NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, August 22, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

94-641 - Joshua Tree (California) - Follow-up on Poaching Arrest

On November 12, 1994, a ten-month-long wildlife poaching case culminated in the
filing of charges against two people for poaching in the park.  Last week,
T.E., one of the two defendants, pled guilty to two state misdemeanor
charges and was ordered to pay a $600 fine, required to remove the bait and
watering basins from his properties, and placed on three years' probation.  The
state will probably revoke his hunting privileges for two years.  The case
began in February, 1994, when park investigators discovered a hunting blind,
bait and artificial watering hole on T.E.'s inholding.  As a result of the
investigation, T.E. sold his inholding and no longer owns any land within the
park.  [CRO, JOTR]

95-533 - Natchez Trace (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Death of Employee

Sandra Blumenschine, who worked as a telecommunications operator in the park
until two weeks ago, died following a long bout with cancer.  Sandy also worked
at White Sands, Saint Croix, and Petersburg.  No further information is
currently available.  [Gordon Wissinger, CR, NATR]

95-534 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Rescues

A severe thunderstorm struck the Boulder Beach area on the afternoon of August
12th.  Offshore winds in excess of 50 mph and heavy rain struck with little
warning.  Ranger Tom Valenta was directing the evacuation of the beach area
when he noticed a small inflatable raft with three people in the water around
it which was about 200 yards off shore and drifting further out into the lake. 
Ranger Ryan Regnell responded to the scene in a patrol boat and picked up the
trio; he could not see a fourth person struggling in the water nearby, however,
because of rough water.  Valenta heard the person calling for help, realized
that Regnell couldn't see him, took off his duty gear and shoes, and swam out
to rescue him.  Valenta had to twice employ his lifesaving skills to free
himself from the victim, who tried to climb on top of Valenta to save himself.
Regnell soon spotted the pair and picked them up.  [Dale Antonich, CR, LAME]

95-535 - Devils Tower (Wyoming) - Rescue

Around noon on August 11th, E.H., 22, of Payette, Idaho, was
overcome by heat stroke while climbing the second pitch of the 5.7 Pseudo-
Weissner route on Devils Tower.  E.H. became dehydrated in the 90 degree
temperatures, stopped sweating, and lost consciousness on several occasions. 
Her climbing partners quickly lowered her to the base of the cliff, where
rangers and local EMS personnel applied ice packs and started IVs.  The park's
SAR team performed a belayed litter lower and carryout to the Tower trail. 
E.H. was then taken to a local hospital, where she was treated for heat
stroke and released.  E.H. was not legally registered to climb on the tower,
and will accordingly be issued a citation.  [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]

95-536 - Blue Ridge (North Carolina/Tennessee) - Resource Convictions

While driving to work on August 6th, ranger Tony Welch came upon a man holding
a gallon container of antifreeze at the Soco Gap overlook - an area which had
been under surveillance since June, when resource specialist Rebecca Silvers
found several cups of antifreeze in the area.  Welch asked the man,
subsequently identified as V.T., if he'd been placing the
containers of antifreeze in this area.  V.T. affirmed that he had, saying
that they were being used to collect a genus of beetles that he was studying. 
V.T. was arrested on charges of collecting without a permit, illegally
taking wildlife, illegally possessing wildlife, and destroying natural
resources.  Shortly thereafter, ranger Darius Jones came upon a second man at
the overlook.  R.S., a Czech national who spoke little English,
said that he was awaiting a friend.  Jones subsequently determined that R.S.
was V.T.'s assistant.  R.S. was arrested on the same charges.  During the
investigation, rangers found field notes showing other collections sites in
Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia - sixteen in national parks, six in
national forests, ten in state parks, and five on private lands.  The pair may
also have collected in Arkansas, Missouri and Kansas; sites there are still
under investigation.  Some collection sites were marked with shredded white
plastic bags, used as flagging.  Each site had from six to 33, 16-ounce plastic
cups filled with antifreeze.  The cups were buried in the ground, with their
tops level with the surface, and were covered with bark, rocks or boards. 
Indications are that larger mammals ingested the contents of some of the cups
at each of the sites.  V.T. and R.S. have since been convicted of illegal
taking of wildlife; they have been banned from all NPS and USFS sites for six
months (R.S.) to three years (V.T.), fined, and required to identify all
collection sites, remove all containers, and surrender all specimens to the
NPS.  [Larry Freeman, Protection Specialist, BLRI]

