NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, August 24, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-33 - Little Bighorn (Montana) - Follow-up on ARPA/NAGPRA Case

C.S. of Covington, Kentucky, was sentenced on August 14th for his
part in the interstate purchase, sale and trade of artifacts taken from the
park.  C.S. had pled guilty to the charges.  In return, the judge sentenced
him to a year's probation and a $5,000 fine and ordered him to forfeit all
artifacts to the park, including a large display frame containing about 60
items.  Last April, Richard Maniscalco was sentenced to a $500 fine and a
year's probation on the charge of selling artifacts taken from the park, and to
a $1,500 fine and a year's probation on the charge of trafficking in Native
American remains.  The two convictions stemmed from an 18-month-long
investigation called "Operation Custer's Folly" which was undertaken jointly by
the NPS, BLM, FBI, Park Police, US attorney's offices in Kentucky and Virginia,
and the Crow tribe.    [Clark Guy, SA, NEFO]

95-517 - Devils Tower (Wyoming) - Follow-up on Special Event

The park's visitation doubled during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, with
a high of almost 2,600 vehicles recorded on August 9th.  Normal August traffic
at the park is about 1,000 vehicles per day.  The most significant incident
that occurred in the area was a head-on collision just outside the park which
involved four motorcycles and left five people injured and one dead. 
Attendance at this year's rally - about 215,000 people - was just shy of the
all-time record set for the 50th rally in 1991.  [Jim Schlinkmann, CR, DETO]

95-547 - Rocky Mountain (Colorado) - Rescue

A couple from Lincoln, Nebraska, was pulled to safety from Roaring River above
the 75-foot-high Horseshoe Falls on August 12th.  The wife had slipped into the
water and immediately became wedged between some boulders.  The husband and
other visitors made a couple of rescue attempts, which concluded with the
husband entering the water and becoming stranded in mid-stream.  Water rescue
teams members and volunteers responded immediately, but the couple was
nonetheless in the icy water for about 40 minutes before rescuers arrived on
scene.  Longs Peak ranger Jim Detterline entered the water in a wetsuit and was
able to grab them just as they were about to lose their grip; all three were
then pulled ashore.  The man and woman were both suffering from hypothermia. 
They received warm fluids intravenously, then were airlifted to a Denver
hospital by two helicopters.  Rangers cared for the couple's three children and
drove them to the hospital to be reunited with their parents when they were
released later that evening.  [Kris Holien, ROMO]

95-548 - Everglades (Florida) - Boat Groundings

On August 12th, W.B., 60, ran aground on Cross Bank in Florida Bay while
on his maiden voyage along the Intracoastal Waterway from Fort Lauderdale to
Naples in his new 40-foot Sea Ray Cruiser.  Ranger Chuck Noll investigated and
found that W.B. was unfamiliar with the area, had not referred to his nautical
chart, and had unknowingly reversed his course and was heading back toward the
east coast.  Two commercial tow boats worked together for three hours to
refloat the boat.  W.B. ran aground again the next day, this time about five
miles southwest of the site of the first grounding.  Ranger Jennifer Noll
investigated this time, and discovered that W.B. had passed to the wrong side
of a Coast Guard day beacon which marked a passage through Shell Key Bank. 
W.B. was charged in each case with negligent vessel operation and disturbing
natural features.  A preliminary environmental damage assessment of the Cross
Bank site revealed that more than 4,000 square feet of a lush turtle grass bed
had been destroyed during that incident alone.  Civil charges under 16 USC 19jj
are pending.  In a civil grounding case successfully concluded in 1994, the NPS
received $22,800 in payment for damage to about 2,400 square feet of sea grass
habitat in Florida Bay.  [Dave King, DR, EVER]

95-549 - Cumberland Gap (Kentucky/Virginia/Tennessee) - Marijuana Eradication

On August 10th, ranger "Pete" Petry discovered 13 sensimillia marijuana plants
growing in a location in which 400 plants had been seized in June.  The growers
were evidently hoping that the area would not be rechecked after the June
overflights.  All plants were removed and destroyed.  [Charlie Chadwel,
Supervisory Ranger, CUGA]

95-550 - Cumberland Gap (Kentucky/Virginia/Tennessee) - Ginseng Poaching

Rangers Randy Kelly and Kermit Ownes contacted and apprehended three men for
poaching a total of about 130 ginseng roots in two incidents which occurred in
mid-August.  All roots, and digging tools were confiscated, and the three were
issued citations for mandatory court appearances.  Ginseng prices have not been
released for this season, but are expected to start at or above last year's
price of $16 per ounce.  A busy ginseng poaching season is expected.  [Charlie
Chadwel, Supervisory Ranger, CUGA]

                   [Additional reports tomorrow....]

