NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, March 1, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-82 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - Methane Explosion; Two Injuries

On the afternoon of February 25th, resource management ranger A.S., 50,
and visitor D.O., 63, were standing about 50 feet from a sluggish
pahoehoe lava flow at the end of Chain of Craters Road when the flow ignited an
underground pocket of methane gas, causing a subterranean explosion and blowing
them about four feet into the air.  There were about 30 other visitors viewing
the lava flow at the time.  Two EMT-certified rangers and two physicians in the
group of visitors provided emergency first aid.  A.S. complained of neck, back
and wrist pain; D.O. complained of back and shoulder pain.  Both were taken to
a nearby hospital and released the following day.  The current eruption is
providing exceptionally spectacular viewing for visitors; the park has
accordingly had to supplement regular interpretation and protection staffing in
the area with resource management and maintenance employees to assist with
traffic control and interpretation.  Although methane explosions are one of the
unpredictable hazards associated with lava flows, this is the first reported
injury from a methane explosion in the twelve-year history of the current
eruption.  [Gail Minami, DR, HAVO, 2/28]

95-83 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Virginia) - Poaching Conviction

On November 26, 1994, rangers in the Peaks/Valley District came upon the
carcass of a seven-point buck which had been shot the previous night. 
Surveillance of the area was begun, and a freshly killed nine-point buck was
found the next night.  Four individuals who returned to retrieve the deer were
arrested.  On February 16th, J.B., who was identified as the man who
shot the deer, pled guilty in federal court to two counts of illegally taking
wildlife, was sentenced to 48 hours in prison, and was ordered to pay $3,100 in
restitution to the parkway and $500 in fines.  State charges are still pending,
and could result in additional jail time, fines and forfeiture of weapons. 
[CR, BLRI, 2/27]

95-84 - Gulf Islands (Mississippi/Alabama) - MVA with Fatality

J.C., 28, of Milton, Florida, died instantly in a single-vehicle
accident in the Santa Rosa area of the park on the afternoon of February 26th. 
One of the two occupants of the vehicle, M.J., 18, is listed in
serious condition at a nearby hospital; the other, N.H., 17, was treated
for a fractured shoulder and released.  Witnesses report that the vehicle, a
high-performance 1993 Camaro, was traveling eastbound at speeds between 90 and
100 mph, passing traffic on the two-lane road, when it went off the highway,
hit some dunes, and began flipping over.  None of the occupants were wearing
seatbelts, and all were ejected.  It is not known who was driving.  Alcohol is
believed to have been a contributing factor.  [Gene Phillips, CR, GUIS, 2/27]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Servicewide - Endangered Species Act Information

The Endangered Species Act is up for reauthorization this year.  To ensure that
all areas have information on this issue, WASO Wildlife and Vegetation sent an
endangered species mailing to all parks during January.  Included in the
mailing was a copy of the Act, the latest list of species protected under the
Act (August 20, 1994), the latest Animal Notice of Review (November 15, 1994),
and the latest Plant Notice of Review (September 30, 1993).  Also included were
two Endangered Species Technical Bulletins with stories about endangered
species on park lands, and the three MOUs the Park Service has signed over the
past year concerning endangered species.  Only a limited number of these
documents are available; parks are encouraged to photocopy them for
distribution.  Meanwhile, Wildlife and Vegetation, with the support of the
National Park Foundation, is developing an endangered species database for
recovery plan tasks.  This database will give provide a gauge of NPS
responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act.  Wildlife and Vegetation
hopes to have this completed for all those species with recovery plans by March
1st.  [WVD/WASO]

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
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