95-537 - Mesa Verde (Colorado) - Burglary Arrest

The manager of Far View Terrace called the park's emergency number just after 4
a.m. on August 15th to report that she was working in the office of the gift
shop and that someone was breaking into the building.  Rangers Zack Rogers and
Jeremy Cords arrived shortly thereafter, and Rogers soon came upon a person -
subsequently identified as 29-year-old M.T. - behind the building. 
When Rogers ordered M.T. to stop, she threw down the rug she was carrying and
ran off.  Rogers pursued and eventually tackled her.  Eight Navajo rugs were
found hidden in a bush and another six were stacked next to the door through
which she'd entered the building.  Four more remain missing.  Total valuation
of the rugs has been placed at over $16,000.  Felony second degree burglary and
theft charges have been filed against her; other charges are pending.  M.T.
is to be arraigned on September 14th.  She is presently out on a $10,000
unsecured bond.  Other rangers who assisted in the investigation were Philip
Arnold, Melissa Cobern, Ben Wardlow, and Jim O'Sickey, the chief investigator. 
[Denise Fuller, Dispatch, MEVE]

95-538 - Glen Canyon (Arizona/Utah) - Drowning

T.B., 43, drowned in Lake Powell early on the morning of August 6th. 
T.B. had just left his son and nephew on a beach in Gunsight Canyon and was
returning to the site where the rest of the T.B. party had camped the night
before.  The boys saw him jump or fall into the water from the moving boat,
yell for help, then disappear under the lake's surface.  Diving operations
continued for almost three days before his body was found in 42 feet of water. 
T.B. had a history of cardiac problems and was not in good physical condition. 
[Tomie Lee, CR, GLCA]

95-539 - St. Croix (Minnesota/Wisconsin) - Drowning

On August 20th, rangers responded to the report of an adult male drowning in
the river.  A multi-agency search led to the recovery of the body of R.R.,
35, of Minneapolis.  R.R.'s three children, ages five, seven and
eight, were swimming in the river in an area with strong currents and a sudden
drop-off when they encountered difficulty.  R.R. went in to rescue them,
possibly with the assistance of another man.  The children were brought safely
to shore, but R.R. slid beneath the surface and drowned.  [Maureen Yunker,
CRO, SACN]

95-540 - Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Maryland) - Felony Arrest

On the morning of August 16th, Park Police officer James White pulled behind a
vehicle with a cracked windshield and no city inspection sticker.  As soon as
he did so, the vehicle's driver attempted to leave the parkway.  White was able
to stop him before he went further, however.  The operator could not produce
either a driver's license or registration.  As he continued to question the
man, White began to suspect that he might have been involved in a robbery and
attempted murder that had taken place at a nearby hotel the day before.  The
driver was placed under arrest, and the search incident to arrest produced a
.38 caliber handgun, two full-face ski masks, and a "Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtle" mask.  He was subsequently charged with attempted first degree murder,
assault with intent to murder, and robbery of a business with a deadly weapon. 
Washington police also interviewed him, and believe he's also responsible for
several robberies with occurred in D.C.  [Ron DeAngelo, East District
Commander, USPP/NCRO]

