NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, April 5, 1994

Broadcast: By 0900 ET

INCIDENTS

94-149 - Delaware Water Gap (New Jersey/Pennsylvania) - Rescue

Around 5:20 p.m. on April 2nd, a call came into the park's communications
center reporting that two hikers were in trouble in the vicinity of Point of
Gap overlook above the Delaware River on the Pennsylvania side of the park. 
Rangers responded and found two 17-year-old male juveniles stranded on the
talus slope several hundred feet above the parking area.  The park's rescue
team responded, and the two hikers were lowered separately by ropes over the
next three hours.  The pair said that they'd started out from the parking
area, had gone directly up the talus slope, and had eventually ended up in a
location where they could neither go forward nor retreat.  Thirteen rangers
were involved in the rescue.  [Dennis Burnett, DR, DEWA, 4/4]

94-150 - Amistad (Texas) - Serious Injuries

On April 3rd, 18-year-old H.H. and 19-year-old O.L. were
riding atop a vinyl cover over the bed of a pickup truck when the driver
made a rapid, sharp turn into the trailer dump station in the Diablo East
District and the two men slid off and landed on their heads.  Both received
closed skull fractures and were medivaced to a hospital in San Antonio,
where they are both listed in critical condition.  Alcohol was not a factor
in the incident.  The Easter weekend is traditionally the busiest of the
year at the park and has the highest number of EMS incidents.  [Rod Danner,
CR, AMIS, 4/4]

94-151 - Big South Fork (Tennessee) - Serious Injury

During the early morning hours of April 2nd, S.S., 20, fell from one
of the Twin Arches, critically injuring himself.  S.S. and three other
University of Tennessee students had apparently camped illegally on top of
the north arch.  His companions admitted that they were all drinking alcohol
and smoking marijuana throughout the evening.  Later, while everyone was
sleeping, S.S. awoke, walked off the arch, and fell about 70 feet to the
ground.  Responding rangers, assisted by the Fentress County rescue squad,
were able to stabilize S.S. and complete a two-hour carry-out.  He was then
taken by ambulance to a Lifestar helicopter and flown to Knoxville.  S.S.'s
left lung, left kidney and spleen were removed; he also suffered numerous
broken bones and internal injuries.  He remains in the hospital in critical
condition.  This is the second incident of a visitor falling off the North
Arch during the past week.  [CRO, BISO, 4/4]

94-152 - Saguaro (Arizona) - Resource Damage 

On March 14th, a park neighbor who's also a participant in the "Park Watch"
program advised rangers of a vehicle travelling off road through the desert
west of Panther Peak.  Rangers and Pima County officers responded and found
the operator, C.O., passed out in his vehicle.  Investigation
revealed that C.O. had consumed a large quantity of alcohol before he went
four-wheeling in the park.  Criminal charges totaled $4,150; approximately
$6,000 in native vegetation was damaged or destroyed.  Civil prosecution is
pending.  The "Park Watch" program is in its fourth year at Saguaro and now
involves 700 park neighbors.  It has proved to be a valuable tool in
assisting the park's visitor protection and resource management staff. 
[Paula Rooney, CR, SAGU, 4/4]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) FIRE SITUATION - Preparedness Level I

2) FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire               4/4       4/5   Status

 IN    NPS    Indiana Dunes    * Murphy              155       192   CL  

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 - Containment strategy    NEC - No estimate of containment
  CND - Contained              CN (date) - Expected date of containment

2) FIRE REPORTS

- Murphy Fire (Indiana Dunes) - The fire started around noon on April 2nd
  and was contained the same day.  The cause is unclear.  The fire burned in
  oak forest and savanna fuels in the same areas as last year's 342-acre
  Goliath Fire.  It was stopped with a half-mile-long backfire just before
  it reached structures.  The flanks were contained with a mile-long firing
  operation.

4) ANALYSIS - NIFC intelligence report not available.

5) PROGNOSIS - NIFC intelligence report not available.

[Bill Gabbert, INDU, 4/3-4]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Zion (Utah) - Park Overflights

On October 8, 1993, History Films, Inc. of Salt Lake City was issued a
commercial film permit to make an IMAX-style film for the new theater being
constructed immediately adjacent to the park boundary in the town of
Springdale, Utah.  In order to protect park values of silence and solitude
and to protect threatened and endangered species, the permit issued to
History Films contained a stipulation the no filming by fixed wing or rotary
aircraft would be allowed.  The permittee argued unsuccessfully for an
exception to the "no-fly" clause in their permit, posted a $25,000 cash
bond, and began ground-based filming inside the park.  After the filming
permit expired on November 30, 1993, all filming sites were inspected and
cleared and the bond/deposit was returned.   During the week of March 6th, a
helicopter was observed making numerous low altitude passes over several
portions of the park and adjacent lands.  On March 13th, ranger Lem Pratt
observed the same helicopter towing a hang-glider over the Kolob Canyons
portion of the park and watched it land outside the park adjacent to
Interstate 15.  He contacted the crew and learned that they were working for
History Films getting aerial shots for the film, which is due to premiere
the week of May 22nd.  History Films had apparently learned that the NPS
does not control air space above national parks and filmed at will once they
had finished the ground shots they needed inside the park.  The solicitor
has ruled that the park has no legal basis to issue a violation notice,
since all the filming after November 30, 1993 was done outside park
jurisdiction and no FAA or CFR regulations were violated.  The incident is
being reviewed by the NPS/FAA interagency working group established to
explore ways to limit or reduce impacts from overflights on national parks. 
[Denny B. Davies, CI/PAO, ZION]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

MEMORANDA

"Hantavirus Risks Associated with Spring Clean Out of Over-Wintered
Structures", signed by Acting Director John Reynolds on March 24th and sent
to all regional directors.  Contains background information on hantavirus
and retransmits guidelines for cleaning rodent-infested structures.

IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming
weeks on matters of interest or consequence to the National Park Service. 
If you would like further information on any of these hearings or bills,
please contact Dottie in WASO Legislation at 202-208-3636.

Upcoming Hearings

4/12 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 2638, to designate
certain public lands in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon,
Washington and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers,
national parks and preserve study areas, wild land recovery
areas, and biological connecting corridors.  

4/14 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 3567, to amend the
John F. Kennedy Center Act to transfer operating
responsibilities to the Board of Trustees of the Center.  

4/19 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 1508, to provide for
the reformation of the National Park System; and H.R. 3709, to
reform the process for the study of areas for potential
inclusion in the National Park System.  

4/21 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Mark-up of H.R. 3567 (above); H.R.
743, to amend the NPS Concession Policy Act to foster
competition among concessioners, to improve management of
concessions consistent with the preservation of resources and
the purposes of the NPS; and H.R. 1493, H.R. 2146 and S. 208, to
reform the concessions policies of the NPS.

4/26 -- House Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests
and Public Lands (Vento): Hearing on H.R. 3593, to establish the
Ohio and Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor (Ohio) as an
affiliated area of the NPS; and H.R. 2633, to revise the
boundaries of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
Corridor (Massachusetts and Rhode Island).

5/11 -- Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related
Agencies (Byrd): Hearing on NPS FY 95 budget request.  Witness:
Director Kennedy.

Recent Actions

House -- The House has adjourned until April 12th.

Senate -- The Senate has adjourned until April 12th.
 
Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: 202-208-4874
Telefax:   202-208-6756
cc:Mail:   WASO Ranger Activities
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843