RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

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

Day/Date:  Wednesday, August 4, 1993

Broadcast: By 0900 EDT

INCIDENTS

93-472 - Midwest Parks - Follow-up on Flood Impacts

Midwest Region has prepared a comprehensive summary of the impacts of the
flooding on parks within the region.  That summary follows.  Southwest and
Southeast Regions report that there have been no apparent flood effects on
their parks.

* Effigy Mounds - The Sny Magill area of the park adjacent to the
Mississippi River is completely flooded, with water levels two feet above
the highest mound in the area.  Most of the park's fencing, signs and
interpretive displays have undoubtedly been destroyed.  Stream bank
stabilization work is at best delayed and may have been completely wiped
out.  Vegetation survey work has also been washed out.  The headquarters
area has been impacted by landslides and by trail rutting and washouts. 
Administrative and visitor facilities have been without drinking water since
June 22nd.  Visitation has dropped significantly; the total for the period
from June 28th to July 14th was about the same as the park normally receives
over the Fourth of July weekend.  Vehicles and other equipment have been
damaged and expenses have been incurred in providing assistance to
surrounding communities.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $40,000.

* Fort Larned - The Pawnee River flooded park lands and overtopped the
park's entrance road, forcing closure of the area.  Curatorial objects were
relocated to higher ground.  The park's picnic area remains closed. 
Personnel and equipment were made available to assist nearby Quivera
National Wildlife Refuge.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $120,000.

* Homestead - Heavy rains coupled with existing ground saturation caused Cub
Creek to overflow within the park.  Trails and footbridges were flooded;
interpretive displays and living history areas were threatened.  Living
history items were removed to higher ground.  Estimated cost of
rehabilitation: $50,000.

* Pipestone - Heavy rains caused Pipestone Creek to flood and washed out
footbridges and part of the park's trail system.  The swollen creek also
carried debris into the waterfalls area, necessitating a significant clean-
up effort.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $35,000.

* Herbert Hoover - Wapsinonoc Creek left its banks, flooding part of the
park's historical zone and picnic areas.  Quarters and historic structures
were flooded, and park equipment had to be removed from the maintenance
area.  Bank stabilization was lost, bridge abutments were undermined, and
utility lines and pipes were exposed.  The presidential grave site was
closed.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $50,000.  

* George Washington Carver - Heavy rains damaged the historic Carver house. 
Flooding along the creek has also damaged the trail system and retaining
walls.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $50,000.

* Saint Croix - High water caused closure of parts of the Lower St. Croix. 
Damage has been inflicted on river access points, roads, trails, backcountry
camps, and sanitary facilities.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $55,000.

* Jefferson National Expansion - Impacts on the park have been cited in
previous morning reports.  Estimated cost of rehabilitation: $550,000.

[John Townsend, RAD/MWRO, 8/3]

93-541 - Manassas (Virginia) - Follow-up on Arson Fire

Arson has been ruled as the cause of the fire which destroyed a large
portion of the historic Robinson House on the evening of July 26th. 
Virginia State Police officers are leading the investigation, which is being
conducted in conjunction with park staff and agents from the FBI and ATF. 
Professional staff from the National Capital Regional Office and
Williamsport Preservation Training Center have assessed the damage and are
preparing alternatives and estimates for the structure.  [Kenneth
Apschnikat, Superintendent, MANA, 8/2]

93-554 - Yosemite (California) - Follow-up on Employee Injury

Yesterday's report on the incident in which Yosemite dispatcher Pat Teague
was bitten failed to indicate what bit him.  It was a rattlesnake.  We
regret the omission.  The error was at this end, not in the submission.  

93-561 - Badlands (South Dakota) - Lacey Act Citation

On August 18, 1992, a visitor left a wildlife radio collar and a note in a
ranger vehicle.  The note, which was not signed, indicated that its author
had found a complete bighorn skeleton and provided its approximate location. 
Rangers located the remains and found that the skull had been removed from
the site.  The collar information indicated that the animal was a six- to
seven-year-old ram which had last been observed in July of 1990.  Since
rangers had written down the license plate numbers of vehicles left at
trailheads as a normal patrol procedure, they were able to establish that
the visitor who'd left the collar was M.W. of Orr, Minnesota.  Upon
further investigation, they came up with probable cause to believe that
M.W. possessed the animal's skull and horns.  Fish and Wildlife Service
agents contacted Wurst, who admitted to taking, transporting and possessing
the skull.  They issued a Lacey Act citation, and M.W. was fined $350.  The
skull was recovered and added to the park's study collection.  [John
Donaldson, BADL, 8/2]

93-562 - Arkansas Post (Arkansas) - Storm Impact

On the afternoon of Monday, August 2nd, the park was struck by a severe
storm with winds of up to 50 mph and over an inch of rain.  Although there
were no injuries and no damage was inflicted on park facilities or property,
several large trees were blown down and limbs from surrounding trees covered
the historic town site and fields around the visitor center.  The entrance
road was closed briefly until trees could be removed.  [Eddie Wells, CR,
ARPO, 8/3]

