NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT
   
   
   To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
   
   From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
   
   Day/Date:   Wednesday, January 12, 2000
   
   ALMANAC
   
   On this day in 1848, Abraham Lincoln, then a congressman from Springfield, 
   Illinois, attacked President James Polk's prosecution of the Mexican War 
   in a speech in the House of Representatives.  During his single term in 
   Congress, Lincoln retained his Springfield house, now the centerpiece of 
   Lincoln Home National Historic Site.
   
   INCIDENTS
   
   00-006 - Colorado NM (CO) - Rock Fall
   
   Rim Rock Drive was closed by a large rock fall adjacent to the Upper 
   Liberty Cap trailhead on the morning of January 8th. There were no 
   injuries. A block of sandstone from the Salt Wash member of the Morrison 
   Formation fell and covered the road with an estimated 300 tons of debris.  
   Engineers and geologists will examine the area to determine whether 
   further slides are likely to occur before any repair work begins.  Rim 
   Rock Drive may be closed for two to three weeks while the debris is 
   removed.  The location of the incident, about half way between the park's 
   two entrance stations, means that visitors cannot drive all the way across 
   Rim Rock Drive. Most of the monument, however, remains accessible. [Ron 
   Young, CR, COLM, 1/10]
   
   CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
   
   No submissions.
   
   OPERATIONAL NOTES
   
   New and Expanded National Monuments - President Clinton established or 
   expanded four national monuments yesterday, employing the authority of the 
   1906 Antiquities Act (34 Stat. 225, 16 USC 431):
   
   o     Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument - The geologically, 
         paleontologically and archeologically rich area encompasses the 
         lower portion of the Shivwits Plateau, which forms an important 
         watershed for the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. The monument 
         consists of approximately 1,014,000 acres, all of it currently under 
         federal ownership. It also contains outstanding biological resources 
         from two physiographic eco-regions, the Mojave Desert and Colorado 
         Plateau. The plateau is bounded on the west by the Grand Wash Cliffs 
         and on the east by the Hurricane Cliffs.  Although the monument is 
         to be cooperatively managed by the National Park Service and the 
         Bureau of Land Management, the NPS has primary management authority 
         over the portion of the monument within Lake Mead NRA and BLM has 
         primary authority over the remaining portion of the monument.
   
   o     California Coastal National Monument - The monument will encompass   
         all of the islands, rocks, exposed reefs and pinnacles above the 
         high water mark that are currently owned by the United States in an 
         area running along the entire 840-mile California coast and 
         extending out for 12 miles. Those areas already appropriated or 
         reserved for other purposes will not be affected. The federal lands 
         in the area are under the jurisdiction of BLM and are currently 
         managed by BLM and the California Department of Fish and Game under 
         an MOU. That arrangement will not change. 
   
   o     Pinnacles National Monument - This NPS area has been expanded to 
         7,900 acres in order to protect the area's unique geological and 
         biological resources. This is the sixth enlargement of Pinnacles 
         since it was created in 1908. All were done by presidential 
         proclamation. The NPS will continue to manage the area.
   
   o     Agua Fria National Monument - The monument contains one of the most 
         significant systems of late prehistoric sites in the Southwest. 
         Between AD 1250 and 1450, its pueblo communities were populated by 
         up to several thousand people. There are at least 450 prehistoric 
         sites within the monument, including four major settlements. The 
         monument will consist of about 71,000 acres and will be managed by 
         BLM. 
   
   [Text of Presidential Proclamations, Office of the Press Secretary, The 
   White House, 1/11]
   
   MEMORANDA
   
   No submissions.
   
   INTERCHANGE
   
   No submissions.
   
   PARKS AND PEOPLE
   
   No submissions.
   
                                 *  *  *  *  *
   
   Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by 
   park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please address 
   requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your servicing hub 
   coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on the web at 
   http://www.nps.gov/morningreport
   
   Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation 
   and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
   
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