- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, July 14, 1992
- Date: Tues, 14 Jul 1992
RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
Ranger Activities Division Information Network
Day/Date: Tuesday, July 14, 1992
INCIDENTS
92-243 - Padre Island (Texas) - Follow-up on Illegal Hunting Arrests
On May 30th, rangers investigated an incident in which a number of people
were involved in hunting coyotes with fishing gear. M.M., one of the
members of the party, was issued citations on the scene, and the United
States attorney's office subsequently filed charges based on information
supplied by the rangers. On July 1st, M.M. appeared before the U.S.
magistrate judge in Corpus Christi and pled guilty to charges of hunting
within a national park. He was fined $500 each for the charges of hunting
(18 USC 41) and intentionally disturbing wildlife (36 CFR 2.2). In
addition, M.M. surrendered the $200 collateral for a citation issued to him
for possession of a non-game migratory bird (a laughing gull) which was
being used as bait for the coyotes. [T.L. McDaniel, CR, PAIS, 7/8]
92-297 - North Atlantic Region - Follow-up on Operation Sail
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island experienced moderate visitation
during the holiday weekend due to intermittent showers. Park staff and
detailed rangers and Park Police officers responded to numerous minor
incidents, however, including medical problems, attempts by boaters to land
on both islands, and several boating incidents. The most significant of the
latter occurred when the flying bridge of a private vessel struck the Ellis
Island vehicle bridge on the evening of July 3rd. Thousands of vessels
lined the harbor to witness the parade of tall ships on the 4th; during that
time, both islands were closed due to Coast Guard restrictions on marine
traffic. Manhattan Sites were busy on the 4th due to events surrounding
both the holiday and the Columbus Quincentennial. Lower Manhattan and
Battery Park hosted about a million visitors for outdoor concerts, street
fairs, the sail parade and a spectacular fireworks show. Seven USPP
officers from Gateway and NCR assisted the staff at Castle Clinton during
the event, and a large contingent of USPP officers was on duty in Battery
Park throughout the day. No major incidents were reported. [Virginia
Rousseau, RCR, RAD/NARO, 7/6]
92-328 - Fort Davis (Texas) - VIP/Co-op Student Fatalities
On the evening of July 4th, two co-op students from Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
and two park VIPs from Alpine, Texas, were involved in a single vehicle
accident about 28 miles north of the park which killed two of them. VIP
J.B., who was driving the pickup truck, and co-op student D.Y.,
who was riding in front with him, were killed; VIP T.V.Z.
and co-op student A.C., who were riding in the back of the truck,
were injured. The four had been celebrating the Fourth together and had
just left a town dance to go to the observatory near a state park. The
vehicle left the road at a high rate of speed and struck a tree. Alcohol
and speed were both factors in the accident. A.C. is in stable
condition with two badly fractured legs. T.V.Z. suffered only minor
injuries. [Kevin Cheri, FODA, 7/6]
92-329 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Rescue
Late on the morning of June 26th, Dr. R.F., 59, of Jackson, Wyoming,
was leading the fourth pitch of the regular route on Guide's Wall in Cascade
Canyon when a fixed piton that he was hanging on pulled out and he fell 50
feet down onto a six-foot-wide belay ledge and sustained critical injuries.
Hikers reported the accident to park authorities about two hours later.
Ranger Jim Dorward ran two and a half miles, then climbed 1,000 vertical
feet to reach R.F. in one hour and 14 minutes. Although heavy rains and
thunderstorms moved into the area, the park's contract helicopter was able
to deliver a litter to Dorward on the ledge. The helicopter then returned
to the site, and, with rotor blades turning ten feet from the rock cliff,
picked R.F. off the ledge via shorthaul technique. The litter was flown
under the helicopter approximately three miles to Lupine Meadows, where
R.F. was set down and moved into the ship. He was subsequently taken to a
trauma center in Salt Lake City, where he is in critical condition. The
entire rescue took just two hours and 39 minutes despite poor weather,
technical terrain and the presence of only one ranger on scene. [Pete
Armington, GRTE, 7/7]
92-330 - Pictured Rocks (Michigan) - Poaching Arrest
Acting on tips from orchid botanists in Canada and the United States,
rangers recently arrested a German national for removing approximately 85
orchid plants from the Grand Sable Dunes area of the park. In addition to
federal law, the rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera oblongifolia) is also
protected under the Michigan Christmas Tree Act. The suspect pled guilty to
misdemeanor charges, including violation of the Lacey Act, Appendix II of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES), and 36 CFR 2.1. The fines for these infractions totalled
$3,500. Information derived from interviews suggest that the plants were to
be transported to Europe, where they were to be traded or sold to orchid
enthusiasts. The case was developed with the assistance of USFWS special
agents and Michigan DNR officers. [Greg Bruff, CR, PIRO, 7/2]
92-331 - Pictured Rocks (Michigan) - Plover Egg Poaching
On the evening of June 29th, rangers discovered that someone had removed the
eggs from a piping plover nest located on a beach adjacent to the lakeshore
in Grand Marais. The next was protected by a predator exclosure, and the
surrounding area had been fenced with warning signs. Rain had partially
obliterated tracks, but it appears that one individual approached the nest,
lifted the exclosure, removed the eggs, then replaced the exclosure. The
eggs were due to hatch within one or two days after the theft was
discovered. It is unclear whether or not there will be sufficient time for
the plovers to nest again this summer. There is considerable support for
the plovers, a federally-listed endangered species, in the town of Grand
Marais, but controversy recently erupted over restrictions on beach use and
shoreline development on lands adjacent to other plover nesting sites.
