NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, August 23, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-516 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Follow-up on Employee Deaths

Additional information has been received on where to send condolences and
contributions in memory of seasonal climbing ranger Sean Ryan and SCA Phillip
Otis, who were killed last week while attempting to rescue an injured climber
on Mount Rainier.  Cards and letters should be sent to the families in care of
the park (Mount Rainier NP, Tahoma Woods Star Route, Ashford, WA 98304). 
Phillip is survived by his father, Todd Otis, his mother, Margaret Wurtele, and
his stepfather, C. Angus Wurtele.  Memorials should be directed either to Bates
College in Lewiston, Maine, or to the National Outdoor Leadership School in
Lander, Wyoming.  Sean is survived by his parents, Judith and William Ryan. 
The family has asked that memorials be sent to either of the following: Sean H.
Ryan Wilderness Preservation Fund, PO Box 881, Nyack, NY 10960-0881, or Sean H.
Ryan Nyack Memorial Fund, PO Box 472, Nyack, NY 10960-0472.  Donations may also
be made to the Mount Rainier Search and Rescue Fund, Mount Rainier National
Park, Tahoma Woods Star Route, Ashford, WA 98304.  Checks to the latter should
be made payable to DOI/National Park Service.  Both the families and the park's
staff sincerely appreciate the support they've received from everyone in the
Service.  [John Krambrink, CR, MORA]

95-533 - Natchez Trace (Miss./Alabama/Tennessee) - Follow-up on Employee Death

Sandra Blumenschine, who died of cancer earlier this week, began working for
the Service as a ranger at White Sands.  She then worked at St. Croix and
Petersburg before taking a position as telecommunications operator at Natchez
Trace this past March.  She is survived by her parents, Janet and Joe Turning,
of Alamagordo, New Mexico, and by two sisters and a brother.  Services were
held in Tupelo, Mississippi, on August 21st.  She will be interred in
Alamagordo.  Condolences and contributions in her name may be sent to the park
for forwarding to the family.  [Tim Francis, Assistant CR, NATR]

95-542 - Mount Rainier (Washington) - Climbing Fatalities

Two members of a team of three Seattle area climbers were killed on the
afternoon of August 20th when they fell 2,400 feet from the mountain's 11,000
level, landing in a crevasse.  Responding rangers found the third climber still
alive, but suffering from severe head and airway trauma.  He was airlifted from
the scene and taken to a local hospital.  Names of all three victims are being
withheld pending notification of relatives.  The park reports that recent
storms have encased the upper mountain with bare ice, making climbing
hazardous, with little margin for error.  Climbers are being urged to use
extreme caution on all routes.  [Bill Larson, MORA]

95-543 - Independence (Pennsylvania) - Armed Robbery

At 1 a.m. on August 19th, a couple standing at a bus stop in the park was
accosted by three males who forcibly removed the man's wallet after punching
him and knocking him to the ground.  An on-duty city police officer saw them
flee the area into the park and gave chase, broadcasting the situation over the
radio.  The information was picked up by park dispatch and relayed to rangers. 
Ranger George Krafft found two of the suspects hiding in the bushes and was
able to flush them out without incident; the Philadelphia officer caught the
third person.  The victims were able to positively identify all three and the
stolen wallet.  [Michael Dumene, Shift Supervisor, INDE]

95-544 - Crater Lake (Oregon) - Falling Fatality

Just before noon on August 22nd, D.G., 73, was sitting on the rock
wall at Sinnott Memorial overlook at Rim Village when she apparently lost her
balance and fell several hundred feet into the caldera.  Rangers responded by
boat and by rapelling down the caldera wall and reached her within 45 minutes
of the incident.  She was found to be dead upon arrival.  D.G.'s husband was
with her at the overlook.  An investigation is being conducted as to the reason
she fell.  [George Buckingham, CR, CRLA]

95-545 - Joshua Tree (California) - Theft of Government Property

Park investigators and Forest Service agents served a search warrant on August
16th at the local residence of a former park temporary firefighter who was
serving at the time on a local Forest Service fire crew.  They recovered nearly
$3,000 worth of stolen Forest Service fire equipment and four Best brand keys
stamped "US Government."  Further investigation revealed that the keys provided
access to most of the buildings at Lake Mead NRA.  The investigation is
continuing.  Grand theft charges will likely be filed against the firefighter. 
[CRO, JOTR]

95-546 - Mesa Verde (Colorado) - EMS Assist

Park dispatch received a call that a woman was in labor at Far View Lodge just
after noon on August 11th.  Concession employee E.B. had gone into labor
while cleaning a room.  Ranger Alicia Russell arrived within ten minutes and
found that E.B. was having contractions that were less than a minute apart. 
Russell and the park ambulance crew, which arrived at the same time as the
baby, assisted in the delivery.  Both mother and child are doing fine.  The
park visitors who were staying in the room apparently never knew what had
occurred there while they were out visiting the park.  [Denise Fuller,
Dispatch, MEVE]

                    [Additional reports tomorrow....]

FIRE ACTIVITY

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

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Saint Croix (Minnesota/Wisconsin) - Native Mussel Survey

A native mussel survey currently underway on the St. Croix and Namekagon Rivers
has yielded two previously undocumented mussel species in the latter river. 
The fragile papershell (Leptodea fragilis) and pink heelsplitter (Proptera
alata) were identified in a large mussel bed in the lower reaches of the
Namekagon, which reveals that these two mussels are expanding their range in
the St. Croix drainage.  Native freshwater mussels are one of the most rapidly
declining faunal species in the United States.  The park is host to 41 species,
which is indicative of a healthy ecosystem.  The findings are good news in
light of the park's efforts to forestall the invasion of the exotic zebra
mussel, which is threatening native populations.  The principle investigator
for this project is Tom Doolittle of the Sigurd Olson Institute in Wisconsin. 
[Sue Jennings, RMS, SACN]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No notes.

OBSERVATIONS

"It would be folly to set aside such large quantities of land and water for
recreation that the ability of the people of the country to make a decent
livelihood would be curtailed; it would similarly be folly to develop our
resources for economic use beyond genuine need and to the detriment of our
opportunities to enjoy our fair share of mental and spiritual satisfaction -
those experiences which lift us above the beasts of the field."

                                       Newton B. Drury, Director, 1940-1951

[Quotes submitted for consideration for the Morning Report should pertain to
either the National Park Service or closely related issues, such as wilderness
and conservation, and should include the author and the date and source of the
quote.  A mailing list has been created for periodic dissemination of the
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that list, please send a note to this address]

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

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