RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Monday, November 16, 1992

Release:   0830 EDT

INCIDENTS

92-590 - Wrangell-St. Elias (Alaska) - Follow-up on Structural Fire

Arson has been determined to be a possible cause of the fire which burned
the Slana Ranger Station to the ground during the early morning hours of
November 6th.  There have been four arson fires in the area since Wrangell-St.
Elias was established in 1978.  An NPS-leased aircraft being used by the
task force sent to the park shortly after its creation was damaged by an
incendiary device, and a leased ranger station was destroyed by arson in
1980.  Arsonists have also burned a BLM-owned structure and a timber bridge
on the Nabesna Road, which runs 42 miles into the park.  A number of recent
incidents have provoked a great deal of animosity among local residents,
including NPS determination of subsistence resident zone community
boundaries, subsistence board closure of a subsistence caribou hunting
season within the park, and several criminal cases involving hunting
violations and grazing trespass.  Park staff have identified several
suspects.  The value of the facility and its contents has been placed at
approximately $200,000.  [Jay Wells, CR, WRST, 11/13]

92-603 - Glen Canyon (Utah/Arizona) - Homicide/Suicide

Late on the afternoon of Friday, November 13th, park dispatch received a
report that the bodies of two adults and a dog had been discovered in a room
at the Bullfrog Lodge.  At the time of the report, rangers and Kane County
deputies were en route to the scene.  Preliminary information obtained
through the phone report indicates that this may be a case of homicide,
after which the assailant committed suicide.  A follow-up report will appear
tomorrow.  [Larry Clark, CR, GLCA; Brian Reilly, LES, RAD/RMRO, 11/13]

92-604 - Cape Hatteras (North Carolina) - Burglars Arrested

On the afternoon of November 5th, the park received a BOLO for two persons
believed to have broken into a building in nearby Nags Head.  Ranger Paul
Stevens spotted the vehicle on Bodie Island in the park's North District and
called in other rangers, Dare County deputies, Nags Head police officers and
North Carolina state troopers.  As the car was being stopped, the passenger,
J.J., attempted to hide a purse under the vehicle.  It was retrieved
and was found to contain two wallets.  Investigation revealed that the purse
came from the break-in in Nags Head and that the two wallets were from a
burglary committed in the park earlier that day.  J.J. and his partner,
Michael Ballance, were arrested without incident.  Interviews with the pair
led to the clearance of four prior burglaries - three in the park and one in
Nags Head - and the possible clearance of two other park burglaries. 
Multiple state larceny charges have been filed on both of the men.  J.J.
also told investigators that he planned to run after being stopped, but that
he changed his mind when he saw the number of officers present.  The stop
occurred only a mile from the range where the park was conducting firearms
qualifications, so many rangers had responded.  [CR, CAHA, 11/13]

92-605 - Big Bend (Texas) - Drug Seizure

A joint drug interdiction operation conducted by the park, Border Patrol,
DEA and Customs led to the netting of a 200-pound load of marijuana on the
evening of November 10th.  The load was transported across the Rio Grande
and into the park via horse, and was interdicted at a backcountry campsite
in Big Bend.  Two Mexicans from Santa Elena were arrested with the load;
three others escaped into Mexico despite efforts by rangers to unseat the
horsemen.  [RAD/SWRO, 11/13]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Alaska Region - Wolf Management

The regional office is developing a response letter to a request from the
state fish and game department for a formal review of their wolf management
plans in the interior and south central areas of the state.  The Service has
major concerns about the possibility of wolf control adjacent to Denali and
Yukon Charley Rivers.  Draft area-specific plans have been received for the
North Slope and southeast Alaska and are being reviewed prior to discussion
at the upcoming game board meeting.  New plans to be drafted by spring for
the Kenai Peninsula/Prince William Sound area and possibly the remainder of
the interior.  [Layne Adams, ARO]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Brady at Alaska chief rangers' conference (11/19-11/20).

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Dickerhoof, Smith and Marriott at
law enforcement conference at FLETC (11/16-11/20); Martin at same conference
(aa/18-11/20).

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Travel information not available.

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