NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, January 19, 1999

INCIDENTS

98-786 - Death Valley NP (CA) - Explosives

Ranger Dave Brenner responded to a report of shots being fired in the
Wildrose campground at 1:30 a.m. on November 18th.  A camper told Brenner
that two men had detonated some sort of an explosive device near his camp
site.  Brenner contacted E.M., 25, and S.P., 25, both of
Ranchos Palos Verdes, California, and seized several pipe bomb pressure
containers, oxidizer, flammable metals, a quantity of premixed explosive
compound, and credit card receipts for the explosive materials.  Both were
required to appear in court, where the magistrate sentenced each of them to
three years' probation and fines of $500.  [Dave Brenner, PR, and Scot
McElveen, Acting CR, DEVA, 1/14]

99-11 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Illegal Aliens; Pursuits

On January 12th, rangers pursued two vehicles that failed to stop for both
Border Patrol and NPS units.  The two vehicles traveled south at high speeds
in both the southbound and northbound lanes, forcing the drivers of a half
dozen vehicles to leave the road in order to avoid getting hit.  Stop sticks
were employed to stop one of the two vehicles after a five mile pursuit; in
trying to avoid the devices, the driver lost control of the vehicle, which
went off the road and rolled over.  Nine illegal aliens were hurt, with
injuries ranging from minor lacerations to severe head trauma.  The second
vehicle made it through the road block.  High speed pursuits have become more
frequent over the past two months.  Two other vehicles transporting illegal
aliens were halted on January 10th only through the use of stop sticks.  In
December, rangers assisted Arizona Highway Patrol officers in the pursuit of
a stolen truck that began in the park.  After being chased for 30 miles, the
driver abruptly stopped, put the truck into reverse, rammed the state
trooper's cruiser, then escaped into Mexico.  Rangers spotted the same truck
heading north on Highway 85 the next day and a second pursuit ensued.  The
driver attempted the same ploy - putting his vehicle into reverse in an
effort to ram a ranger vehicle - but was unsuccessful.  He was nonetheless
able to escape back to Mexico.  [Aniceto Olais, CR, ORPI, 1/15]

99-12 - Rock Creek Parkway (DC) - MVA with Fatality

Park Police officer M. J. Williams was stopped by a citizen just before 3
a.m. on January 2nd and advised of an accident.  Williams drove to the scene,
where he discovered an overturned 1997 Toyota in Rock Creek, with only its
rear undercarriage visible above the water.  As soon as other officers
arrived on scene, Williams and sergeant R. Egan donned life vests and
employed a safety line to enter the waters of the creek to try and locate any
occupants.  Visibility was poor, with ice forming.  They found M.H.,
31, unconscious in the Toyota and brought him to shore.  CPR was
begun and he was taken to a local hospital by city medics.  He was pronounced
dead on arrival.  Egan and Williams were treated for hypothermia and
released.  M.H. was a staff member at the Mauritanian embassy.  The
accident investigation revealed that M.H. had been driving southbound on
the parkway when he swerved around another vehicle and lost control.  The
Toyota then crossed the grassy embankment and overturned in the creek. 
[Richard Murphy, USPP, NCR, 1/14]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

PARK DISPATCHES

Lechuguilla Cave - Last month, Carlsbad Caverns NP reported discoveries that
further enlarged the size of Lechuguilla Cave.  The cave's official, recorded
length now stands at 100.6 miles.  It is the deepest limestone cave in the
United States (1,567 feet at its lowest depth) and the third longest cave in
the country, following behind Mammoth Cave at 350 miles and Jewell Cave at
118 miles.  Discovered in 1986, Lechuguilla has been a steady draw for an
elite core of world cavers and scientists.  New passages have been added
yearly to the cave's known length.  The NPS has adopted formal guidelines and
exploration standards for Lechuguilla, and has scheduled six survey and
mapping expeditions into the cave for the coming year.  ["Intermountain
Morning Line," 1/8]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Universal Competencies Needs Assessment - Copies of the universal
competencies needs assessment have been sent out to 2,000 randomly selected
employees drawn from all career fields.  Please complete and return the
survey, as your response will play a critical role in determining the focus
of training and employee development opportunities in this program area for
many years.  The nine universal competencies common to all employees are:

o     mission comprehension               o     agency orientation
o     resource stewardship                o     leadership behaviors
o     fundamental values                  o     NPS operations
o     communication skills                o     problem-solving skills
o     individual development and planning

For more information about these competencies, consult the Learning Place
bulletin board.  [Betty Browning, Training Manager, Albright TC]

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR

Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, seminars, 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.

