RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Friday, January 11, 1991
INCIDENTS
90-469 - Everglades (Florida) - Marijuana Seizure
District ranger Bob Panko and officers from the Florida Marine
Patrol and the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission
raided a suspected marijuana cultivation site along the park's
boundary on December 28th, where they found and destroyed 35
marijuana plants. The plants, which were found just outside the
park boundary, were being cultivated in 12inch plastic pots
which were embedded in styrofoam blocks approximately a foot and
a half by three feet long and one foot thick. Ropes were drawn
through holes drilled through the bottoms of the styrofoam
sections to wick water up to the plants. The planters were then
painted camouflage colors and floated at the edge of a marsh
among sawgrass and other swamp vegetation. This new technique
for cultivation was reported to work quite well in the
Everglades, and should be adaptable to any area with lakes,
ponds, marshes or similar areas with shoreline vegetation and
reasonably easy access. [Telefax from Mark Lewis, LES, EVER,
1/10]
91-6 - Great Smokies (North Carolina/Tennessee) - Poaching Arrest
On January 7th, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency received an
anonymous report that two Florida men were in the park to poach trophy
deer. The men were said to be driving a Ford Bronco and to be armed with
a silenced weapon. Rangers spotted the vehicle in Townsend on the 8th,
and a surveillance team was assembled to monitor its movement. Around
10:00 p.m. that evening, the Bronco headed into the park, and a man was
dropped off at the entrance to the Cades Cove loop road. The Bronco
returned every two hours throughout the night, then picked up the man at
7:30 a.m. on the 9th. The Bronco was stopped near Townsend by rangers,
and two men T.M.W., 37, and C.L.N., 35, both of Fort Pierce, Florida
were arrested. A .22 caliber rifle with a scope and silencer was seized
along with the head of a 12-point buck. A consent search of their motel
room led to the discovery of another trophy head. The two men have been
charged with hunting in the park under 16 USC 403 H3 and are presently
out on bond. A trial has been set for February 21st in Knoxville. The
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will examine the silencer on the
rifle, which appears to be homemade. The park will ask for forfeiture
of the Bronco. [CompuServe message from Jason Houck, CR, GRSM, 1/10]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Bison Management
As of Tuesday, the bison distribution in the park was as follows:
12 bulls about a mile inside the western boundary parallel to
Hebgen Lake; two large herds along the Madison River, eight and
17 miles inside the boundary; two herds one of ten bison, the
other of 43 six to eight miles south of the northern boundary
along the Yellowstone River. [Wildlife and Vegetation, WASO]
Yesterday, a U.S. district judge gave the Fund for Animals
permission to sue the United States and the state of Montana to
stop the killing of bison that leave the park. He rejected
arguments by the state and the NPS that the Fund for Animals
suffered no actual harm from a policy under which buffalo are
killed to prevent them from spreading disease to Montana cattle.
The judge said that the Fund's pursuit of animal-rights
protection since the 1960's and its previous attempts in his
court to stop the slaying of bison gave it legal standing to
pursue its case. [Steve Moore, Associated Press, 1/10]
OFFICE NOTES
1) The 1991 special edition of the Courier on employee
development will be mailed from the printer on the 16th. This
annual issue lists all Servicewide training courses for 1991.
An initial shipment of two Couriers will be sent to all field
areas, with subsequent distribution made through internal mail
through your regional or center employee development officer.
Once fully distributed, there should be about one Courier for
each three to four employees. [Chris Perry, Employee
Development, WASO]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: No travel scheduled.
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: No travel scheduled.
Branch of Fire: Erskine at NWCG meeting, Tempe, AZ (1/7-1/9) and
on AL (1/10-1/11); Norum at prescribed fire working team meeting,
Tempe, AZ (1/7-1/11); Broyles at training working team meeting, Phoenix,
AZ (1/8-1/11); Gale at Yosemite fire review, WRO, San Francisco, CA
(1/10).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax: FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
SEAdog: 1/650