in, influencing how organisms interact, adapt, compete, and evolve.

Shenandoah National Park extends along the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. The park consists of forests, wetlands, waterfalls, and rocky peaks, creating a diverse landscape that supports a wide variety of wildlife and plant species. I chose this area as my focus because I grew up in Madison County, just at the foothills of the park. It only took me about 10 to 15 minutes to drive into the park and explore its hiking trails, often carrying my fly rod in pursuit of the park's famous native brook trout. The park contains numerous streams that support a variety of fish species, as well as wildlife such as white-tailed deer and black bears. Another reason I selected Shenandoah National Park is that my first job after completing my undergraduate degree was working there as a Biological Fisheries Technician. In this role, I hiked through backcountry trails daily to electro-fish streams and rivers, collecting data on fish species and monitoring brook trout populations. I am excited to ...