- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, June 16, 1994
- Date: Thurs, 16 Jun 1994
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, June 16, 1994
Broadcast: By 0930 ET
INCIDENTS
92-620 - Gates of the Arctic (Alaska) - Follow-up on Poaching Arrests
Two more hunters have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from illegal
hunting that took place in the park in August of 1991. On May 16th, H.K.
and his wife, C.K., each pled guilty to a misdemeanor Lacey Act
violation for transportation of illegally taken wildlife. H.K. was
fined $10,000; C.K. was fined $5,000; both were ordered to forfeit
the Dall sheep they had taken and lost their hunting privileges for two
years. As of this date, nine individuals have pled guilty to federal
charges stemming from this investigation. A total of $42,500 in fines have
been assessed. Forfeitures have included a Super Cub airplane, a rifle, six
Dall sheep, four moose, two grizzly bears and two caribous. Two wolves were
also killed illegally, but their hides and skulls had already been destroyed
by the defendants. The investigation is continuing. [Glenn Sherrill, CR,
GAAR, 6/14]
94-303 - Point Reyes (California) - Search and Rescue
Park dispatch received a call at 6:15 p.m. on the evening of June 12th
advising that J.M., 67, was missing from a hike in the Alamere
Falls area of the park. A hasty search was conducted by rangers, but no
sign of him was found. The park requested assistance from the Marin SAR
team at 7:30 p.m. At 1 a.m. the next morning, ranger Paul Sechler found
J.M. He was suffering from a mild case of hypothermia; he was
treated and transported from the scene to a waiting ambulance. [PORE, 6/15]
94-304 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon (California) - Search in Progress
On Monday, June 13th, the park received a report that R.O., 45, a
German citizen working temporarily for NASA at Edwards Air Force Base, was
overdue from a visit to the park. Rangers found his vehicle at a trailhead
in Mineral King Valley, and have established that he was probably in the
area for a day hike. A hasty search was conducted that afternoon, but
failed to turn up any clues. The search is now focusing on Paradise Peak
and the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River. [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 6/15]
94-305 - Yukon-Charley Rivers (Alaska) - Shooting Incident
Around noon on June 14th, Dennis Allen Tucker, a local indigent, opened fire
with a number of weapons in the vicinity of an airstrip on BLM land near
park headquarters in Eagle. During the shooting spree, Tucker damaged a
parked aircraft belonging to an Eagle resident. After Tucker disappeared
into a forested area near the strip, park staff evacuated the area, and two
rangers - the only law enforcement presence in the remote area - monitored
the forest and established a protective perimeter until Alaska state
troopers arrived around 4 p.m. Tucker was arrested and taken to Fairbanks.
Tucker had apparently threatened to kill the owner of the aircraft earlier
in the month. No one was injured in the incident. [Steve Shackelton, RLES,
ARO, 6/15]
94-306 - Mid-Atlantic Regional Office (Pennsylvania) - Burglary
A person or persons broke into the regional office by smashing the window
glass in a first floor window around 2 a.m. on June 7th. Although entry
through the window was apparently attempted, it's believed that the burglar
or burglars were frightened off by an Independence NHP patrol ranger who was
inside the building at the time performing routine checks. By the time the
rangers was able to get out of the building and around to the scene of the
break-in, the burglar or burglars had fled. A multi-extension desk phone
was taken from a desk which abutted the broken window. There are no
suspects at present. [Michael Dumene, INDE, 6/7]
94-307 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Burglary Arrests
A.C., 28, of no known address, was arrested by rangers on 12
burglary counts after he was observed attempting to remove property from
boats in the Lake Mead Marina dry storage area on June 11th. Rangers
located several caches of stolen property while searching for A.C. and
found numerous knives, a spear gun, water skis, life jackets and other
property. A.C. is an itinerant who has been living in the desert for
several months. [Bud Inman, LAME, 6/13]
[More pending incident reports tomorrow....]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - III
2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 6/13 6/14 Status
CO NPS Rocky Mtn NP Cairns 100 90 NEC
