NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, October 20, 1995

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-692 - Ozark (Missouri) - Poaching Indictments

J.P. and his son, A.P., were indicted on seven counts of violating
federal hunting laws on October 18th.  The indictments stemmed from a joint
investigation by rangers and investigators from Ozark, Jefferson National
Expansion, Glacier and Yellowstone and officers and agents from the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, Mark Twain National Forest, and the states of Missouri,
Montana and Wyoming.  The investigation began on February 15th when a Missouri
conservation agent and Ozark investigators received information on persons
involved in a buck deer kill that had taken place within the park and Big
Spring Wildlife Refuge the previous month.  Informants produced a copy of a
hunting diary kept by J.P. which described his poaching exploits from
1961 to 1995.  The P.s are alleged to have killed white-tailed deer,
turkeys, mule deer, a bear, birds, owls, big horn sheep, antelope, elk, and
moose during closed hunting seasons and on federal and state lands closed to
hunting in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and Missouri.  The execution of search
warrants at P.'s residence and other locations led to the seizure of about
200 mounted deer racks, 288 wild turkey beards, 19 antelope antlers, two elk
antlers, two big horn sheep horns, five rifles, video tapes, hundreds of
photographs, maps, and the original diaries.  A total of 48 federal and state
charges have been filed to date.  Other federal charges include selling
ammunition to minors and obstruction of justice.  Child endangerment charges
were also filed which stemmed from J.P.'s hiring of two juveniles to grind
off information from the back of antler plaques so new information could be
entered, thereby concealing their origin.  Additional charges are pending in
Wyoming, Montana and Missouri.  Contact investigator Dan Madrid for further
information.  [Tim Blank, South Unit Manager, OZAR]

95-693 - American Memorial (Saipan) - Tropic Storm Ward

On the evening of October 17th, the center of Tropical Storm Ward passed within
60 miles of the park.  Storm winds were blowing at 60 mph at the time.  Minor
flooding occurred in the park, and several large trees were blown down in the
picnic area.  None of the major construction projects currently on-going in the
park was affected, but some delays were encountered because of the more than
six inches of rain that fell on the area.  Clean-up activities will be required
for the next several days, but the park will remain open.  [Ed Wood,
Superintendent, AMME/WAPA]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Badlands (South Dakota) - Bison Roundup

The park, working cooperatively with the Oglala Sioux tribe and the InterTribal
Bison Cooperative (ITBC), has distributed the 191 bison taken in this year's
roundup to eight tribes - the Oglala Sioux (South Dakota), Cheyenne River Sioux
(South Dakota), Flandreau Santee Sioux (South Dakota), Ho Chunk Nation of the
Winnebago (Wisconsin), Prairie Band Potawatomi of Mayetta (Kansas), San Juan
Pueblo (New Mexico), Taos Pueblo (New Mexico), and Winnebago (Nebraska).  The
distribution is in accord with the program goal of allowing tribes to establish
their own bison herds.  Because of the lack of carnivores in the park to
control bison numbers, roundups are held when the bison population exceeds 500
to 550 animals.  The last roundup was in 1992, when 182 animals were
distributed.  Since the first roundup in 1969, the park has provided 2,096
bison to Native American groups for establishment of herds and for ceremonial
purposes.  [Marianne Mills, BADL]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Wildlife Contaminant Problems - The National Biological Service is interested
in suspected contaminant problems affecting wildlife in national parks,
particularly in the eastern United States.  Qualified scientists from the
Patuxent Environmental Science Center in Laurel, Maryland, are available for
technical assistance, which may include short visits to the affected site.  For
further information, contact Dr. Ronald Eisler by phone (301-497-5724), fax
(301-497-5744) or email (Ronald_Eisler@nbs.gov).  [Vera Smith, GRD/WASO]

OBSERVATIONS

"The pressures of a growing population, self-interest, and shortness of vision
are now the greatest enemies of the national park idea."

                                          Photographer Ansel Adams, cited in
                                          George Hartzog, "Battling for the
                                          National Parks", 1988

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

Telephone: 202-208-4874
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