95-541 - Mojave (California) - Assist; Felony Arrest

On the evening of August 14th, a San Bernadino deputy called the park for
assistance in tracking down C.K., a prisoner who'd escaped from the
Baker correctional facility on the previous evening.  The deputy believed that
he'd fled into the park.  Chief ranger Bill Blake and ranger Brian Willbond
responded.  Blake and the deputy picked up a fresh track, which soon led to
C.K., who was found lying on the ground behind a sagebrush bush.  C.K. was
arrested.  It was later learned that he'd escaped from the minimum security
prison to avoid association with a group with had drawn straws to decide who
would kill another prisoner - or be killed by the group.  C.K. had drawn the
short straw.  [Mary Martin, Assistant Superintendent, MOJA]

FIRE ACTIVITY

The NICC fire report was not available at the time today's Morning Report was
released.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Badlands (South Dakota) - Black-footed Ferret Kits

Five black-footed ferret kits from two litters were located by spotlighting
crews in the park's wilderness during surveys conducted in July and August.
Their two female parents and a third female were found in the core release
prairie dog colonies where 36 ferrets were released last fall.  Reproduction in
the wild is a landmark achievement and validates the methods being used.  Two
of the adult ferrets were exposed to prairie dog burrows and live prairie dogs
while in captivity; the third was a "naive" ferret with no previous exposure to
such an environment before being released.  It's also notable that two of the
females detected this summer had not been seen during intense post-release
spotlight surveys last December, suggesting the possibility that other animals
may have survived that have as yet been undetected.  The goal of this
interagency effort is to establish a self-sustaining population of ferrets
within the Conata Basin/Badlands prairie dog complex.  Reintroduction sites in
Wyoming and Montana also recorded successful breeding efforts and survival of
young this year, increasing hopes that the black-footed ferret, North America's
most endangered mammal, may yet become part of the prairie community.  Other
black-footed ferrets now being raised in seven breeding facilities are
scheduled for release in South Dakota and Montana this fall.  [Bruce Bessken,
BADL]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) IPM - The Corps of Engineers has a new document on an exotic weed common in
national parks which may be of interest to you.  It's called "Purple
Loosestrife Management: Research with Tryclopyr" and can be obtained by writing
the Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, 3909 Halls Ferry Road,
Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199.  [Carol DiSalvo, IPM/WASO]

2) Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - WASO Public Health has sent along a health
advisory concerning another tickborne disease - Rocky Mountain spotted fever. 
The disease, which usually occurs from New York to Florida in the East and from
Alabama to Texas in the South, is most commonly seen from April to September,
but can occur at any time when the weather is warm.  The fever is spread to
people by the bites of some ticks.  Signs of the disease usually begin between
three and twelve days after the bite.  The most common of these are fever,
headache, rash, and nausea or vomiting.  If not treated, the disease can cause
death.  Although there's no vaccine for the fever, it can be prevented.  The
best way is to avoid areas such as woods and fields where ticks are found. 
Since this is not possible for many of you, then the following precautions
should be considered:

* Whenever going into the woods, use tick repellents and wear long sleeved
shirts and pants that fit tightly around wrists, waist, and ankles.

* When in the woods, check yourself and your companions at least twice a
day for ticks.  Use standard methods for removal if you find them.

If you get a fever, headaches, rash, or nausea within two weeks of a possible
tick bite or exposure, you should see your doctor immediately.  [John Hanley,
PHS/WASO]

3) TV Show on NPS - "Steals and Deals", a show which runs on CNBC, NBC's cable
channel, will run a two part series on crime and other problems in national
parks and forests on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week.  The series
first appeared last summer.  It has since been updated and revised.  

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming weeks
on matters pertaining to the National Park Service.  If you would like further
information on any of these hearings or bills, please contact Stacey Rickard in
WASO Legislation at 202-208-3636.

August 28

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Murkowski): Field oversight
hearing at Grand Canyon National Park to review the park's priority needs and
identify ways to address these needs in the context of the park's general
management plan.

September 14

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Murkowski): Hearing on S. 309,
National Park Service Concessions Policy Reform Act of 1995, S. 964, to amend
the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 with respect to fees for
admission to units of the National Park System, and S. 1144, to reform and
enhance the management of the National Park Service.

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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