State - Divide Crk. - T2 602 685 CND
USFS Routt NF * Rock Creek - T2 - 50 NEC
WY State - * Guernsey - 240 NEC
NM USFS Lincoln NF Bridge - T2 5,380 5,380 CN 6/16
Cibola NF Ryan Comp. - T1 21,898 24,500 NEC
Gila NF * Pigeon - T1 - 2,000 NEC
* Spruce - 80 NEC
State - Flat Comp. - T2 34,250 34,250 CND
UT USFS Manti-Lasal NF Willow Basin - T1 2,300 2,205 CN 6/18
CA State - Lakeland 1,500 2,400 CN 6/15
AK NPS NW Areas * A258 - 650 NEC
* A268 - 102 NEC
* A269 - 300 NEC
* A270 - 90 NEC
Gates/Arc. NP * A207 - 4,000 NEC
Wrang/St El. NP * 413327 - 150 NEC
State - * 412312 - T2 - 2,000 NEC
* 413275 - T2 - 14,000 NEC
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/CS (date) - Expected date of containment
3) FIRE HIGHLIGHTS -
Cairns, Rocky Mountain NP - The fire is being suppressed under a
confinement/containment strategy. Natural barriers are being used and
handline construction is being kept to a minimum.
A258, Northwest Areas - The fire is located within a modified fire
management zone. About 130 firefighters have been committed. As of June
13th, 70% of the perimeter was cold.
A207, Gates of the Arctic NP - The fire is located within a limited fire
management zone. Cooler temperatures with higher relative humidities have
reduced fire activity. There is little fire activity along the perimeter
within the park; active burning and fire spread are now on BLM lands.
413327, Wrangell-St. Elias NP - The fire is near King City on the west side
of the Chisana River and is within three miles of a cabin under permit for
commercial activities. The fire at last report was burning away from the
cabin.
Pigeon, Gila NF - The Type I IMT that was on the Bridge fire has been
reassigned to the Pigeon fire, which is burning in the Aldo Leopold
wilderness and is threatening spotted owl and gila trout habitat.
Ryan Complex, Cibola NF - Complex fires are largely contained. Logistical
support is extremely slow due to a lack of roads and trails.
Willow Basin, Utah State and Manti-Lasal NF - Ten structures were saved
yesterday, but the fire continues to threaten others. Erratic fire behavior
is being reported.
Lakeland, California State - The fire continues to threaten about 200
structures. The north flank has been contained, but firefighters are having
trouble containing the south flank.
413275, Alaska State - Four crews were evacuated from the line on June 14th.
Burning conditions are hot and dry.
4) FIRES YESTERDAY (BY AGENCY) -
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Number - 8 15 2 61 12 98
Acres Burned - 287 4,171 12,688 3,425 4,605 25,176
[NOTE: All figures for fires and acreages are taken from the NICC report and
do not always - as is the case today - include current NPS figures.]
5) COMMITTED RESOURCES -
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Federal 136 47 35 19 477
Non-federal 36 25 0 0 90
6) CURRENT SITUATION - Large fire activity increased yesterday in Alaska,
the Rockies and the Southwest, and resource orders have increased
accordingly. Airtankers were utilized on initial attack fires in the South.
7) OUTLOOK - A red flag watch has been posted for southern Nevada and
northwest Arizona for strong winds and very low relative humidities. A red
flag warning has been posted for southern Utah for similar conditions. The
potential exists for increased fire activity and competition for airtankers,
Type I crews and Type II helicopters.
[NIFCC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/16; NPS/ARO fire briefing,
6/14]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Pictured Rocks (Michigan) - Peregrine Falcons
For the first time since the mid-1960s, peregrine falcons have nested on the
Pictured Rocks cliffs overlooking Lake Superior. Two chicks hatched on June
1st. Peregrines were hacked on the cliffs in 1989 and 1991. The park's
resource management staff is monitoring the birds and attempting to read the
adults' band numbers to determine if they are hacked birds from Pictured
Rocks, Isle Royale or nearby Grand Island, administered by the Forest
Service. [Brian Kenner, RMS, PIRO]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
MEMORANDA
"Ranger Careers", signed by Director Kennedy on June 14th and sent to the
directorate, field directorate, WASO office and division chiefs, and all
park superintendents. Transmits Special Directive 94-3, the new careers
policy for park rangers. Some excerpts from the cover memo:
"By adopting Ranger Careers, we are comprehensively changing all aspects of
ranger personnel matters, including career entry, qualifications, career
progression, individual performance management, and managerial preparation.
