RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           Ranger Activities Division Information Network

Day/Date:  Thursday, October 1, 1992

Release:   0830 EDT

INCIDENTS

92-535 - Zion (Utah) - Update on Skinhead Activity

On the afternoon of Tuesday, September 29th, twelve individuals associated
with Christian Identity Skinheads, a neo-Nazi group, gathered below the
Great White Throne for an interview with a Salt Lake City television
station.  The group was watched by rangers during the entire hour and a half
that they were in the park and left the area without further incident.  The
TV crew asked to interview the superintendent, but the superintendent
declined to talk with them since the skinhead group seemed focused on
gaining media coverage.  The interview with the group did not appear on the
Salt Lake channel that evening, possibly because the reporter was unable to
get the park's viewpoint.  The TV crew reported that the skinheads are
planning on returning to Zion in a few weeks or months.  At that time, the
skinheads say that there will be 500 of them, that they will all be armed
with guns, and that they plan on marching on the park.  [Larry Van Slyke,
CR, ZION, 9/30]

92-538 - Saint Croix (Wisconsin) - Marijuana Cultivation Arrests

Early in July, rangers were eradicating wild marijuana in the park's lower
district when they discovered two cultivated marijuana plots containing 20
sinsemilla plants.  Surveillance of the plots in conjunction with the
Washington County sheriff's office was begun in late August.  On September
12th, rangers videotaped two people tending the plots.  The two men, along
with a third person, were arrested on September 17th after they had
harvested one plot and had backpacked the marijuana to their truck.  A
search warrant served by the sheriff's office on one of the suspect's
residences led to the discovery of a small but sophisticated indoor growing
operation.  Prosecution will be handled in state court.  The suspects were
also overheard discussing marijuana that they had been growing on Forest
Service lands in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. 
[Curt Vade Bon Coeur, DR, SACN, 9/30]

92-539 - C&O Canal (DC/Maryland) - Car Clouting

Sometime between mid-morning and late afternoon on September 26th, four
vehicles were broken into in three areas in the Monocacy Subdistrict.  The
side door locks on two of the vehicles were pried out; one of the remaining
two vehicles was unlocked.  Numerous items were taken, including a stereo
system.  A search was begun for a vehicle seen in the area of one of the
break-ins, and was found parked outside the park not far away.  A license
plate check revealed that it had been reported stolen by West Virginia state
police.  A search for three male juveniles seen in the area by C&O Canal and
Harpers Ferry rangers proved fruitless.  The vehicle was impounded by the
county.  An joint investigation is underway.  [Keith Whisenant, CR, CHOH,
9/29]

92-540 - Yosemite (California) - Rescue

Dispatch received a call reporting a climbing accident on the northwest face
of Half Dome on the morning of September 21st.  Although the anonymous
caller said he was calling from Sunnyside campground in Yosemite Valley, the
911 system display showed that it was coming from Fish Camp, just outside
the park's south entrance and an hour by car from the Valley.  Rangers
conducted a reconnaissance of Half Dome but failed to find any climbers in
distress.  Because of the similarity of this report to past BASE jumper
parachuting accidents, rangers decided to conduct an aerial search for a
fallen parachutist.  At about 12:30 p.m., searchers in the park's contract
helicopter found J.N., 35, of Lake Worth, Florida, lying at the base
of Half Dome, approximately 2,000 feet below the summit.  Park medics landed
nearby and found that J.N. had a fractured femur, fractured pelvis, and
unstable vital signs.  The provided advanced life support, then short-hauled
J.N. by helicopter to the Valley, after which he was taken to a hospital
in Modesto.  Doctors estimate that it will take J.N. at least a year to
recover from his injuries.  Investigators found that J.N. and a second
parachutist had jumped from the summit at about 6:30 a.m.  Witnesses said
that J.N.'s chute didn't deploy properly and that it never fully opened
before he hit the ground.  The second parachutist apparently landed without
problem in lower Tenaya Canyon.  He has not yet been identified, but several
investigative leads are being pursued.  J.N. had in his possession a
scanner programmed to pick up all Yosemite radio frequencies and a portable
two-way radio.  He will be charged with CFR violations for air delivery and
creating a hazardous condition.  In addition to other penalties, prosecutors
will seek full restitution of the $3,000 rescue cost.  [Dave Brennan, YOSE,
9/29]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level II

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area           Fire/Incident        9/30     10/1  Status

 FL    NPS     South Florida    Hurr. Andrew - ARMT    N/A      N/A  DM

 OR    USFS    Wallowa-
                Whitman NF   * East Pine                 -      210  CN 10/3

 CA    USFS    Eldorado NF      Cleveland - T1      11,000   16,300  NEC

 MT    State   -                Black Butte          3,000    3,000  CND    
               -              * Hassey Creek             -      500  NEC
               -              * Gobbler Knob             -      400  CN 9/30

 ID    BLM     Boise          * Cowan Reservoir          -      450  NEC

Notes:

* - New fire/incident (this report)  T1/T2 - Type 1 or Type 2 team committed
ARMT - All-risk management team      CN - Expected date of containment
NEC - No estimate of containment     CND - Contained
NR - No report received              DM - Demobilizing

3) FIRE ACTIVITY - 78 fires for 13,809 acres in the past 24 hours.

4) ANALYSIS - Very high to extreme fire indices are still being reported in
California, the Northwest, the Great Basin and the Rockies.  Fire activity
continues due to record high temperatures and strong winds.

5) PROGNOSIS - The potential exists for increased activity due to the
arrival of hunting season and forecasted warm and dry weather.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 10/01]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Theodore Roosevelt (North Dakota) - Surplus Elk

The park will be conducting an elk roundup and live capture in its South
Unit this winter.  Elk are exceeding limits of the established carrying
capacity in the unit, and the plan for management of the species provides
for periodic culling until an agreement for a free-ranging herd can be
reached with local ranches, the Forest Service and the state.   The park
expects to make approximately 200 surplus elk available for other federal
agencies, Indian tribes, and other states.  Elk will be transferred under a
supplemental agreement, which will address reimbursement to the park for
each animal.  Please contact the park staff (701-623-4466) if you know of
any NPS area, tribe, or federal or state agency that might be interested in
surplus elk.  [Roger Andrascik, THRO]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Brady at meeting in Denver, CO (9/28-9/30).

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Berkowitz on AL (9/28-10/9).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Gale and Broyles, ARM Team, Everglades and
Biscayne, FL (indefinite).

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