Heinemann, Harry Byrd p. 89 Although Byrd and Carson convinced Congress to reduce the minimum size of Shenandoah Park to just over 160000 acres to eliminate some high-priced lands, in 1933 newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to also create the Blue Ridge Parkway to connect to then-under-construction Skyline Drive on the Shenandoah National Park ridgeline, which required additional condemnations.