FIRE ACTIVITY

1) NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

2) LARGE FIRE SUMMARY

                                                                  %   Est
State    Area                Fire         IMT      8/23     8/24  Con Con  

 OR   Deschutes NF     * Sugar             --        75       75  100  CND

HEADING NOTES:


Fire     * = newly reported fire (on this report).  Cx = complex.
IMT     T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST1 = state Type 1; ST2 = state Type 2.
% Con   Percent of fire contained.
Est Con Estimated containment date.  NEC = no estimated date of
        containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report.

3) FIRES YESTERDAY -

                NPS     BIA      BLM     FWS    States     USFS      Total

Number            2       3       27       0       107       38        177
Acres Burned      0       2    7,783       0       251       46      8,082

4) COMMITTED RESOURCES -

               Crews     Engines     Helicopters     Airtankers     Overhead

Federal           26        31            3               5             25
Non-federal        0         3            3               0              0

5) COMPARATIVE SUMMARY -

                                      CY 1995            Five Year Average
                                    Year-to-Date           Year-to-Date

Number of Fires - U.S.                 58,168                  54,674     
Acres Burned - U.S.                 1,505,617               2,314,156 
Number of Fires - Canada                7,363                       -
Acres Burned - Canada              16,389,287                       -

6) SITUATION - Fire activity in the United States continues to be moderate.  

7) OUTLOOK - Fire activity is not expected to increase.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 8/24]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

San Antonio Mission (Texas) - Africanized Bees

Rangers recently observed a bee hive being established at Mission San Jose near
one of the highest visitor traffic areas in the park.  Following a period of
close monitoring, the park's IPM coordinator destroyed the hive, and the park
mason sealed the exterior entry to the wall void.  This hive proved to be
somewhat challenging because of its location about 30 feet above the ground and
its proximity to the high visitor use area.  After the hive was treated, dying
and displaced bees continued defending the area for several hundred yards from
the hive site.  Fortunately, few stings were recorded.  Because of the extreme
behavior displayed by bees from this hive, sample bees were sent to a lab at
Texas A&M and were confirmed to be Africanized bees.  This is the second
confirmed case of Africanized bees at Mission San Jose.  [David Vekasy, IPM
Coordinator, SAAN]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) TV Show - On August 27th, CBS Sunday Morning will focus on problems facing
the national parks.  The show airs at 9 a.m. EDT.  [David Barna, PAO/WASO]

2) Information Request - New River Gorge is beginning preparations for Bridge
Day, the annual October event which draws about 200,000 spectators and nearly
600 parachuting and repelling enthusiasts who jump from the 876-foot-high
bridge.  Due to increased competition for jumping sites nationwide, more and
more parks are experiencing such activities.  New River Gorge would like to
hear from parks that have these activities to learn about their experiences and
to develop a list of BASE jumping suspects that other parks would like them to
keep a look out for.  The park has had considerable success in apprehension,
sentencing and extradition in the past.  Contact Tony Liquori by phone at 304-
574-0165 or via cc:Mail at "NERI RM&VP Canyon District".  [Rick Brown, Acting
CR, NERI]

OBSERVATIONS

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
master list of quotes to date to interested parties.  If you'd like to be on
that list, please send a note to this address. 

Here's today's entry, taken from a compendium of "Quotable Quotes" distributed
by Director Newton Drury in the 1950s.  The date of the quote is not known; the
Bureau of the Budget was OMB's predecessor:

"If the time ever comes when we cannot sit down and commune with our soul and
our God among the beauties of such places as our national parks, we are going
to be in a pretty bad way.  We are materialistic enough as it is - whether by
necessity or choice."

                                           J.W. Rupley, Bureau of
                                           the Budget

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


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