NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Monday, January 22, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-17 - Mid-Atlantic Areas - Flooding

The heavy rains which fell throughout the Mid-Atlantic regions and New England
on Friday, January 19th, coupled with the melting of several feet of snow
throughout the area, caused severe flooding in several parks.  The following
reports - some preliminary and by phone - were received as of this morning;
more are expected later today:

* C&O Canal - Flooding caused by the Potomac River closed the park on
Saturday.  The river in all sections of the park exceeded flood stage by
eight to 20 feet.  The visitor center at Williamsport was evacuated
before it was flooded.  The visitor center at Great Falls Tavern, the
resource management office at Seneca, and the historic Abner Cloud House
were sandbagged in an effort to divert rising flood waters.  A full
damage assessment can not yet be made because most areas of the park
can't yet be reached, but damage is expected to be heavy.  Over 90% of
the park is flooded; most historic structures have been flooded, most
cabins and trailers belonging to park retentions along the river have
been heavily damaged, and major scouring and erosion of the towpath are
expected.  Flood levels rival those of the disastrous floods of 1972 and
1985, when the park had to remain closed for months due to heavy damage.

* Harpers Ferry - Flooding was expected to reach half way up the walls of
historic building in the park, which is at the confluence of the Potomac
and Shenandoah Rivers.  The park is closed.

* George Washington Parkway - Five people were rescued from rocks in the
Great Falls area by a Park Police helicopter.

* Monocacy - Flooding has been reported in the visitor center.

* Rock Creek, National Capital Parks East and Central - Portions of all
areas have been closed due to flooding.

* Delaware Water Gap - Streams and a small dam began overflowing throughout
the park late on the evening of Friday, January 19th.  Maintenance crews
were called out and worked through the night to check water flows and
open roads.  In the early hours of Saturday morning, ice jams further up
the river broke up, releasing large amounts of impounded water.  It soon
became evident that the Delaware River was rising very rapidly; combined
crews of maintenance and protection staff evacuated two employee families
and most of their household goods from homes adjacent to the river.  The
incident command system was activated at 3 a.m.  Route 209, a significant
north-south artery through the park, was closed, as were a half dozen
other park roads which had been flooded.  A state police helicopter was
brought in to rescue one resident living in the park under a special use
permit, but he declined evacuation, noting that 1955 flood waters had
been higher in his living room than the 1996 flood.  Operations
throughout the day focused on life safety and securing of property.  The
river crested at about five feet over flood stage in mid-morning, then
began to recede fairly rapidly.  On Sunday, team efforts focused on
reopening roads and on assessing the damage that flood waters had caused. 
Route 209 was opened at 5 p.m. following inspection of 15 bridges and
clearance of ice, mud and debris from the roadway.  The damage assessment
revealed the following:

o Employee residences - The river came very close to both residences,
but entered neither.  Park staff returned all household goods to
both homes.

o Milford Beach - The interiors of the facilities at the beach were
flooded and will have to be completely renovated.  Trees, shrubs
and fencing were all severely damaged and will require replacement. 
An assessment of road and parking lot surfaces will not be possible
until the large amounts of sediment and debris are removed from the
area.

o Smithfield Beach - All fences and about three-quarters of the
landscaping at the beach will have to be replaced, and large
amounts of debris will have to be removed.

o Route 209 - Although the highway has been reopened, significant
work will be required to repair or replace shoulders, potholes,
headwalls, and signs.

o New Jersey roads - At least three roads in the New Jersey section
of the park will require major rehabilitation; others will require
repairs to surfaces, replacement or repair of culverts, and similar
work.

o General facilities - The park lost numerous trash cans, dumpsters,
picnic tables, river buoys and similar items, all of which will
have to be replaced.

 Assessment work will continue throughout the next few days.  A priority
will be to determine the status of the numerous small dams in the park. 
Estimates of the cost to repair or rehabiliate park areas will not be
available until late on Monday at the earliest.  The overall cost is
expected to be substantial.  The Delaware River Basin Commission has
confirmed that floows on the Delaware were the highest since the record
flood of 1955.  A series of impoundments built since that time captured
much of the runoff (an estimated 60 billion gallons), thereby limiting
the extent of flooding.

[CR, CHOH; Einar Olsen, RAD/NCFO; Bill Halainen, IO, Wet and Wild Incident,
DEWA]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No field reports today.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) NPS-9 - The Associate Director for Park Operations and Education has
extended the comment period for the draft of NPS-9, the Service's law
enforcement directive, to February 28th.  All comments should be sent to WASO
Ranger Activities.  [Rick Gale, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

MEETINGS/TRAINING CALENDAR

Calendar appears in the morning report every other Monday.  If you know of a
conference, meeting or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please forward the listing to WASO Ranger Activities.  Entries
are listed no earlier than FOUR months before the event, EXCEPT in instances in
which registration dates close much earlier.  Asterisks indicate new entries;
brackets at end of entry indicate source of information.  NOTE: Due to the
number of entries submitted to "Calendar" and the limited space available,
brevity is appreciated.

