NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, May 31, 1994

Broadcast: By 0930 ET

INCIDENTS

No reports this morning.

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level I

2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY

State  Agency     Area            Fire              5/26      5/31   Status

 NC    USFS      -               Fish Day - T1    23,000    24,600   CN 6/2

 UT    State     -             * R106                  -     8,080   CND

 CA    BLM       Cal Desert    * Brown                 -     1,012   CND   

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

3) FIRES YESTERDAY (BY AGENCY) -

                NPS     BIA     BLM     FWS     States     USFS      Total

Number            4       4       2       0         32       25         67
Acres Burned      1      15       1       0         21       41         79

4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -

               Crews     Engines     Helicopters     Airtankers     Overhead

Federal            2        23           10               5           242
Non-federal        0         8            0               2            67

5) CURRENT SITUATION - Initial attack activity is continuing in Alaska,
California and the Southwest.  Minor initial attack activity was also
reported yesterday in the eastern Great Basin, Rocky Mountains and
Southeast.  Fire dangers in Florida and North Carolina are ranging from high
to extreme; the Fish Day Fire has slowed dramatically, however, since the
fire received rain last Thursday.

6) OUTLOOK - There will be increasing clouds and a chance of thunderstorms
throughout southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.  Widely scattered
thundershowers are forecast for Southeastern coastal states.  Initial attack
activity is expected to decrease in most areas.

[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/31]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) Status Report on Telecommunications Networks and Internet - Over the last
few years NPS has completed the ParkNet project, which set up new
communications services (cc:Mail and videoconferencing) and standardized
communications for administrative systems.  The ParkNet II project is now
underway to meet the rapidly increasing communications needs of the
streamlined NPS, the coming requirements of the electronic government, and
to provide access to the information highway. The goal of ParkNet II is to
build a high-speed, reliable communications infrastructure, including access
to Internet, to the park level.

ParkNet II will: 

* Improve the usefulness and functionality of projects in resource
management, planning, interpretation, and other program areas through
greatly improved field access to pertinent information, and through
rapid, reliable large file transfer capabilities.

* Increase the speed and ease of use of cc:Mail and administrative
system connections.

* Save money by increasing the speed of communications and sharing costs
with other DOI bureaus.

* Give full Internet access to NPS employees (not just Internet mail, as
is available now).

* Allow the NPS to make information available to other organizations
over the information highway.

* Support the major partnership and education initiatives now underway.

ParkNet II will use DOINET, the Department's high-speed private
communications network, for major "backbone" connections.  For some parks,
ParkNet II will provide a "dedicated", or directly wired, connection; for
others, ParkNet II will provide a sophisticated, high-speed modem-computer
combination to reach the network.

The NPS began implementing ParkNet II in earnest last fall.  The speed at
which ParkNet II will proceed is dependent solely on how fast funds and
staffing are made available.  The FY95 GIS budget contains $1 million (of an
estimated total $4 million needed) to begin purchasing equipment for parks. 
Adequate technical support remains a major issue.  Some types of problems
can be diagnosed and fixed "remotely" by experts in the field.  Field-
located communications "circuit riders" will provide technical assistance to
parks.   Eight FTEs for this are in the FY95 budget now under review by
Congress; more will certainly be needed.

Currently, the following activities are underway:

* The Denver and Alaska regional offices are on the network.

* Seattle, Atlanta, and San Francisco, and some WASO offices are
expected to go on the network within six months.

* The NPS has obtained an Internet license and opened a gateway to
Internet accessible through DOINET.  NPS addresses on Internet will
all end in "@nps.gov".  (Because of security considerations, except
for mail, currently the gateway is one-way outbound only).

* Twenty high-speed modems have been placed in selected locations around
the Service to test dial-in access.

* Park level analysis and costing is now underway, with the goal of
being ready to spend the FY95 funds, and any other funds that surface,
the moment that they become available.  

* Provisions for assistance with Internet "surfing" (finding
information) are being developed, using both an Internet menu for
access, and trained Internet librarians.

* Several locations are setting up "servers" to make NPS information
available on Internet. 

ParkNet II will upgrade communications to the park level, but to achieve the
goal of electronic highway access for every NPS employee requires local area
networks (LANs) in every park.  Recognizing that this will require a major
effort, the Deputy Director has authorized the creation of a Servicewide
task force of park superintendents to oversee the development of a major
budget initiative for the FY 1997 budget.  [This report has been condensed
from a five page, non-technical, question-and-answer style paper.  For a
copy, or for more information, contact Betsy Chittenden at WASO-Information
and Telecommunications Division via cc:Mail or at 202-343-4449]

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

MEETINGS/TRAINING CALENDAR

Calendar appears in the morning report every other Monday.  If you know of a
conference, meeting or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please forward the listing to WASO Ranger Activities.  Entries
are listed no earlier than FOUR months before the event.  Asterisks indicate
new entries; brackets at end of entry indicate source of information:

6/7-10 -- Fifth International Symposium on Society and Resource
Management, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. 
Contact: Michael Manfredo, Human Dimensions in Natural Resources
Unit, CSU, Fort Collins, CO 80523.  [Kathy Jope, PNRO]