We are also providing improved pay and benefits, including enhanced annuity
retirement for our law enforcement and firefighting rangers. The careers of
rangers will henceforth be managed from within the ranger work force, with
consultive assistance from our Personnel Division. We are seeking a
management-driven personnel system, rather than a personnel-driven
management system.
"It will take some time to develop the details of all these new programs,
however, we will move immediately to begin preparations to switch to the new
benchmark position descriptions and begin career-path promotions.
Instructions for this conversion are now being prepared and full
implementation for our permanent work force will take place in July 1994.
"Rapid change, particularly when it appears to be overwhelming or systemic,
can be very threatening to individuals and organizations. It is important
that the transition from our current system to 'Ranger Careers' be carefully
managed in order to obtain maximum employee and managerial support and
acceptance. Therefore, Servicewide transition procedures will be carefully
developed and adhered to in order to achieve a successful transition while
minimizing adverse impacts."
* * * * *
"Incident Management: Operation 'Opportunity'", signed by Deputy Director
Reynolds on June 14th and sent to the directorate, regional directors,
assistant directors, comptroller, office chiefs and superintendents.
Explains the rationale for Operation "Opportunity", and presents the
incident objectives and procedures that will be used in placing central
office staff and financial resources in field areas. The main portion of
the text follows:
"Recent events and circumstances which we are all familiar with have created
a situation in which the National Park Service (NPS) must simultaneously
fill a wide variety of park vacancies and streamline our organization to
reduce its size and the cost of overhead. In order to do so, it will be
necessary to allocate a higher percentage of qualified employees and
financial resources to field areas. This mandate, which is driven both by
field needs and by administrative direction, means in effect, that we
must move such resources from our central offices to field areas.
"To date, the outplacement effort operating under the authority of my
memorandum of February 23, l994, has placed over 50 employees in critical
positions. Kirsten Talken in WASO Personnel has very effectively managed
this initial effort. However, we are now in a position, as outlined below,
to initiate a new process for the outplacement program.
"At present, we have a large number of openings in the parks and an even
larger number of central office employees who have expressed an interest in
being considered for transfers to the field. We have been charged with
choosing the best possible matches between employees and park positions,
keeping in mind a number of important criteria for making such decisions.
"With these thoughts in mind and with the need for an expedited process, I
have appointed Dick Martin to be the Incident Commander for Operation
'Opportunity.'
"The incident objectives of Operation 'Opportunity' will be that placement
opportunities will:
* Minimize the impacts of the buyout on normal attrition in the parks.
* Match qualified employees with vacancies.
* Consider workforce diversity/under-representation as a critical part
of the placement process.
* Consider diversity elements such as dual careers, career development
and "mentoring".
* Help accomplish Servicewide streamlining requirements.
* Ultimately reduce the numbers of GS-14/15 positions in central
offices.
* Consider the widest possible range of feasible matches of employees
and vacancies.
* Balance employees needs and NPS requirements.
* Consider multiple moves of employees to meet the above objectives.
"Dick Martin will function with full authority to negotiate on behalf of
both the Director and myself for this important program. He will approve,
as Incident Commander, the allocation of necessary FTE and funds for
appropriate transfers. The team will negotiate with Superintendents for
park vacancies and with Regional Directors or their designees for
Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent vacancies. Dick will keep me
personally informed on negotiations for these key positions on a daily
basis.
"Once verbal agreement is reached at all appropriate levels on a candidate
for a vacancy, Dick will have approval authority as Acting Deputy
Director/Incident Commander to effect the transfer and the allocation of FTE
and necessary funding. Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent
transfers will be cleared with me prior to final agreement with the Regional
Director. I have asked him to assemble whatever resources are needed to
reasonably expedite this process.