93-563 - Biscayne (Florida) - Court Settlement; Resource Violation

On July 23rd, C.D. of Palm Beach appeared in federal
magistrate's court to answer charges stemming from the June 21st grounding
of his 53-foot vessel on and subsequent damage to a portion of a park reef. 
In a plea agreement arranged by the U.S. attorney, C.D. agreed to donate
$10,000 directly to the park in lieu of prosecution.  The money will be used
for future preservation and protection of the reef system.  [Wayne Elliott,
Acting CR, BISC, 8/1]

93-564 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Resource Violation

On July 29th, rangers noted a suspicious vehicle in the Kipuku Puaulu (Bird
Park) special ecological area, a location containing a number of rare and
endangered species.  They staked out the Bird Park trail and soon saw a
local man come down the trail and throw a large bag into his truck.  They
confronted the man, who informed them that he'd been collecting a locally
rare variety of maile, a plant whose leaves and bark are highly valued in
the manufacture of leis.  He said that he knew it was illegal, but that he
collected it anyway.  Removal of maile not only depletes this locally rare
species, but also endangers the associated native and rare plants in the
area.  Legal action will be pursued.  [Jim Martin, CR, HAVO, 7/30]

93-565 - Gulf Islands (Florida/Mississippi) - Drowning

D.L., 19, of Birmingham, Alabama, drowned off Perdido Key around
4 p.m. on the afternoon of July 31st.  D.L. and two friends had been on
a sandbar about 50 yards offshore when waves and current swept them off it
and they began yelling for help.  Others in the area did not respond
immediately because they thought the three were just playing around.  
Visitors eventually went to their help and summoned park lifeguards from the
guarded beach about a quarter mile away.  D.L.'s companions were found,
but he could not be located.  He was eventually spotted by a Lifeflight
helicopter and pulled from the water.  CPR was begun, but D.L. was
pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital at 5 p.m.  [Gene Phillips,
CR, GUIS, 8/2]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level II

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire               8/3       8/4   Status

 AK    State   SW Area           304632 - T2      11,550    11,550   NEC
               Tanana Zone       B248             36,000    36,000   NEC

 CA    State   San Benito-
                Monterey         Rancho            5,000     5,000   CND   
       USFS    Inyo              Bald Mtn.           350       350   CND   
                               * Inyo Complex          -     1,000   CND

 AZ    State   -                 Bug - T2          5,676     5,676   CND   
       USFS    Tonto             Edwards - T2      2,000     3,029   CN 8/4

 CO    BLM     Montrose          Roatcap - T2        150       150   CND   
 
 NC    State   Wilmington      * Spooky Too            -       800   NEC

 FL    USFS    Ocala             Juniper           1,150     1,150   CN 8/5
 
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:

  NR - No report received      MS - Modified suppression strategy
  CL - Controlled              MN - Being monitored
  CS - Confinement strategy    NEC - No estimate of containment
  CND - Contained              CN (date) - Expected date of containment
  DM - Demobilized

3) PARK FIRE REPORTS - Fire activity in the parks remains moderate.  The
Alpine hotshot crew has been dispatched to the Roat Fire, and the Arrowhead
crew is on the Edwards Fire.  The few fires reported are all modest in size
and are not active.  Fire danger is extreme at Sequoia/Kings Canyon and
Cumberland Island and very high at about a dozen other areas throughout the
West.

4) ANALYSIS - Fire activity continued yesterday in the Southwest,
California, Colorado and the Great Basin because of persisting hot, dry
weather and thunderstorms.

5) PROGNOSIS - Increased initial and extended attack operations are possible
in the Southwest, Great Basin, California and Rockies because of high
temperatures and scattered thunderstorms.  Activity in Alaska will moderate,
however, due to the arrival of cooler temperatures and increased clouds and
rain.  High temperatures and drought conditions in several states will
likely lead to continued initial attack activity in the South.

[NIFCC Intelligence Section, 8/4]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
   
No field reports today.

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: No leave or travel scheduled.

Branch of Resource and Visitor Protection: Sisto at meetings in Alaska
Region (7/26-8/6). 

Branch of Fire and Aviation: Spruill at interagency aviation meeting (8/1-
8/8) and aviation management council work group meeting (8/8-8/13); Botti
(8/1-8/6), Gale (8/3-8/5), Broyles (8/6-8/16), Clark (8/2-8/13) and Swain
(8/2-8/6) on AL.

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: Branch of R&VP - 202-208-4874
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5572
Telefax:   Branch of R&VP - 202-208-6756
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - 202-208-5977
cc:Mail:   Branch of R&VP - WASO Ranger Activities
           Branch of F&A (WASO) - WASO Fire and Aviation
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY (numeric message) - 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843 
SkyTalk:   Emergencies ONLY (voice message) - 1-800-759-8255, PIN 2404843