Grand Maris has three other nesting sites, all of which are on private land.
Investigation of the incident continues with the assistance of USFWS agents
and Michigan DNR officers. [Greg Bruff, CR, PIRO, 7/2]
92-332 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Probable Drowning
D.M., 54, of Englewood, Colorado, was rafting on the Snake River
with his wife and two friends on July 4th when the raft struck a log jam and
ejected them into the river. D.M. was sucked into the log jam and held
under water. At time of the report, the search for his body was still
underway. Search dogs had alerted on the log jam, indicating that the
victim might still be trapped underneath. Rangers rescued the other three
persons who were in the raft. [Doug Barnard, CR, GRTE, 7/6]
92-333 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Search; Fatality
On July 11th, eleven-year-old S.W. of Fort Collins, Colorado,
disappeared while hiking on the Flattop Mountain trail. She had stopped at
the Bear Lake overlook to rest a sore foot while her father and the rest of
her church group continued to the top of the peak. Although her father told
her to stay at the overlook, S.W. was gone when he and the group
returned. The park received the report just before 4:00 p.m., and a search
was begun immediately. Over 50 park employees, three Larimer County dog
teams and two Larimer County deputies assisted in the search, which
continued through the night. The search ended the following morning at 5:00
a.m. when a ranger-guided dog team found the girl's body near the base of an
80-foot cliff on the northwest side of Bear Lake. An investigation is being
conducted into the accident. [Joe Evans, CR, ROMO, 7/12]
92-334 - C&O Canal (Maryland) - Multiple Rescues
On the evening of July 2nd, rangers received a report that a climber had
fallen 30 feet at the cliffs near Lock 19 and responded along with local
fire and rescue units. They found that M.M., 17, had fallen when
some vegetation he grabbed while free climbing had given way. M.M.
suffered from head injuries; he was taken to a local hospital and is
expected to make a full recovery. Late on the following morning, a report
came in of a capsized canoe in the Tavern Channel just above the Class V
rapids at the Fishladders. The two canoeists, both novices, were swept down
by the strong current to a small rocky outcropping in the middle of the
fishladders channel. They were uninjured but were stranded on the
outcropping. Rescue ropes were set up between the shoreline and the
outcropping; ranger Clarke then attached himself to the ropes, swam across
the swift water to the victims, and assisted each of them back to the main
shoreline. The subjects were disorderly after the rescue and were issued
violation notices. The third and final rescue of the weekend occurred after
9:00 p.m. on July 5th. L.P., 20, had fallen 40 feet while free
climbing a rock face on the southern end of Rocky Island and was knocked
unconscious. Ranger Nash, with the assistance of the Park Police's Eagle
helicopter, located L.P. within ten minutes of the initial report and
provided EMS care for a laceration, fractured femur and shock. County fire
and rescue boats and personnel soon arrived on scene. L.P. was
immobilized, placed in a litter, carried over rugged terrain to the boat,
then taken by helicopter to Suburban Hospital. She is currently in stable
condition. Severe thunderstorms, darkness and the rough topography all
complicated the rescue effort. [Tom Nash, Palisades DR, CHOH, 7/7]
92-335 - Grand Teton (Wyoming) - Shots Fired at Visitors
Five seasonal employees of a local ranch were swimming in Kelly Warm Springs
at midnight on June 29th when they were approached by a vehicle occupied by
six youths who made threatening comments. One of the people in the vehicle,
24-year-old Dale Hill of Smithfield, Utah, fired two shots from the revolver
in the direction of the party from the ranch, all of whom quickly took cover
in the area around the springs. One woman eventually got to her vehicle and
went to seek assistance. Park rangers and Teton County deputies responded.
