NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT
   
   
   To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
   
   From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
   
   Day/Date:   Monday, January 24, 2000
   
   ALMANAC
   
   On this day in 1923,  President Warren G. Harding issued a proclamation 
   establishing Aztec Ruins National Monument, a site containing remnants of 
   a large 12th-century Pueblo Indian community.
   
   INCIDENTS
   
   00-008 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Homicide
   
   A Park Police officer saw smoke coming from the bunker area of Fort Tilden 
   early on the morning of January 15th and discovered a burning and 
   smoldering body along a trail near Battery Harris. Investigation revealed 
   that the body had been dragged about a quarter mile to the location. The 
   victim was determined to be a male in his early twenties. There were two 
   puncture wounds on the body. Partial fingerprints were recovered from one 
   hand, and a letter with two addresses on it was found under the body. The 
   latter had evidently been in the victim's pants. A search of the area by a 
   canine unit led to the recovery of a gym bag and gloves which had a strong 
   odor of gasoline. It appears that the officer missed the suspects by just 
   minutes. The victim has been tentatively identified and several leads are 
   being pursued. The case is being investigated jointly by USPP and NYPD 
   detectives. [Lt. John Marigliano, USPP, GATE, 1/18]
   
   00-009 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Wildlife Harassment 
   
   Rangers Paige Ritterbusch and David Barland-Liles saw a herd of about 40 
   Roosevelt elk forced from a bridge spanning rain-swollen Prairie Creek by 
   a driver who headed at them at a high rate of speed. The panicked elk were 
   able to escape without serious injury by jumping over guardrails and down 
   several embankments. The rangers stopped the vehicle and discovered that 
   there was a felony arrest warrant out against the driver - R.F., 
   42, of Orick, California - for dumping hazardous materials. He 
   was arrested. R.F. was also charged with a probation violation and with 
   frightening and intentionally disturbing wildlife (36 CFR 2.2(A)(2)). 
   R.F. has a number of prior convictions, including one for battery and 
   another for  DUI/drugs (causing bodily harm). [Bob Martin, CR, REDW, 1/18]
   
   00-010 - Joshua Tree NP (CA) - Rescue
   
   On January 1st, rangers were notified that 27-year-old J.M. had 
   fallen in the Rattlesnake Canyon area of Indian Cove. J.M. was found to 
   have fallen 40 feet onto a rock ledge and suffered a shattered left ankle. 
   Due to the ruggedness of the canyon, a county air rescue helicopter 
   extricated J.M. via a 110-foot short-haul. Rangers, members of the park's 
   volunteer rescue team, sheriff's deputies, and local units responded. 
   [Jeff Ohlfs, IC, JOTR, 1/14]
   
   00-011 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Special Event
   
   The park was contacted on January 4th and advised that staff should 
   prepare for an overnight presidential visit on January 10th to announce a 
   "significant environmental decision." The park accordingly activated ICS 
   and put together a team comprised of personnel from the park, Forest 
   Service and BLM under IC Sherrie Collins. President Clinton arrived on the 
   specified date, becoming only the second "in office" president to spend 
   the night inside the park at the El Tovar Hotel. On January 11th, the 92nd 
   anniversary of Teddy Roosevelt's proclamation creating Grand Canyon NM, 
   the president and other dignitaries flew to Toroweap Valley, where he 
   signed the proclamations creating or enlarging four national monuments 
   (see the January 12th Morning Report). The presidential party then 
   returned to the South Rim helibase and proceeded by motorcade to Hopi 
   Point for a formal ceremony. The event ran very smoothly, with no 
   significant incidents. More than 260 people from ten agencies and two 
   branches of the military participated along with about 100 members of the 
   Secret Service. SET teams from Intermountain and Pacific West Regions and 
   personnel from neighboring parks (Glen Canyon, Zion, Lake Mead, Petrified 
   Forest and Pipe Springs) provided assistance on very short notice. Further 
   information and photographs can be found at www.az.blm.gov. [Pat Hattway, 
   DR, River District; Sherrie Collins, IC; Maureen Oltrogge, PIO; GRCA, 
   1/19]
   
