NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, November 23, 1994

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

94-647 - East Coast Areas - Follow-up on Tropical Storm/Hurricane Gordon

Several more reports have been received regarding the storm's impact on East
Coast parks:

* Big Cypress - The Stairstep and Loop Units, which comprise approximately
204,000 of the park's 582,000 acres, have been closed to hunting and off-road
vehicle use due to unprecedented high water levels.  The closure affects the
general gun season, which is traditionally the most popular season for south
Florida hunters.  The park's remaining four management units are still open to
hunting.  High water levels continue to stress animal populations by
concentrating animals on limited high ground, reducing or eliminating forage,
and dispersing animals from their normal home ranges.  Park staff are
monitoring water levels and habitat status on a continuing basis.

* Cape Hatteras - On November 18th, the park experienced hurricane force winds
and ocean overwash on Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke Islands.  The dunes,
groins, and sandbags at Cape Hatteras lighthouse were severely damaged by 15-
foot seas and overwash.  Parking areas, boardwalks and overlooks were also
damaged.  Park crews worked day and night shifts placing rubble to protect the
lighthouse, and emergency contract work to install additional sandbagging was
begun.  Beach access ramps and turnouts were damaged by overwash from
Pea Island to Ocracoke.  A five-mile stretch of road between the pony pens and
northern ferry docks on Ocracoke was covered by three to five feet of sand from
beach dune erosion.  Dunes washed out north of Buxton and Hatteras Village. 
Boardwalks, sidewalks, ramps, overlooks, bollards and signs were lost in and
around the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and most ocean-side facilities on both
Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.  There were no reported visitor or employee
injuries due to the storm.  It's estimated that damage will exceed $400,000.

* Assateague Island - The park was spared from the storm's full impact by the
cold front that stalled Gordon off Hatteras.  There was some overwash of dunes
in the Tom's Cove District, but no significant damage to facilities.  There was
some damage to the "backtrail" in the Sinepuxent District, which runs behind
the dune line from the ORV zone entrance to the Virginia state line.  Although
the entire trail has not yet been surveyed, it's expected that there will be
large stretches where the road has been washed over and scoured.  Except for
the two ORV zones, all park areas were reopened on November 19th.

[Bill Carroll, CR, BICY; Brion Fitzgerald, CR, ASIS; Joe Smith, CR, CAHA;
11/18-22]

94-653 - Lake Meredith (Texas) - Successful Search

Early on the evening of November 19th, the opening day of general deer hunting
season, the park received notification that 48-year-old M.T. of White
Deer, Texas, had failed to return from a hunting trip as scheduled.  M.T. was
last seen in the riverbed of the Canadian River near the Plum Creek area. 
Searchers were very concerned about M.T. because he was an insulin-dependent
diabetic and did not have his insulin with him, and because rain, fog and an
increasing cold wind had created hypothermic weather conditions.  Park ranger
Old Mouse and M.T.s' hunting companion, Steven Kossey, located the overdue
hunter by responding to gun shots that M.T. was firing.  [Patrick McCrary,
LAMR, 11/22]

94-654 - Pictured Rocks (Michigan) - Poaching Arrests

On November 14th, rangers discovered the carcass of an eight-point white-tailed
deer that had been illegally shot a day before the Michigan rifle deer season
opened.  Rangers and a Michigan DNR officer set up surveillance over the
carcass.  Later that evening, M.K. was observed dragging the deer
back to his vehicle; he and his brother, M., were arrested and charged
with taking deer out of season.  Two 30-06 rifles with scopes were confiscated
from the vehicle.  Ballistic tests will be run on the rifle slug obtained from
the deer, a spent rifle shell casing obtained from the suspect's vehicle, and
the two weapons that were seized.  [Larry Hach, CR, PIRO, 11/15]

                [More pending incident reports on Friday...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

Two significant fire complexes are currently active in the south - the Cedar
Mountain Complex (474 acres) in the Chattahoochee/Oconee National Forest in
Georgia, and the Cherokee North Complex (981 acres) in the Cherokee National
Forest in Tennessee.  A Type I team has been assigned to the former, a Type II
to the latter.  Precipitation aided suppression efforts in Georgia yesterday,
but the Tennessee complex remained active.  Fire activity is expected to
continue throughout the area because of forecast dry and windy conditions.