The six suspects surrendered without incident and Hill was arrested and
charged with reckless endangering under both state and federal law. The
other five were warned and released. [Denny Ziemann, GRTE, 7/7]
92-336 - Mesa Verde (Colorado) - Motorcycle MVA; Probable Fatality
P.C., 40, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, lost control of his
motorcycle on the Cliff Palace loop on June 28th and suffered serious head
injuries in the subsequent accident. He was taken to a local hospital, then
to a regional trauma center in New Mexico. He is not expected to survive.
Although P.C. had a helmet with him, it's not known whether he was
wearing it at the time of the accident. [Howard Dimont, CR, MEVE, 7/7]
92-337 - Big Bend (Texas) - Illegal Aliens Arrested
On June 28th, a park ranger in an observation point guided Border Patrol
agents on horseback and in a vehicle to three illegal aliens who were hiking
cross country through the park. at 1:30 a.m. on the following morning, a
Border Patrol agent stopped a vehicle by park headquarters; all the
occupants of the vehicle ran for cover. None were found in the darkness,
and the car was impounded. That afternoon, an interpretive ranger noticed
six Hispanic males drinking from a spigot by his office window and alerted
rangers and the Border Patrol, who subsequently apprehended the men. All
were occupants of the vehicle. A seventh occupant was later spotted on foot
12 miles away and apprehended. [Roger Moder, ACR, BIBE, 7/7]
92-338 - Obed (Tennessee) - Drug Seizure and Arrests
Rangers were contacted by the local sheriff's office on July 5th and asked
to assist in a search for a major marijuana cultivation site reportedly
located in the park. Searchers eventually found a number of holes which
were between four and six feet deep, covered with tin and plastic, and used
to grow marijuana all year long. The sheriff obtained a search warrant for
the house and properties immediately adjacent to the park boundary. They
found marijuana which had just been harvested drying inside the house,
seized money and about 15 loaded weapons, and arrested two people - one for
aggravated assault with a gun, the other for manufacturing marijuana. One
of the subjects in the house was a convicted felon and was carrying a
semi-automatic pistol. ATF is investigating him. Other charges are pending.
[OBED, 7/6]
92-339 - Independence (Pennsylvania) - Demonstration
On July 3rd, a permit was requested by and granted to Women's Health Action
Mobilization (WHAM) for a demonstration in the park the following day.
Previous intelligence supplies by the Philadelphia police indicated that
there would be a demonstration at the Liberty Bell Pavilion and that a
takeover attempt would be made. Since the demonstration was planned several
days in advance and the park had prior knowledge of the activity scheduled
to take place, an eight-person special event team from MAR was called in to
assist park staff. A coalition of public protestors, including AIDS
awareness advocates and abortion rights demonstrators, engaged in a protest
in and around the glass pavilion which houses the bell on the afternoon of
the 4th. A group of 17 protestors entered the pavilion with a line of
visitors, and dropped to the floor at a prearranged signal, shouting various
slogans advocating their cause. The demonstrators attempted to chain and
handcuff themselves together and to a railing behind the Liberty Bell, but
the chains and handcuffs were confiscated from all but one demonstrator
before they could carry out their plans. One demonstrator successfully
chained herself to the railing behind the bell. Visitors in the pavilion at
the time were cleared from the building and it was closed and locked. After
two unheeded orders to leave the building, each of the 17 protestors was
cuffed, photographed and taken to the Federal Building in two vans. About
200 protestors outside the pavilion sat on the ground in front of the second
van and blocked its progress for about ten minutes, then stood and allowed
it to exit the park. The 17 were cited for disorderly conduct on federal
charges, given mandatory appearances and released. None of the
demonstrators was in any way hostile, violent or verbally abusive to any
staff or visitors. None of the demonstrators damaged or in any way
threatened to damage any park property. The Bell Pavilion remained closed
for about an hour and a half and reopened around 2:30 p.m. There was a
great deal of press coverage of the event by local television stations and
newspapers. One other disorderly conduct arrest was made during the day
when a lone demonstrator (cause unknown) took her clothes off and began to
dance in a lewd manner behind Independence Hall. She had neither requested
nor been granted a permit. [Bob Byrne, CR, INDE, 7/5]
92-340 - Big South Fork (Tennessee) - Probable Drowning
On July 4th, R.E., 24, was riding an inflatable toy raft on the Big
South Fork River near the O&W bridge when R.E. and the raft went over a
pillow rock and were pulled under water. The raft came up immediately;
R.E. resurfaced once about 60 feet down river, then went under and was not
seen again. The river was running high and very swiftly at the time due to
recent heavy rains. Rangers and members of the local rescue squad responded
but have not been able to find R.E.'s body. The search has been hampered by
additional heavy rains and the very swift river flow. Alcohol is believed
to be a contributing factor in R.E.'s death. [John Cannon, CR, BISO, 7/6]
92-341 - Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - Special Event
The Twelfth Annual Veiled Prophet Fair was held over the Fourth of July
weekend on park grounds under a special use permit issued to the city of St.
