NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Monday, December 30, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-704 - Natchez Trace Parkway (Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee) - Robbery

D.B. of Cherokee, Alabama, was northbound on the parkway on
December 26th when he experienced mechanical problems with his vehicle and
pulled over to the road's shoulder.  While working on his vehicle, two people
in a dark-colored Nissan pick-up pulled over in front of him and asked if
they could offer assistance.  They said they were going back to their truck
to get tools, but returned with either a rifle or a shotgun and told D.B.
to give them everything he had in his pockets.  D.B. surrendered his
wallet, which contained just over $1,700.  The two men then fled.  D.B. was
able to provide a fairly good description of them and their vehicle.  The
investigation is continuing with the assistance of the local sheriff's
department.  [Tim Francis, ACR, NATR]

96-705 - Padre Island NS (Texas) - Drug Seizure

On December 21st, rangers recovered a tightly packaged bundle containing 2.5
pounds of cocaine at the high tide line.  This is the second such incident in
the past two months.  On October 10th, a visitor found a bundle with 2.1
pounds of cocaine in it.  Investigators expect that such discoveries will
continue due to the usage of the Gulf of Mexico as a major route for illegal
drug trafficking.  [Mark Foust, ACR, PAIS]

96-706 - Hawaii Volcanoes NP (Hawaii) - Assist; Burglary Arrests

Park dispatch received a call from the county police on December 11th, asking
for assistance in checking out a silent burglary alarm at a residence
immediately adjacent to the park.  The alarm indicated a burglary in
progress, and it would take a while for county officers to reach the house. 
Rangers Talmadge Magno and Gail Minami and investigators Jeff Judd and Greg
Jablonski responded, set up a perimeter around the residence, and contacted,
interviewed and held six juveniles and three adults until officers could
arrive.  Stolen property and other evidence was discovered which linked
several of the individuals to two burglaries which had just occurred in the
area.  All nine were arrested and confessions were obtained which linked all
nine in the two burglaries.  Residential burglaries are an on-going and
increasing problem in the areas adjacent to the park due to the minimal
coverage by county police.  The park's quick response drew praise from
residents, police and the media, and has led to community support for the
establishment of a police substation for the area.  [Greg Jablonski, Acting
CR, HAVO]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Summer Seasonal Hiring Survey - The Association of National Park Rangers has
completed its annual survey of summer seasonal hiring.  Over 190 parks
responded to questions about actual hiring during the summer of 1996 and
estimated hiring for the summer of 1997.  Positions covered by the survey
included park ranger (interpretation, law enforcement and general), visitor
use assistant, guide, cash clerk, biological technician, forestry technician
and physical science technician.  If you would like to receive a copy of the
survey results by electronic mail, send your request to WmsKJ@aol.com.  When
addressing the message via cc:Mail, select "address message to person," then
type in NP--INTERNET and press enter.  When prompted for "To", type in
WmsKJ@aol.com and press enter.  [Kathy Williams, CCSSO]

MEMORANDA

"Golden Eagle Passport," signed by the Associate Director, Park Operations
and Education, and sent to all field directors.  The text follows:

"On January 1, 1997 the price of the Golden Eagle Passport will be raised
from the current price of $25 to $50.  The other conditions associated with
the purpose and uses of the Golden Eagle Passport will remain the same.  The
increased price of the Golden Eagle Passport will be an identified Recreation
Fee Demonstration Project and handled in accordance with National Park
Service (NPS) policy regarding that program.

"We anticipate the other Federal land management agencies that sell the
Golden Eagle Passports will also agree to raise the price of the Golden Eagle
Passport to $50.  Until we finalize a formal agreement with the other
agencies on unilateral raising of the Golden Eagle Passport, we will sell the
Golden Eagle Passports at $50 in all NPS sites in order to maximize the
revenues of the recreation fee demonstration program.

"Golden Eagle Passports which have been sold prior to January 1, 1997 at NPS
areas for $25 or sold by other Federal land management agencies will be fully
honored through the expiration date of the passport.

"The Golden Age and Golden Access Passports will maintain all current status
and price.

"It is important to distribute this information as soon as possible to all
NPS units and to note that Golden Passport informational brochures currently
available will need to be modified as they refer to the price of the Golden
Eagle Passport as $25.

"Please contact the National Fee Program Manager with any questions regarding
this memorandum at 202-208-4205."

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR

Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, conferences and events, and a second, which contains
workshops and training courses.  If you know of a conference, meeting,
workshop or training session with Servicewide interest and implications,
please send the information along.  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.  Brevity is appreciated.

