NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, May 8, 1997

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-692 - Lake Meredith NRA (Texas) - Follow-up on Fatal Boating Accident

The body of eight-year-old B.B. was found by park employees in
the Dolomite Point area of Lake Meredith yesterday morning.  Benjamin, his
father, R.B., and his brothers, Phillip, eleven, and Patrick, nine, drowned
when their 14-foot boat capsized in high winds on the lake on December 14,
1996.  The other three bodies had previously been recovered.  Wednesday was
the 145th day of the search.  Search dogs from Panhandle SAR were used
throughout the effort; also utilized were dog teams from Dallas and Illinois
and a noted search dog expert from Utah.  The park's dive team was assisted
by divers from the Amarillo and Fritch police departments.  Other air and
ground units involved in the search came from the state, two counties and
private organizations.  Superintendent John Benjamin had this closing comment
on the protracted search effort: "This has been a most difficult search for
all parties involved and we are grateful to be able to bring it to a close. 
We extend our heartfelt thanks for a job well and bravely done to all those
men and women who willingly gave their time and effort to this search." 
[Dale Thompson, CR, LAMR, 5/7]

97-182 - Fredericksburg/Spottsylvania NMP (Virginia) - Follow-up on Search

The bodies of Kr.L. and Ka.L., ages 15 and 12, were found in Hanover
County on May 6th, approximately 40 miles from the Spottsylvania Battlefield
unit of the park, where the search for the two missing girls began.  No
further details are yet available; the investigation into their deaths
continues.  [Mike Greenfield, FRSP, 5/7]

97-187 - Big Bend NP (Texas) - Heat Stroke Fatality

On May 3rd, rangers received a report of a hiker experiencing difficulties
who had been left unconscious about three to four miles from the Juniper
Canyon trailhead, a remote trailhead on the east end of the Dodson trail. 
Rangers arrived on the scene around 10:30 p.m. and found that the victim,
E.P., 49, of Bertram, Texas, had expired.  According to the initial
report, E.P. had become delirious and passed out around 3 p.m. that
afternoon.  A member of his party hiked out and drove to park headquarters to
report the incident.  The initial report was received in park dispatch just
after 7 p.m.  E.P. had been on a three day backpacking trip with three
companions.  The initial autopsy results indicate that E.P. died from heat
stroke.  According to the members of the party, E.P. was carrying about two
quarts of water with him at the time of his death.  Ranger Steve Spanyer was
IC on the incident.  [Bill Wright, CR, BIBE, 5/5]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level I

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Wed      Thu   %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT     5/7      5/8  Con  Con

FL   State                   Cinco de Mayo     -   1,500       NR   NR  NR 

AZ   Chiricahua NM         * Bonita Park       -       -      125    0  NEC

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

Wednesday, 5/7       0      0         1       0      116     16       133
Thursday, 5/8        2      2         2       1       21      7        34

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Wednesday, 5/7       1         32           4             0             0
Thursday, 5/8        4         12           2             1             0

CURRENT SITUATION

Fire activity increased yesterday in the Southwest and in southern
California.  Several units in those areas continue to report high to extreme
fire indices.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK

There will be some thunderstorms in northern Arizona and northeast New
Mexico.  Temperatures will mostly be seasonable.  A low pressure system and
cold front will move into Michigan, causing scattered showers and
thunderstorms, windy conditions, and cooler temperatures.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/8]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

6(c) Update - Some confusion still remains regarding the payment of missing
6(c) contributions; that is, the amounts owed from previous fiscal years to
cover the higher costs of 6(c) retirement contributions and the amounts owed
for unpaid law enforcement officer salaries, plus interest.  Here's what is
supposed to happen:
     
o The additional $5 million appropriated for additional 6(c) costs this
fiscal year has been retained at the WASO level.  An account has been
established to accept charges for unpaid law enforcement pay and unpaid
6(c) retirement contributions.  As claims are approved and back costs
calculated, all such costs (salary and benefits) will be charged to the
central account.  The cost distribution will be done by the Denver
payroll office so park accounts will not see any prior 6(c) charges
appearing against current benefitting accounts.  If any charges do slip
by payroll, parks can have this corrected by contacting AOC.  Any back  
6(c) costs already paid by benefitting accounts in previous fiscal
years cannot be re-credited to the benefitting account this fiscal
year.
  
o Normally, payroll processes actions in the order received.  We have
asked them to process 6(c) claims in the order of those closest to
retirement first, so that accounts can be current when employees are
ready to retire.  Payroll is trying to get all CSRS actions finished
this fiscal year, but they report that a significant backlog now
exists.  If parks want a particular claim to be processed first, they
should put a SPECIAL tag on it and notify the payroll office that the
claim is a priority.  Please keep in mind that payroll cannot process
any payment until SF-52s changing retirement codes are actually
received from servicing personnel offices.  Employees often receive
their 6(c) approval letters directly from the department long before
payroll can be notified to correct their retirement codes.

o AOC in Reston will issue bills for collection directly to employees for
their share of missing past contributions that are not offset by past
salary owed.  Employees can deal directly with AOC to establish a
reasonable debt payment plan.
     
o If the $5 million is exhausted before all claims are processed, then
processing will be suspended until next fiscal year.  An additional $5
million has been requested in the FY98 budget.

o Once past 6(c) costs have been satisfied via the central account, the
6(c) money will be distributed as base increases to all parks having
6(c) designated positions.  Distributions will be according to a
formula developed in the budget office to reflect actual increased
costs of 6(c) salary and benefits.  This distribution may or may not
take place in FY98, depending on the pace of claims processing and the
cost of back salary and contributions.
     
For questions on this process contact either Geary Fisher (budget), Sadie
Williams (debt collection), Gary DeBusk (accounting), or Sandy Gregory
(payroll).  

On a related topic, most of the 6(c) packages submitted in January have been
reviewed by work teams.  Some packages are missing information and the
appropriate park chief rangers will be contacted via cc:Mail.  Additional
review and package preparation work is still needed before packages can be
forwarded to the department for approval.  We hope to bring in another small
work group to complete the process in the not-too-distant future.  FERS
claims are moving to the department as packages are completed in the WASO
personnel office.  Over 100 FERS claims have been approved over the past few
months.  [Bill Sanders, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

Trail Management Plans - The staff at the George Washington Memorial Parkway
is interested in developing a trail management plan for the park which would,
among other things, identify specific design, construction, and maintenance
parameters for the park's trail system.  Many of the park's trails receive
very high use due to the park's urban/suburban location, while others are
more remote and receive low to moderate use. Many are located near water or
adjacent to wetlands.  Certain trails are  designated for foot traffic only,
while others permit horse or bicycle use.  If you have a plan or other
document which addresses park-specific trail standards, such as tread width,
surface material, and maintenance standards,  they would like to hear from
you.  They're also interested in anything that addresses trail maintenance
methods in the context of sensitivity to adjacent natural resources (i.e. use
of mechanized equipment vs. hand tools, etc.).  Contact Gary Pollock via
cc:Mail or at 703-285-3033 (phone) or 703-285-2398 (fax).

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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