   00-012 - Everglades NP (FL) - Special Event
   
   Governor Jeb Bush held a press conference in the park on January 18th to 
   announce the state's plan to finance its half of the estimated $7.8 
   billion cost of Everglades restoration and its commitment to a strong 
   state/federal partnership throughout the process. The governor's plan 
   commits $1.25 billion in state resources over the next ten years, to be 
   matched locally in south Florida. The federal government will pay the 
   remaining half of the total; Congress will address authorization and 
   funding of the comprehensive restoration plan this year. The event was 
   attended by about 40 people from the media, state and federal government, 
   and local and national environmental groups. The park managed the event 
   under ICS. Phil Selleck was IC. [Deb Nordeen, IO, EVER, 1/18]
   
   00-013 - Cape Cod NS (MA) - Storm Closure
   
   All park facilities were closed on January 21st due to winter storm 
   conditions on Cape Cod - strong winds, drifting snow, poor visibility, and 
   extreme wind chill. All non-essential employees were sent home, but plow 
   crews and protection rangers remained on duty. No storm damage had been 
   discovered at the time of the report. [Mike Murray, CACO, 1/21]
   
   CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
   
   No submissions.
   
   OPERATIONAL NOTES
   
   Correction - The January 12th Morning Report contained a report on the 
   president's creation/enlargement of four national monuments. It stated 
   that Pinnacles NM had been expanded to 7,900 acres, but that was 
   incorrect. The park contained about 16,000 acres prior to the president's 
   action, which added roughly 6,000 acres of BLM land and also extended the 
   boundary, thereby making it possible to obtain another 2,000 acres of 
   currently private land through willing sellers. The owners of the 
   1,967-acre Pinnacles Ranch are interested in selling to the NPS. If it is 
   acquired, the grand total for the park would be about 24,000 acres. [Steve 
   Shackelton, Superintendent, PINN)
   
   Strategic Plan - The final draft of the Service's FY 2000 through FY 2005 
   strategic plan is now available for viewing and downloading at 
   www.nps.gov/planning/sp. The entire document can be downloaded in Adobe 
   Acrobat (.pdf) format in four files. These files are large (170K to 800K 
   each) and will take some time to download in their current format. Smaller 
   files should be available later this week. Parks and programs have until 
   March 31st to prepare their own FY 2000 strategic plans. [Heather Huyck, 
   WASO)
   
   MEMORANDA
   
   No submissions.
   
   INTERCHANGE
   
   No submissions.
   
   PARKS AND PEOPLE
   
   Independence NHP - Criminal investigator Levi Rivers will be retiring on 
   February 29th after almost 29 years at the park. A dinner in his honor is 
   planned for Friday, March 3rd. If you're interested in attending, please 
   call the park at 215-597-5438. If you'd like to share any memories of 
   working with Levi, please forward them to Linda Lafferty at Independence 
   NHP, 313 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
   
   George Washington's Birthplace NM - An announcement has been posted on USA 
   Jobs for park manager (superintendent) as either a GS-025-13/14 or 
   GS-340-13/14. The incumbent is responsible for management of both that 
   park and Thomas Stone NHS. Washington's Birthplace is located 38 miles 
   east of Fredericksburg, Virginia. It falls under "Rest of the U.S." area 
   locality pay and is not a required occupancy position. It closes on March 
   17th. For more information, please contact Marlene McPhatter at 
   215-597-4972.
   
   Denali NP&P - The park is recruiting for a GS-025/340-13/14 deputy 
   superintendent. The announcement (AKSO-00-4) opened on USA Jobs on January 
   11th and closes on February 4th. There is a cost-of-living allowance of 
   25% for Alaska; it is in addition to base salary and is exempt from 
   federal taxes. For further information, please contact Theresa Philbrik, 
   the superintendent's staff assistant, at 907-683-9581.
   
   Chattahoochee River NRA - The park will be hiring a resource management 
   specialist to serve as chief of resource management. The vacancy 
   announcement (SESO-00-37) opened on January 13th and closes on February 
   3rd. For more information, contact Riana Bishop, chief of administration, 
   at 770-399-8074 ext 227.
   
   Great Basin NP - The park has an opening for a GS-12 chief ranger (chief 
   of visitor services). The announcement is PGSO-00-12-MPP and closes on 
   February 8th. The incumbent oversees interpretation and protection and is 
   also responsible for planning and partnerships. A commission is required. 
   For details, call either Becky Mills or Amy Williams at 775-234-7331 ext 
   202 or 204, respectively.
   
   TRAINING/MEETING CALENDAR
   
   The NPS training/meeting calendar follows this edition of the Morning 
   Report as a separate message.
   
                                  *  *  *  *  *
   
   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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