1/2  -- Annual Meeting, American Historical Association, New York, NY. 
Contact: 202-544-2422.  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, DCA/WASO]

1/3  -- Papers due for 1997 Rocky Mountain Symposium on Environmental
Issues in Oil and Gas Operations, to be held July 14-17 at the
Colorado School of Mines.  The Geological Resources Division will
again co-sponsor this conference, now in its fourth year. 
Session topics will include pollution prevention, ecosystem
management, air and water quality, visual impacts and pad siting
and reclamation.  Contact: Bruce Heise at NP-WASO-GRD (cc:Mail)
or 303-969-2017 (phone).  [Bruce Heise, GRD/WASO]

1/8-12 -- "Seaports, Ships, and Central Places," 30th Annual Conference on
Historical and Underwater Archeology, Omni Bayfront Hotel, Corpus
Christi, TX.  Pre-conference heritage resource management
training seminars will also be offered.  Contact: Dr. David L.
Carlson, Texas A&M, 409-847-9248 (phone) or dcarlson@tamu.edu
(Internet).  [Vergil E. Noble, MWAC]

1/15  -- Papers due for fourth biennial scientific conference on the
Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, to be held September 28-30. 
Contact: Joy Perius, 307-344-2209.  [Diane Vogt O'Connor,
DCA/WASO]

1/28-31 -- Seventh International Zebra Mussel and Aquatic Nuisance Species
Conference, New Orleans.  Contact: Elizabeth Muckle-Jeffs,
Conference Administrator, 1-800-868-8776.  [Sue Jennings, SACN]

1/29  -- "New Visions" Seminar, American Association of Museums,
Cincinnati, OH.  Contact: 202-289-1818 (phone); 202-289-6578
(fax).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, DCA/WASO]

2/5-8 -- "Monitoring Our Wildlife Heritage: What Do We Have, How Do We
Know?", Annual Meeting, Western Section, Wildlife Society, San
Diego, CA.  Contact: Dr. Reginald Barrett, 145 Mulford Hall,
Berkeley, CA 94720-3114; 510-642-7261 (phone); rbarrett@
nature.berkeley.edu (Internet).  [Kathy Jope, CCSSO]

2/16-21 -- 50th Anniversary National Meeting, Society for Range Management,
Rapid City, SD.  Topics include disturbed area reclamation,
rangeland assessment, inventory and monitoring, rangeland
wildlife, rangeland watersheds, coordinated resource management,
simulation modeling of rangeland ecosystems, livestock and
wildlife management issues, grazing management and livestock
production, rangeland ecology, and the history of range
management.  Cost: $165 for non-members before January 12th, $110
for members; costs after the 12th are $215 and $160,
respectively.  The two day rate is $30.  Contact: 1997 SRM Annual
Meeting, PO Box 575, Huron, SC 57350-2475; 605-352-1270 (fax). 
[Bruce Bessken, BADL]

2/17-20 -- "Integrating Spatial Information Technologies for Tomorrow," GIS
'97 Conference, Vancouver, BC.  Contact: Michael Rauscher, Forest
Service, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, 1577 Brevard Road,
Asheville, NC 28806; 704-667-5261 x 102 (phone); fswa/
s=m.rauscher/ou=s29a@mhs.attmail.com (Internet).  [Kathy Jope,
CCSSO]

3/6-8* -- "Museums and the Enlightened Tourist," American Association of
Museums, Charleston, SC.  Contact: 202-289-1818 (phone); 202-289-
6578 (fax).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, DCA/WASO]

3/6-9* -- "Folk Art: Is It All Over?", Symposium, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 
Contact: Catherine Gray, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, 902-424-7542
(phone), 902-424-7359 (fax).  [Diane Vogt O'Connor, DCA/WASO]

3/13-15 -- Second National Women in Historic Preservation Conference, Mesa,
AZ.  The pre-registration deadline is February 176th.  The
conference is made possible in part by special funding from the
Service's cultural resource training initiative and has been
approved as official training for NPS employees.  Contact: Eve
Carr or Claudine Barnes, Arizona State University, Women's
Studies Program, P.O. Box 871801, Tempe, AZ 85287-1801, or via
Internet at either of the following two addresses: ecarr@asu-edu,
cbarnes@asu.edu.  [Vivien Rose, WORI]

3/17-21 -- "Making Protection Work: Parks and Reserves in a Crowded,
Changing World," 9th Conference on Research and Resource
Management in Parks and on Public Lands, Albuquerque Marriott,
Albuquerque, NM.  Sponsored by the George Wright Society. The
conference has been approved as official training for NPS
employees.  Registration fees vary; the return registration form
may be found at the GWS Web site at http://www.portup. com/~gws/
gws97.html.  Contact: GWS, 906-487-9722.  [Dave Harmon, George
Wright Society]

4/26-30 -- Annual Meeting, American Association of Museums, Atlanta, GA. 
Contact: 202-289-1818 (phone); 202-289-6578 (fax).  [Diane Vogt
O'Connor, DCA/WASO]

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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