NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, April 3, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1860, the Pony Express began to carry overland mail on 
the Oregon Trail but was discontinued after only 18 months following 
completion of the transcontinental telegraph.  Both the Pony Express 
and the telegraph had stations at Fort Laramie, now Fort Laramie 
National Historic Site, Wyoming.

INCIDENTS

99-732 - Death Valley NP (CA) - Follow-up: ARPA Case

On the afternoon of December 11, 1999, rangers employed binoculars and 
a spotting scope to observe the activities of two men in a known park 
archeological area.  The two men, D.B. and W.J. 
(convicted in 1995 for theft of Indian baskets from the park), had 
numerous artifacts and collecting tools in their possession when they 
returned to their vehicle. The evidence was seized, an on-site 
investigation was conducted the following day by the park 
archeologist, and charges were subsequently filed in federal court. On 
March 21st, D.B., a resident of Big Pine and a lieutenant with the 
Inyo County Sheriff's Department, was convicted on a misdemeanor ARPA 
count for theft of archeological resources from the park. D.B. pled 
guilty under a negotiated plea agreement drafted by special agent Eric 
Inman, who represented the government at federal district court. 
D.B., a member of the Piaute tribe, had earlier admitted to 
collecting the artifacts, claiming that the objects belonged to him 
and to other Native Americans. Park officials contacted the local 
Timbisha-Shoshone tribal leader, who said that the tribe does not 
condone the collecting of any historic artifacts belonging to their 
ancestors. D.B. said that only he collected artifacts, and that 
W.J. simply guided him to the site. The judge accepted the plea 
agreement and sentenced D.B. to a fine of $250; restitution in the 
amount of $1,130 for restoration and repair costs; three years of 
unsupervised probation, during which he may not be found in the 
company of anyone engaged in "digging, collecting, removing or 
defacing any archeological resource;" and an essay of no fewer than 
300 words on the effects of unauthorized collecting of Native American 
artifacts on others and to the natural environment. The essay will be 
subject to NPS editorial review and will become the property of the 
NPS for use and publication at the agency's discretion. [Eric Inman, 
SA, DEVA, 3/31]

00-119 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Immigrant Smuggling Arrests

On Sunday, March 26th, Metro-Dade Marine Patrol officers boarded a 
boat in the park for erratic operation. On the boat, they found extra 
fuel containers, fuel transfer pumps and hoses, more life jackets than 
normal, and fishing equipment that was in an unusable condition.  
Ranger John LaCorte assisted the Metro-Dade officers and a local 
Border Patrol agent in the arrest of two persons for illegal immigrant 
smuggling and the seizure of the 23-foot vessel and its trailer. On 
Wednesday, March 29th,  rangers learned that a fuel transfer 
rendezvous, part of another illegal immigrant smuggling operation,  
would take place in the park. Rangers LaCorte and David Carter 
assisted Customs and Border Patrol officers in the interdiction of the 
vessels. A Customs Blackhawk helicopter was used to videotape the fuel 
transfer, then Customs, Border Patrol and two park boats intercepted 
the 31-foot smuggling vessel as it began its journey to Cuba.  Two 
persons were arrested and taken into Border Patrol custody and the 
vessel was seized. The Blackhawk helicopter tailed the fuel delivery 
vessel to a marina where Customs and Border Patrol Agents apprehended 
11 more persons and seized the boat, another vessel, and two trucks.  
[Thomas Rutledge, SPR, BISC, 3/31]

00-120 - Bryce Canyon NP (UT) - Rescue

Rangers were notified on March 28th of a person stranded on a cliff 
edge and found a 21-year-old man about 25 feet below the trail on a 
steep scree slope above a ten-foot cliff. Another steep, 150-foot  
scree slope began at the base of the cliff. The victim had managed to 
stop his fall at the edge of the cliff, and his three companions had 
tied backpack straps together to create an emergency safety line just 
long enough to reach him. Two of them had then gone to get help. 
Rangers employed a rope from a patrol vehicle rescue pack to secure 
him, then lowered a rescuer to him to help him ascend back to the rim. 
The rescue team included employees from maintenance, interpretation, 
fire and protection, with additional assistance rendered by a local 
volunteer ambulance company. The victim said that he'd been "skiing" 
down the loose gravel along the rim when he slipped and fell. He was 
shaken but otherwise okay - and thankful. [Steve Mazur, IC, BRCA, 
3/31]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No submissions.

TRAINING/MEETING CALENDAR

The NPS training/meeting calendar follows this edition of the Morning 
Report as a separate message.

                             *  *  *  *  *

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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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