NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, October 26, 1994

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

94-209 - Denali (Alaska) - Follow-up on Commercial Use Violation

While registering for a climb at Talkeetna on May 1st, W.M. told
rangers that he was the expedition leader for a group of four climbers who
would be ascending Mount McKinley.  Acting on a tip, South District ranger J.D.
Swed and mountaineering rangers Jim Phillips and Kevin Moore interviewed the
group and discovered that two of its members - both physicians from Alabama -
had compensated W.M. to guide the trip through a mixed cash, loan and land
transaction.  One physician was a business acquaintance of W.M., but had
minimal mountain climbing experience; the other had no climbing experience and
had never held an ice axe.  The expedition was terminated by rangers at this
point, partly because of its illegality and partly because of safety concerns. 
On October 5th, W.M. pled guilty to one count of 36 CFR  5.3 (engaging in
an unauthorized business in a park area).  W.M. was ordered to pay a $500
fine and was placed on probation for two years, with the special condition that
he must inform Talkeetna rangers of his itinerary prior to entering any
national park area in Alaska with a group.  The successful prosecution of the
case turned on a jurisdictional issue.  Because the Talkeetna ranger station is
a rental property located 22 miles south of the park, it does not fall within
the existing (but soon to be revised)  1.4 definition of "boundary."  The U.S.
Attorney's Office supported the case under the theory that the defendant's act
(registering the group) was sufficient to place the case within an area of
less-than-fee interest (the leased property) and therefore met the
jurisdictional requirements of 36 CFR  1.2(a)(3).  [Russ Wilson, Paralegal,
ARO, 10/17].

94-606 - Big Thicket (Texas) - Follow-up on Flooding

Streams in southeast Texas continued to drop yesterday.  Most area roads are
open, with the exception of I-10 and U.S. 90, which remain closed at the site
of the pipeline explosion.  Most employees have returned to their normal
schedules.  Law enforcement rangers continue to patrol both the upper and lower
Neches River.  Rangers detailed to the park from Jean Lafitte were released
yesterday morning.  As waters recede, park staff will begin efforts to estimate
the damage inflicted on Big Thicket.  [Richard Strahan, BITH, 10/25]

94-613 - Cape Cod (Massachusetts) - Suicide

On the afternoon of October 16th, rangers on patrol on the beach in the Long
Point area of Provincetown found a leather backpack at the high tide line.  The
pack, which had been in the water, contained cash, a receipt for a recently
purchased handgun, and several other items indicating the possibility of a
suicide.  Further investigation revealed that suicide was probable; as a more
intensive search was being organized, visitors reported to Provincetown police
that a body had been located in the area.  Responding rangers and police
officers found the body of R.A., 33, of Providence, Rhode Island, who
apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  The body was in the rocks
of a breakwater about a quarter mile from the point where the backpack had been
found.  [Rick Obernesser, CR, CACO, 10/17]

94-614 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Marijuana Conviction

D.R.A., 39, of Layland, West Virginia, was arrested on a warrant on
September 7th after being indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of
sale and distribution of marijuana and one count of cultivation of marijuana in
the park.  The arrest culminated at six-month undercover operation in the park
which netted 130 marijuana plants and 132 grams of processed marijuana.  The
operations was supported by a special Mid-Atlantic Regional Office account. 
D.R.A. is being held without bail pending trial because of his extensive mental
and criminal histories, the latter including a conviction for attempted murder. 
[Chris Schrader, CI, Sandstone District, NERI, 10/17]

94-615 - Grand Canyon (Arizona) - Significant Assist; Aircraft Accident 

On the afternoon of October 17th, the Grand Canyon Airport control tower
notified rangers that a King Air Cessna 402 with ten persons aboard was due to
land in 30 minutes with malfunctioning landing gear.  Five park fire and EMS
vehicles responded along with the park helicopter and approximately 20 park
personnel.  Upon landing, the aircraft's landing gear collapsed and it skidded
to a stop on its belly.  There was neither fire nor collision.  Four persons
were transported by ambulance to local hospitals with minor back injuries, and
another six persons were treated and released for minor injuries.  The cause of
the accident is under investigation.  [CRO, GRCA, 10/18]

               [More pending incident reports tomorrow....]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) Departmental Medical Officer - Dr. Mariano Pimentel, the long-time medical
director for the Department of Interior, retired on October 1st.  The interim
director of DOI's Medical Services Division will be Robert Garbe.  He will deal
with divisional issues, and can be reached at 303-236-7128.  Dr. Cristy Lipapis
of the Bureau of Mines' Pittsburgh Research Center will be the acting medical
director.  Dr. Lipapis can be reached at 412-892-6457.  [Jim Lee, RAD/WASO]

2) Uniform Allowances - An unfounded rumor is making the rounds that the
National Park Service is about to increase its uniform allowances.  The rumor
appears to have had its origin in the recent release of an OPM regulation
permitting agencies, in essence, to establish their own allowance ceilings,
based on the authority found in the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act of
1990.  Prior to passage of this law and its implementing regulations, agency
allowances were constrained by a ceiling established by law at $125 in 1954 and
subsequently revised upward to $400.  The National Park Service led the effort
to develop these regulations and was instrumental in the effort to have them
implemented.  Although the NPS now has authority to set allowances -
particularly initial allowances - at levels the agency deems appropriate, the
Service does not yet have the requisite funding to make desired increases. 
Such funding was sought as part of the Ranger Futures implementation package
last year, but was struck from the Service's appropriations by Congress.  [Bill
Halainen, NPS Uniform Committee Chair]

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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