SHENANDOAH COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Effective immediately, all fishing in Shenandoah National Park’s streams and rivers is suspended.
This suspension is the result of dry conditions lowering stream flows and increasing water temperatures, according to a June 28 press release from Shenandoah National Park.
These extremely low stream flows have resulted in some river sections becoming “completely dry” — and, despite some rain hitting the region on Wednesday, the flows are only expected to lower even further.
“Low flows and high temperatures create extremely stressful conditions for fish and dissolved oxygen can decline to fatal conditions,” the release reads. “The additional stress of angling during these conditions could harm the native brook trout populations, which are already low across much of the park.”
The closure affects all streams within Shenandoah National Park’s boundaries, including both open-to-harvest and catch-and-release areas.
According to the release, the suspension will be lifted once stream conditions within the park have improved, which is only expected to happen if and when “significant precipitation” occurs.
Shenandoah National Park issues these sorts of suspensions only rarely, according to the release. Most recently, such closures were put in place in 2021 and 2023 due to drought conditions.
Earlier this week, on June 24, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued either a drought warning or drought watch advisory for all localities across the Commonwealth. Shenandoah County, as well as many surrounding counties within that region, are under the former drought warning advisory, meaning a drought is “imminent.”