1/26-28* -- Central Appalachian Ecological Integrity Forum, Massannetta
Springs, VA.  The forum will focus on means for assessing and
increasing conservation of ecological integrity.  Fee: $25 (send to
Heartwood ARC, 917 Church Street, Indiana, PA 15701).  Contact:
Steve Krichbaum, Heartwood Appalachian Restoration Campaign, 540-
886-1584 (phone), loki@cfw.com (Internet).  [Don Briggs, CHSO/ALSO]

2/3  -- "Cyberspace for Archivists," University of Houston, Houston, TX. 
Fee: $109.  Contact Society of American Archivists, 312-922-0140
(phone), 312-347-1452 (fax), cserve<internet:
archives@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu (Internet).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
CSD/WASO]

2/6-9 -- "Treatment of Older Library/Archival Collections," Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, MD.  Contact: 410-516-5486 (phone), 510-516-
5080 (fax).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]

2/8-10 -- "Opening Doors: The Southeastern Regional Conference on African
American Historic Preservation," South Carolina African American
Heritage Council, Charleston, SC. Topics include historic
preservation, building community support, funding courses and
historical research methods.  Registration: $125.  Contact: Cynthia
Baxter, 803-734-8611.  [Michael Allen, SC Department of Archives
and History]

2/10 -- "Automating Archival Finding Aids," Arizona State University,
Tempe, AZ.  Covers use of off-the-shelf database programs to
produce printed archival finding aids and indices.  Fee: $85. 
Contact Society of American Archivists, 312-922-0140 (phone), 312-
347-1452 (fax), cserve<internet:archives@miamiu.acs. muohio.edu
(Internet).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]

2/25-3/1 -- Managerial Grid: Phase I and Instructor Preparation Seminars,
Luray, VA.  Phase I is a prerequisite for attending the IP seminar. 
Sponsored by ANPR.  Cost: $500 for members, $550 for non-members. 
Deadline for applications is January 22nd; applications should be
sent to ANPR, PO Box 307, Gansevoort, NY 12831.  Contact: Ann
Baugh, 520-638-2691, or Bill Wade, 540-999-3400.  [Bill Wade, SHEN]

2/27-28 -- Fourth Annual Meeting, Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Parks
Roundtable, Cowpens NB, SC.  The two-day meeting will cover topics
and issues that weave a common thread among participating parks. 
Contact: Pat Ruff, chief ranger, COWP.  [Pat Ruff, COWP]

3/9-12 -- 1996 National Trails Symposium, Bethesda, MD.  Contact: Skye
Ridley, American Trails, 303-321-6606 (phone).  

3/12-14 -- "RIM Conference: Resource Issue Interpretation on the Colorado
Plateau," Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ.  This three-
day conference will focus on identifying resource issues common to
parks on the Colorado Plateau, defining management perspectives on
these issues, and identifying how these issues are being - or
should be - interpreted.  Contact: Greer Chesher, 520-638-7766, or
Stew Fritts, 520-638-7902.  [Greer Cheshire, GRCA]

3/22 -- "Getting Things Done: Results-Oriented Management for Archives,"
Jimmy Carter Library, Atlanta, GA.  Fee: $119.  Contact Society of
American Archivists, 312-922-0140 (phone), 312-347-1452 (fax),
cserve<internet:archives@miamiu.acs. muohio.edu (Internet).  [Diane
Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]

3/22 -- "Cyberspace for Archivists," Weaver State University, Ogden, UT. 
Fee: $109.  Contact Society of American Archivists, 312-922-0140
(phone), 312-347-1452 (fax), cserve<internet:
archives@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu (Internet).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
CSD/WASO]

3/26-27 -- "Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts," University of
Washington, Seattle, WA.  Archival cataloguing, bibliographic
components and record types, information source identification,
descriptive techniques, authority files, UMARC-AMC format.  Contact
Society of American Archivists, 312-922-0140 (phone), 312-347-1452
(fax), cserve<internet: archives@miamiu.acs.muohio.edu (Internet). 
[Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO]

4/13-17 -- "Planning for Tomorrow's World," APA National Planning Conference,
Orlando, FL.  Contact: Renee Kaiser, 312-431-9100.

4/14-19* -- Managerial Grid: Phase I and Instructor Preparation Seminars,
Tucson, AZ.  Phase I is a prerequisite for attending the IP
seminar.  Sponsored by ANPR.  Cost: $500 for members, $550 for non-
members.  Deadline for applications is March 11th; applications
should be sent to ANPR, PO Box 307, Gansevoort, NY 12831.  Contact:
Ann Baugh, 520-638-2691, or Bill Wade, 540-999-3400.  [Bill Wade,
SHEN]

4/22-28 -- National Park Week.  Contact: Sue Waldron, 202-208-5477.  

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.  Distribution of the Morning Report is
through a mailing list managed by park, office and/or field area cc:Mail hub
coordinators.  Please address requests for the Morning Report to your servicing
hub coordinator.

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