Mary Jo Brown, a silviculturist from the Brasstown District of
Chattahoochee/Oconee NF, was fatally injured while engaged in firefighting
operations on the Cedar Mountain Complex on Sunday.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Wolf Reintroduction

Alberta and British Columbia authorities have chosen two general areas for
removing wolves for translocation to Yellowstone and central Idaho.  These
areas fit the criteria of having adequate numbers of wolves, having elk and
deer as primary prey, and having similar landscape as habitat.  The area chosen
in British Columbia is located approximately 470 miles north of the U.S.-Canada
border.  Operations will be based out of the small town of Fort St. John. 
Forest cover in the area is sparse enough to permit helicopter darting of
wolves, a technique familiar to local Ministry of Environment and Parks
personnel.  They believe that desired members of wolf packs can be removed in a
safe, humane, and cost-effective manner.  Wolves from the Fort St. John area
are expected to go primarily to Yellowstone, because members from discrete
packs are more likely to be captured, thus the relationships between individual
wolves will more likely be known.  Knowledge of the wolves' social
relationships is important in reducing the level of stress experienced by
wolves in the acclimation pens in the Lamar Valley; unrelated (or unfamiliar)
wolves placed together in a one-acre enclosure would probably fight.  A
cooperative agreement for covering translocation costs is being developed
between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the British Columbia Ministry of
Environment and Parks.  The area chosen in Alberta extends over an area of 160
miles and stretches northwest-southeast along the eastern front of the Rocky
Mountains.  Operations will be based out of the towns of Rocky Mountain House
and Hinton.  Since this area is characterized by substantial tree cover,
darting from helicopters will probably not be an effective capture method.  As
a result, snaring will probably be the capture method of choice in this
province.  Because of forest cover, it is more likely that radio-collared
wolves will not be observed during telemetry flights.  As a result, less is
expected to be known about the social relationships of wolves captured in
Alberta.  Thus, it is likely that wolves captured in Alberta will be
translocated to and released in the central Idaho wolf recovery area.  Radio
collars are being placed on wolves in both areas one to three weeks prior to
initiating captures for translocation.  Pre-collaring is designed to simplify
capture of wolves for translocation.  It will also permit follow-up monitoring
by the Canadians to assess the impact of wolf removals, and will allow some
disease screening to ensure that wolves selected for reintroduction meet the
"disease-free" criteria established by U.S. and Canadian veterinarians. 
Additionally, pre-collaring may facilitate capture of wolves for reintroduction
initiatives in subsequent years.  As of November 13th, two wolves (a 95 pound
male and a 82 pound female) had been captured, radio-collared, and released in
Alberta.  Unfortunately, the male was shot and killed (legally) on November
14th.  Prior to initiating capture of wolves for translocation, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service staff will construct temporary holding facilities (i.e.
kennels) where the wolves will be confined until transport to the U.S.  The
kennels will measure 12 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 6 feet high.  They will be
situated in a secure area where access will be strictly limited.  An aluminum
transport box (along with bedding material) will be placed in each kennel so
that the wolves can avoid inclement weather and visual contact with people
during those rare occasions when people are present in the area.  Prior to
transport to the U.S., each wolf will be given a thorough physical exam and
outfitted with a radio-collar.  This ensures that, barring an unforeseen event,
the wolves will not have to be handled in Yellowstone Park prior to being
released into the wild.  To ensure the safety and health of the wolves, a
veterinary staff will monitor the wolves during capture, confinement, and
transport, and will be on hand to help ensure the health and welfare of the
wolves while in acclimation pens in Yellowstone.  If all goes as planned, up to
15 wolves will be residing in acclimation pens in the Lamar Valley by December. 
After releasing the wolves in early 1995, park staff will begin the difficult
task of documenting how the animals respond to their new environment.  Although
some will behave predictably, others will not.  The National Park Service and
the Fish and Wildlife Service anticipated this uncertainty and designed the
recovery effort so that about 15 wolves would be reintroduced every year for
three to five consecutive years.  This approach ensures that a population of
wolves will be restored to Yellowstone, but the uncertainty of individual
animal behavior remains.  Accordingly, it is important that we maintain
realistic expectations concerning the fate of individual wolves.  ["Yellowstone
Wolf Tracker", 11/22]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

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
SkyPager:  Emergencies ONLY: 1-800-759-7243, PIN 2404843