Dates:      January 24 - 27 
Meeting:    First National Conference on Marine Bioinvasions 
Location:   Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Details:    --
Closes:     ---
Contact:    MIT Sea Grant College Program  
Phone/fax:  --- ; ---
E-mail:     http//massbay.mit.edu/exoticspecies/conference.html
Submitter:  Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO

Dates:      January 25 - 29 *
Conference: First Intermountain Region Resource Management Conference
Location:   Corpus Christi, TX
Details:    ---
Closes:     ---
Contact:    Intermountain Support Office, or see the conference website at
            www.nps.gov/RMConf/
Phone/fax:  303-987-6710; ---
E-mail:     Mike Medrano at NP-PETR
Submitter:  Same

Dates:      January 26 - 29 
Meeting:    First Intermountain Region Resource Management Conference
Location:   Omni Bayfront Hotel, Corpus Christi, TX
Details:    The theme of this joint cultural-natural resource management
            conference is resource management for the 21st century in the new
            Intermountain Region.  More information on the conference should
            be available this week.
Closes:     ---
Contact:    Linda Towle, MEVE
Phone/fax:  970-529-4465; ---
E-mail:     ---
Submitter:  Linda Towle, MEVE

Dates:      January 28 - 30 
Conference: Restoration and Renovation Washington Exhibition and Conference
Location:   Washington, DC
Details:    This conference includes sessions on accessibility and historic
            integrity, holistic preservation, and structures. 
Closes:     ---
Contact:    EGI Exhibitions, Inc.
Phone/fax:  ---; 978-664-5822
E-mail:     ---
Submitter:  Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/WASO

Dates:      February 9 - 11 
Conference: Partners in Protection: The Arizona Conference on Conservation
            Law Enforcement
Location:   Prescott, AZ
Details:    Conference topics include commercialization of wildlife, a review
            of federal and state native plant laws in Arizona, and operation
            of surveillance equipment.  There will also be a competition
            pistol shoot.
Closes:     Conference registration prior to February 1st is $100 per person;
            registration thereafter is $125. 
Contact:    Conservation Law Enforcement Association
Phone/fax:  520-445-0441; ---
E-mail:     clea@bslnet.com
Submitter:  Dwayne Collier, SOAR

Dates:      March 7 - 11 
Conference: National Conference on Cultural Property Protection 
Location:   Los Angles, CA
Details:    The conference will include sessions on construction and
            security, defining threats, fire protection, alarms, guard
            forces/services, etc. The registration fee $425 and opens in
            January.
Closes:     ---
Contact:    Smithsonian Institution
Phone/fax:  202-633-9446; ---
E-mail:     ---
Submitter:  Hollis G. Provins, INDE

Dates:      March 22 - 26 
Conference: On the Frontiers of Conservation: Discovery, Reappraisal &
            Innovation
Location:   Great Smokies Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, Asheville, NC
Details:    George Wright Society interdisciplinary conference on research
            and resource management in parks and other protected areas.
Closes:     Early registration discounts to February 21st. 
Contact:    Dave Harmon, George Wright Society
Phone/fax:  1-906-487-9722; 1-906-487-9405
E-mail:     gws@mail.portup.com; http://www.portup.com/~gws/gws99.html 
Submitter:  Dave Harmon, GWS

Dates:      April 19 - 21 
Conference: Presidential Sites and Libraries Conference III: "Redefining Our
            Message: The Relevance of Presidential Properties in the 21st
            Century" 
Location:   LBJ Library and Museum, Austin, TX (also LBJ National and State
            Historical Parks, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, George
            Bush Library
Details:    National gathering of senior managers, site administrators,
            education specialists and presidential scholars to explore
            methods necessary to attract, inform and educate a new and
            diverse constituency to presidential sites.  Honorary co-chairs:
            Mrs. Johnson, President and Mrs. Bush, Director Stanton.
Closes:     Early registration through January 31st; final registration by
            February 28th.
Contact:    Leslie Starr Hart, Superintendent, LYJO
Phone/fax:  830-868-7128 x 222; 830-868-7863
E-mail:     presidential_sites_conference@nps.gov or Presidential Sites
            Conference at NP-LYJO; www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/sitesconf
Submitter:  Leslie Starr Hart

Dates:      April 25 - 29 *
Conference: "Reinventing the Museum: Relevance and Renewal," Annual Meeting,
            American Association of Museums
Location:   Cleveland, OH
Details:    See the web site at www.aam-us.org
Closes:     ---
Contact:    American Association of Museums
Phone/fax:  202-289-9114; 202-289-6578
E-mail:     seminars@aam-us.org
Submitter:  Diane Vogt O'Connor, CSD/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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