Louis. Park law enforcement rangers were augmented by four special event
teams, and additional assistance was provided by other local law enforcement
agencies. The entire operation was run under the incident command system.
Thunderstorms hampered setup and delayed some evening activities on the 3rd.
All EMS activities were handled by the Saint Louis Regional Medical Center.
Heat-related injuries were the most common medical problem, but three fair-goers
were also struck by lightning in an area adjacent to the park. All
are expected to fully recover. No major law enforcement problems occurred
despite the estimated two million visitors. Fair activities included daily
air shows, concerts by top line groups, and nightly fireworks. An NPS
exhibit area provided displays and interpretive programs from throughout the
Service to an estimated 70,000 visitors. [Jim Jackson, ICS team, JEFF, 7/7]
92-342 - Death Valley (California) - Poaching Arrest
On June 20th, a search and arrest warrant was executed by USFWS special
agents on a suspect known to have collected a particular species of
butterfly endemic to the park for sale. R.S., 36, of Redwood
City, California, was arrested for collecting several hundred of the Papilio
indra panamintensis caterpillar from the Wild Rose Canyon in the Panamint
Mountains. He then raised them at his home until they grew into the
butterfly stage and sold them for $500 per pair. R.S. faces a possible
five year prison term and a $20,000 fine for this commercial operation. As
a result of this cooperative investigation, which involved both Grand Canyon
and Death Valley, other suspects have been identified in Golden Gate, Point
Reyes and Yosemite. [Chris Ward, CR, DEVA, 7/13]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 7/13 7/14 Status
FL USFS Apalachicola NF Wild One 506 506 CN 7/14
Ocala NF Juniper Wilderness 2,015 2,015 CN 7/14
NOTES:
- Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report). T1 and T2
indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
- Status - The following abbreviations are employed:
CL - Controlled MN - Being monitored
CS - Confinement strategy NEC - No estimate of containment
CN (date) - Expected date CND - Contained
of containment DM - Demob in progress
3) FIRE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS - No significant reports.
4) FIRE ACTIVITY - 130 fires for 1,454 acres in the past 24 hours.
5) ANALYSIS - No significant large fires are occurring, and only a minimal
amount of initial attack activity is being reported.
6) PROGNOSIS - No resource shortages expected.
[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 7/14]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Yosemite (California) - America's Largest Sugar Pine
Researchers have determined that a sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) on the
edge of Hodgdon Meadow near the park's northwestern entrance is the largest
reported sugar pine in the United States. The tree measures 29 feet in
circumference, over nine feet in diameter, stands 270 feet tall, and has a
crown spread of 68 feet. Old sugar pines commonly grow to six or seven feet
in diameter and over 200 feet tall. The American Forestry Association has
entered the tree in the National Register of Big Trees. [Debi Drake, YOSE]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
1) Paul Berkowitz has been selected as the new special agent assigned to the
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection in WASO. He left his job in the
Whiskeytown Unit of Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity NRA and entered on duty here
in Ranger Activities on July 12th. [Bob Marriott, RAD/WASO]
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Brady conducting field interviews for "Ranger Futures"
project (7/13-7/15).
Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Henry at aircraft overflight
contract meeting, Boston, MA (7/13-7/17); Marriott at meeting at Lake Mead,
NV (7/12-7/22).
Branch of Fire and Aviation: Hurd at IFF fire education task force meeting,
Boise, ID (7/13-7/17); Spruill at DOI aviation meeting, Boise, ID (7/13-7/17);
Norum conducting fire reviews at Isle Royale, Sleeping Bear Dunes,
Pictured Rocks, and Indiana Dunes (7/13-7/25); Botti and Rutter at WASO
budget meeting (7/13-7/15); Crabtree in training, Denver, CO (7/13-7/17).
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities
Telephone: Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5572/5573 or 202-208-5572/5573
Telefax: Branch of R&VP - FTS 268-6756 or 202-208-6756
Branch of F&A (WASO) - FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: Branch of R&VP - WASO-RANGER
Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO-FIRE-WO
cc:Mail Branch of R&VP - WASO Ranger Activities
Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO Fire and Aviation