- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Monday, November 20, 1995
- Date: Mon, 20 Nov 1995
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Monday, November 20, 1995
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
95-735 - Point Reyes (California) - Shipwreck
The 47-foot fishing vessel "Sunset 1" struck the reef at Bolinas Point at 3:30
a.m. on November 16th. The Coast Guard rescued two fisherman from the boat,
which was a total loss. Representatives from the park, Coast Guard, California
Fish and Game's Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response, and Farallones
National Marine Sanctuary responded to the incident. Emergency oil spill funds
will be used for hazardous waste removal if the owner does not remove the
material, which is possible, as the owner of the vessel has no insurance. Park
staff began cleaning up large debris scattered along major beach areas over the
weekend. Physical hazards to the public include hooks and other fishing gear,
such as lines and nets. All will be removed. [Don Neubacher/Sara Allen, PORE]
95-736 - Zion (Utah) - MVA with Fatality
Rangers responding to a report of a motor vehicle accident on the Zion-Mount
Carmel road east of the main tunnel into the park on the afternoon of November
14th discovered a vehicle at the bottom of a 50-foot vertical cliff face in
Pine Creek Canyon. The Swiss driver, M.H., 53, was found dead at the
scene; there were no other occupants in the vehicle. M.H. had stayed at Zion
Lodge the previous evening. He had told the desk clerk that he was on cardiac
medication and not feeling well and insisted that the desk clerk take emergency
contact phone numbers in the event that he became seriously ill. It's believed
that M.H. had a cardiac event and lost control of the vehicle while trying to
get off the road. [CRO, ZION]
95-737 - Glacier (Montana) - Fraud Investigation
During the summer of 1995, the park received four $100 entrance fee checks from
tour companies called, variously, M. Discovery Enterprises, M.
Discovery Travel and The Discovery Experience - but all owned by P.M.M.
of Hinsdale, Illinois. The four checks were drawn on three different
banks and were all returned unpaid. Letters of collection have been sent to
the company, but no payment has yet been received. Unpaid checks have also
been received by Glacier Parks Incorporated, the park's primary concessioner,
and by Yellowstone and Yosemite. A background investigation on P.M.M. revealed
an extensive criminal history involving check kiting and bank fraud, including
probation on a 1992 conviction. Parks are advised to check with their
remittance/budget office personnel to determine if they have unpaid checks from
P.M.M.'s companies. If your park has received such checks, please contact the
law enforcement office at Glacier, which is coordinating an investigation with
the FBI. [CRO, GLAC]
95-738 - El Malpais (New Mexico) - EMS Response
On November 12th, J.S.O., 32, went into convulsions while hiking the
Zuni-Acoma trail. Members of the party hiked out across very rough lava to the
trailhead and drove ten miles to a BLM ranger station to report the incident.
A doctor happened to be in the station and volunteered to respond. The nearest
park ranger was two hours away, so local EMS and law enforcement personnel were
dispatched to the scene. J.S.O. was stabilized and evacuated. He had no
history of any prior medical condition that would have caused these
convulsions. [Ken Mabery, MA, ELMA]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Glacier (Montana) - Follow-up on Wolf Reintroduction
The carcass of one of the two wolves released in the park on October 18th was
found near Fish Lake in the McDonald Creek drainage on November 13th.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the adult male wolf died of natural
causes. The two wolves - one male, one female - had been trapped near Boulder,
Montana, and relocated to the park in cooperation with the Fish and Wildlife
Service. An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of the
wolf's death. The female wolf is currently located near the southeast corner
of the park. [Steve Frye, GLAC]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
No notes.
OBSERVATIONS
Today's quote regarding the importance of wilderness areas was submitted by Bob
Reynolds from the Intermountain Field Area:
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt,
we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a
glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through
with it."
President Lyndon B. Johnson,
upon the signing of the
Wilderness Act, 1964
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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