NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, October 3, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-572 - Cuyahoga Valley (Ohio) - Drug Arrests

On September 1st, South District rangers contacted a group of young adults in
possession of marijuana.  Field investigation determined that two of them
also had 36 individual packages of a white powder which tested positive for
cocaine.  A consent search of their van led to the discovery of a brick of
marijuana.  The two were arrested and charged with possession with intent to
distribute (21 USC 841 and 844).  The substance was tested by the Ohio state
crime lab, however, and proved to be ketomine, known on the street as
"Special K," a veterinary tranquilizer which provides the user with a short
(two hour), LSD-like experience.  Ketomine is still little-known in criminal
justice circles and has not yet been designated as a federally controlled
substance.  Although it must be obtained by prescription in Ohio, the state
has not designated it a controlled substance.  Ketomine remains fairly rare
on the street, but its use has been documented in New York, Pennsylvania and
Ohio.  Additional investigation disclosed that the two men who had been
arrested were leaders in a counter-cultural movement known locally as RAVE. 
The movement emphasizes free concerts, drugs and casual sexual practices. 
RAVE concerts are advertised by word of mouth only, require a password to
enter, and can attract large groups (up to several thousand) of teenagers and
young adults.  Participants reportedly prefer hallucinogens such as ketomine,
marijuana and the drug known as "Ecstasy."  [Dale Silvis, DR, CUVA]

96-573 - Northwest Areas (Alaska) - Rescue

Ranger/pilot Richard Kemp participated in a multi-agency search for three
missing teens from the village of Noorvik last week.  On September 25th, the
three boys were attempting to cross 65 miles of open water from Kotzebue to
their village when their boat began taking on water in rough seas in Hotham
Inlet, about 35 miles north of the Arctic Circle.  When the swamped boat was
found a thousand feet from shore the following morning, a multi-agency search
was begun for them.  The teens were found walking along the north shore of
the inlet later that day.  Kemp and a state wildlife protection officer made
multiple beach landings to return SAR team members to a central pick-up point
after the search was concluded.  Further investigation revealed that the boys
had picked up ten jugs of liquor in Kotzebue and were returning it to their
village, where alcohol is prohibited.  The ringleader of the group was cited
for bootlegging.  [Jon Peterson, CR, NWAK]

96-574 - Isle Royale (Michigan) - Illegal Commercial Operation

In October, 1995, rangers learned that an illegal commercial SCUBA diving
charter service was being operated in the park by K.H. of
Minneapolis.  District ranger Larry Kangas and seasonal ranger Rick Lee
conducted an eight-month-long investigation into the illegal activity which
culminated in the issuance of grand jury subpoenas for witnesses in the case
last May.  The park worked closely with the U.S. attorney in Marquette,
Michigan, who recognized the precedent-setting nature of the case locally and
accordingly provided significant assistance and support.  On September 25th,
K.H. pled guilty in district court to a charge of conducting a business in
a national park without a permit (36 CFR 5.3) and was fined $2,050.  [Peter
Armington, CR, ISRO]

96-575 - Yosemite (California) - Theft Convictions

On September 18th, M.R. pled guilty in magistrate's court to three
counts of theft from rooms at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  He was arrested on
September 10th after a six-week-long investigation.  M.R. was employed
as a housekeeper by Yosemite Concessions Services and had keys to rooms at
the hotel.  He admitted to a total of ten thefts of cash from rooms, but only
three guests reported being victimized.  M.R. was ordered to pay $615 in
restitution to the three victims, pay a $530 fine, and perform 40 hours of
community service; he was also placed on two years' probation.  The chief of
security for the concessioner was in the courtroom during M.R.'s
appearance.  His employment was terminated that afternoon.  [Dan Horner, CI,
YOSE]

96-576 - Yosemite (California) - Theft Convictions

J.P. and S.P. pled guilty to several charges, including
theft and possession of stolen property, at magistrate's court on September
23rd.  The two were living off the land in remote areas of Yosemite Valley
and were surviving by shoplifting jewelry from six valley gift shops.  They
would later return the jewelry for cash refunds.  At the time of their
arrest, they had over 40 pieces of Native American jewelry in their
possession, all with price tags still attached.  J.P. and S.P. have
criminal histories that include thefts of all kinds.  They allegedly left
Glendale and Chino Valley, Arizona, a month ago, and arrived in the park
around September 10th.  They had been traveling together for over a year. 
[Dan Horner, CI, YOSE]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                    Tue      Wed    %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT    10/1     10/2  Con  Con

WA   Wenatchee NF            Myrtle           T2      40       80   50  10/4

OR   Burns District        * Bell-A-Bonanza   --       -      888    0  NEC

NV   Winnemucca District     Clear Creek      T2     300      400   60  10/3
     Elko District         * Unnamed          --       -    1,000   90  NEC

UT   Dixie NF              * Campground       --       -      200   25  10/4
 
ID   Boise NF                Zimmer Creek     --     204      250  100  CND 

MT   State                   Rogers Mountain  T2     350      520   60  NEC
                           * Lima Reservoir   --       -      500  100  CND

Heading Notes

     Unit --    Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
                or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
                district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
     Fire --    * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex; LSS =
                limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
                strategy
     IMT --     T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
     % Con --   Percent of fire contained
     Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
                containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report; LPS = limited
                protection status

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND) 

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Saturday, 9/28       0      1         8       0       19     11        39
Sunday, 9/29         0      1         3       0       19      9        32
Monday, 9/30         0     39         1       2       63     30       135
Tuesday, 10/1        0      0         7       1       40     10        58
Wednesday, 10/2      1      0        21       0       26     13        61

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Saturday, 9/28      41         86          19             6           227
Sunday, 9/29        35         82          19             3           199
Monday, 9/30        41         67          18             4           195
Tuesday, 10/1       48         74          19             2           104
Wednesday, 10/2     41         74          21             1           108

CURRENT SITUATION

Fire activity continued yesterday in the northern Rockies and Great Basin. 
Resource mobilization through NICC remained minimal.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

No unusual weather conditions are forecast.  There will be some showers and
thunderstorms in eastern Utah, southern Wyoming, Colorado, and southward
along the Arizona and New Mexico border.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Point Reyes (California) - Snowy Plover

The park has historically been an important nesting and wintering area for
the snowy plover, a federally listed endangered species.  Over the past
decade, snowy plover nesting success and overall populations at the park have
declined seriously, primarily due to predation by ravens.  Only five eggs
hatched and four chicks fledged from 20 nests in 1995.  This year, resource
management staff worked with staff form the Point Reyes Bird Observatory to
place fencing exclosures around nest sites.  The exclosures allowed plovers
to move freely, yet excluded larger ravens.  Due to the additional
protection, 16 eggs hatched and 14 checks fledged from just eight nests this
year.  The park plans to increase its efforts to maximize the percentage of
chicks fledging from nests in 1997.  [Don Neubacher, PORE]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Uniform Program - Although the new fiscal year has begun, several actions -
including inventory completion, FY 96 closeout, order form issuance and FY 97
funding authorization - must be completed before parks and offices may resume
ordering from R&R Uniforms.  It appears at present that these actions will be
completed within a week to ten days.  Notification will appear in the Morning
Report and will be transmitted to parks via field area uniform program
managers when ordering may resume.  Component price increases for FY 97,
which are contractually indexed to the Producers Price Index, will be just
over one percent for most items, with some exceptions for uniform components
which have been redesigned or which are made from materials whose prices rose
significantly during the past year.  [Bill Halainen, NPS Uniform Committee
Chair, DEWA]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

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

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