6/9-12 -- International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference,
Fairview Park Marriott, Falls Church, VA.  Contact:
International Association of Fire Chiefs, 703-273-0911, ext.
340.  [Response Magazine, NASAR]

6/13-17* -- Southeast Region Superintendents' Conference, Ponte Vedra Beach,
FL.  [Bill Springer, RAD/SERO]

6/16-18* -- Watershed Restoration Techniques, Redwood National Park, CA. 
This three-day course provides an introduction to watershed
rehab techniques, concentrating on erosion control, road removal
and watershed restoration.  It is intended for professionals
working in land management agencies who have knowledge of basic
geomorphic principles.  $100 fee.  For registration of further
information, contact Loretta Farley at 707-465-4113 or 5668, or
via cc:Mail by name.  [Loretta Farley, REDW]

6/17 -- "Unexplored Aspects of the Black Military Experience from 1775
to the Spanish-American War", symposium, Lincoln Theatre,
Washington, DC.  Contact: NCR Public Affairs, 202-619-7226. 
[Earle Kittleman, PAO/NCR]

6/17-19 -- Second Annual Western Regional Conference, Forest Fire Lookout
Association, Rigdon Ranger Station, Willamette NF, OR.  $12 fee. 
Replies due by May 15th.  Contact: Ron Johnson, 503-782-2311 (or
R06F18D05A on USGS Data General).  [Mark Forbes, RAD/PNRO]

6/20-21* -- Partners in Flight National Steering Committee Meeting,
University of Montana, Missoula, MT.  Held in conjunction with
the meeting listed below.  Contact: Debbie Pressman, 202-205-
1205 (fax: 205-1599).  [John Dennis, NR/WASO]

6/21-26* -- Joint Ornithological Meeting, University of Montana, Missoula,
MT.  First joint meeting of American Ornithological Union,
Cooper Ornithological Society, and Wilson Ornithological
Society.  Contact: Don Jenni, University of Montana, 406-243-
5122.  [John Dennis, NR/WASO]

7/6-8* -- Watershed Restoration Techniques, Redwood National Park, CA. 
This three-day course provides an introduction to watershed
rehab techniques, concentrating on erosion control, road removal
and watershed restoration.  It is intended for professionals
working in land management agencies who have knowledge of basic
geomorphic principles.  $100 fee.  For registration of further
information, contact Loretta Farley at 707-465-4113 or 5668, or
via cc:Mail by name.  [Loretta Farley, REDW]

7/12-15 -- "Sustaining the Ecological Integrity of Large Floodplain Rivers:
Application of Ecological Knowledge to River Management,"
LaCrosse, WI.  Contact: Penny Tiedt, University of Wisconsin -
LaCrosse, 608-785-6503.  [Kathy Jope, RAD/PNRO]

7/26-28* -- Southeast Region Chief Ranger/Chief Interpreter Conference,
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.  [Bill Springer, RAD/SERO]

7/28-30* -- Watershed Restoration Techniques, Redwood National Park, CA. 
This three-day course provides an introduction to watershed
rehab techniques, concentrating on erosion control, road removal
and watershed restoration.  It is intended for professionals
working in land management agencies who have knowledge of basic
geomorphic principles.  $100 fee.  For registration of further
information, contact Loretta Farley at 707-465-4113 or 5668, or
via cc:Mail by name.  [Loretta Farley, REDW]

8/3-6 -- Little Bighorn Legacy Program, Billings, MT.  Contact: Doug
McChristian, Little Bighorn, 406-638-2621.

8/9-14 -- "Saving All The Pieces", Society for Ecological Restoration
Conference, Lansing, MI.  Contact: Robert Welch, 517-483-9675. 
[Kathy Jope, PNRO]

8/18-21 -- 67th Pecos Conference, Mesa Verde, CO.  Contact: Linda Towle at
Mesa Verde at 303-529-4510.

8/24-26* -- Watershed Restoration Techniques, Redwood National Park, CA. 
This three-day course provides an introduction to watershed
rehab techniques, concentrating on erosion control, road removal
and watershed restoration.  It is intended for professionals
working in land management agencies who have knowledge of basic
geomorphic principles.  $100 fee.  For registration of further
information, contact Loretta Farley at 707-465-4113 or 5668, or
via cc:Mail by name.  [Loretta Farley, REDW]

8/29-31 -- Sustaining Rangeland Ecosystems, La Grande, OR.  Contact: John
Tanaka, 503-963-7122.  [Kathy Jope, PNRO]

9/22-24* -- Watershed Restoration Techniques, Redwood National Park, CA. 
This three-day course provides an introduction to watershed
rehab techniques, concentrating on erosion control, road removal
and watershed restoration.  It is intended for professionals
working in land management agencies who have knowledge of basic
geomorphic principles.  $100 fee.  For registration of further
information, contact Loretta Farley at 707-465-4113 or 5668, or
via cc:Mail by name.  [Loretta Farley, REDW]

11/14-19* -- CORRECTION - REVISED DATE AND LOCATION: Annual Interagency
Wilderness Conference and 30th Anniversary of the Wilderness
Act, Santa Fe, NM.  Contact: Alan Schmierer, WRO, 415-744-3932. 
[Wes Henry, RAD/WASO]

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone: 202-208-4874
Telefax:   202-208-6756
cc:Mail:   WASO Ranger Activities
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