"The exact procedures of the new outplacement process will be forthcoming as
soon as the Incident Management Team develops implementation strategy and
tactics for Operation 'Opportunity.' Please provide Dick and his team your
wholehearted support for this important effort."
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR
The Coming Events calendar appears in the morning report every other
Thursday. If you know of a significant event of Servicewide interest,
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:
6/13-17* -- 50th Anniversary Commemoration, Battle of Saipan, American
Memorial Park, Saipan. Ceremonies on June 15th, fireworks,
dedications, parades, military demonstrations, concerts and
cultural events. As many as 400 World War II veterans and a
number of dignitaries from Japan were expected to participate.
Contact: WAPA/AMME, 671-472-7240 or FTS 700-550-7240.
6/19 -- Army March Out, Valley Forge, Valley Forge, PA. Commemoration
of the Continental Army's 1778 march out of Valley Forge after a
six month encampment to pursue the British. Contact: VAFO, 610-
783-1077.
6/23-26 -- Homestead Days, Homestead, Beatrice, NE. Demonstrations of
pioneer crafts and traditions and a variety of interpretive
programs. Contact: HOME.
6/25 -- African American Culture Festival, National Colonial Farm,
Accokeek, MD. Noon - 6 p.m. Highlights unique aspects and
contributions of the African culture to American society through
music, dance, storytelling, arts, crafts and ethnic foods.
Contact: NCR PAO, 202-619-7226.
6/28 -- Carolina Day, Fort Moultrie (unit of Fort Sumter), SC.
Anniversary observance of colonists' victory over British naval
forces in 1776. Contact: Rick Hatcher, 803-883-3123.
6/29-7/3 -- 50th Anniversary Celebration, Harpers Ferry, WV. Fiftieth
anniversary of the park. Special events include the opening of
a new museum and trails, musical concerts, 19th Century period
performances, and fireworks. Contact: HAFE, 304-535-6298.
7/1-3 -- Establishment Day Hawaiian Cultural Festival, Pu'uhonua o
Honaunau, HI. Features royal court, chants, hula, crafts,
games, food preparation and tasting, canoe rides, and hukilau.
Contact: PUHO, 808-328-2326.
7/2-4 -- Veiled Prophet Fair, Jefferson National Expansion, St. Louis,
MO. "America's largest birthday party" - entertainment, theme
booths, fireworks. Contact: JEFF.
7/4 -- National Independence Day Celebration, Washington, DC. Various
park locations. Parade, concert and fireworks. Contact: NCR
PAO, 202-619-7226.
7/17-22* -- 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Recapture of Guam, War in
the Pacific NHP, Guam. Ceremonies will include dedications of
the new Asan Bay Overlook (Memorial) on July 19th and the
Liberator's Memorial at Asan Point on July 21st. Other
activities include a parade, fireworks, 50-day carnival,
cultural demonstrations, military hardware shows, an air
demonstration, ship demonstrations, and tours and memorial
ceremonies for the 3rd Marines, 77th Army, 1st Provisional
Marines, 9th Brigade of the 3rd Marines, 25th SeaBees, Coast
Guard, 7th Air Force and the U.S. Navy. Dignitaries will
include the commandant of the Marine Corps, military commanders
of Pacific forces, governors and members of the House and
Senate. Many events are in the park. Event management has been
delegated to the Western Region Incident Management Team under
Bryan Swift. Contact: WAPA, 671-472-7240 or FTS 700-550-7240.
7/23-24 -- Northern Plains Indian Culture Fest, Knife River Indian
Villages, Stanton, ND. The event will encompass a wide range of
activities exemplifying the Northern Plains tribes that
frequented the Knife River area from several thousand years ago
to the present. Contact: KNRI, 701-745-3309.
8/6 -- American Camp Lantern Tour, San Juan Island, WA. An 1860s U.S.
Army encampment is the setting for an evening guided walk and
drama presented by park staff and volunteer reenactors.
Contact: SAJH, 206-378-2240.
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