NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, April 11, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1862, Union bombardment with rifled cannon breached 
the walls of Confederate-held Fort Pulaski outside Savannah, Georgia, 
signaling the obsolescence of masonry fortifications.  The fort is now 
within Fort Pulaski National Monument.

INCIDENTS

00-133 - Big South Fork NRRA (KY/TN) - Rescue

On April 2nd, Scott County dispatch advised park staff of a hiker 
who'd sustained a broken leg in a fall near Honey Creek overlook. Five 
rangers and 15 members of the interagency rescue team responded and 
found hiker R.S. with a dislocated tibia and broken fibula in 
his left leg. Several belay systems were used to extricate R.S. from 
the creek bottom. R.S. had been hiking with his friends when he 
slipped off a large rock and slid to the bottom. Ranger Ron Parris 
served as medic and ranger Barry Melloan was the technical specialist. 
[Randy Justice, IC, BISO, 4/7]

00-134 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - MVA with Fatality

J.B., 50, of Tupelo, Mississippi was heading south on the 
parkway on March 29th when his vehicle left the road for unknown 
reasons, reentered, then collided with a northbound vehicle. J.B. 
and passengers for the second vehicle were taken to the hospital. 
J.B. sustained multiple traumatic injuries and was placed on life 
support; he succumbed to those injuries on April 4th. The occupants of 
the second vehicle were treated and released. J.B. was not wearing 
a seatbelt, and it appears that alcohol was a contributing factor. 
[Tim Francis, DCR, NATR, 4/5]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Kings Mountain NMP (SC) - Prescribed Burn

The park conducted its first prescribed burn on Friday, April 7th. The 
62-acre burn was in the core area of the battlefield and was completed 
without any problems. The objectives of the burn were to perpetuate 
the oak-pine forest by reducing fire sensitive pole tree and sapling 
hardwood density, thereby facilitating battlefield restoration; to 
reduce hazard fuels; and to increase native grasses on the site. 
Personnel from the Great Smoky Mountains fire use module, Kings 
Mountain NMP, Great Smoky Mountains NP, and Congaree Swamp NM 
participated in the burn. Park interpreters prepared a special exhibit 
on the use of prescribed fire for battlefield restoration and were on 
site to answer questions during the day. The event received local 
media coverage. [Chris Revels, CR, KIMO]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

DO-53/DO-87 - On April 4th, the director signed DO-53 on special park 
uses. It was distributed electronically on April 6th, and all parks 
should have received copies by now. It will not be distributed in hard 
copy. RM-53, the associated reference manual, will go to the printer 
this week. Current plans are to send one printed copy to each park; 
there will be no electronic transmittal. DO-87 and RM-87, which deal 
with non-NPS federal-aid highways, have been cleared for distribution 
in draft. They have been sent for comments to the NLC and to the 
Federal Register and will be distributed to the field shortly. 
Questions on any of these documents should be directed via cc:Mail to 
Dick S. Young at NP-COLO.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Point Reyes NS (CA) - District ranger Russ Case will be retiring on 
April 30th after nearly 35 years in the National Park Service.  Russ 
has worked at Yosemite, Blue Ridge, Gettysburg, Dinosaur and Point 
Reyes. He and his wife, Marian, will be moving to Marian's hometown of 
Longview, Washington.  The park has a big send-off planned for the 
evening of May 4th at the Inverness Yacht Club. If you have any 
anecdotes or memories of Russ and Marian that you want to share, 
please contact Michelle Scanlon at 415-663-8525 or via cc:Mail. They 
will be included in an album or present them during that evening. 
[Frank Dean, Assistant Superintendent, PORE]

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during 
coming weeks on matters pertaining to the National Park Service or 
kindred agencies.  For inquiries regarding legislation pertaining to 
the NPS, please contact the main office at 202-208-5883/5656 and ask 
to be forwarded to the appropriate legislative specialist.

HEARINGS/MARK-UPS

Thursday, April 13th

House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands 
(Hansen): Markup of:

o       H.R. 2773 (McCollum, FL), a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic 
        Rivers Act to designate the Wekiva River and its tributaries 
        of Rock Springs Run and Black Water Creek in the State of 
        Florida as components of the national wild and scenic rivers 
        system.
o       H.R. 2833 (Pastor, AZ), a bill to establish the Yuma Crossing 
        National Heritage Area. 
o       H.R. 3084 (Shimkus, IL), a bill to authorize the Secretary of 
        the Interior to contribute funds for the establishment of an 
        interpretative center on the life and contributions of 
        President Abraham Lincoln. 
o       H.R. 2778 (Moakley, MA), a bill to amend the Wild and Scenic 
        Rivers Act to designate segments of the Taunton River in the 
        Commonwealth of Massachusetts for study for potential addition 
        to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other 
        purposes. 
o       H.R. 3241, a bill on tours and franchise fee calculations at 
        Fort Sumter National Monument.

The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in 1324 Longworth.

LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

The following bills either directly or indirectly pertaining to the 
NPS have been introduced since the last Morning Report listing of new 
legislation (April 4th):

o       H.R. 4156 (Mollohan, WV), a bill to establish the Wheeling 
        National Heritage Area in the State of West Virginia, and for 
        other purposes.
o       S. 2343 (Murkowski, AK), a bill to amend the National Historic 
        Preservation Act for the purposes of establishing a national 
        historic lighthouse preservation program.
o       S. 2345 (Schumer, NY), a bill to direct the Secretary of the 
        Interior to conduct a special resource study concerning the 
        preservation and public use of sites associated with Harriet 
        Tubman located in Auburn, New York, and for other purposes. 
o       S. 2352 (Graham, FL), a bill to designate portions of the 
        Wekiva River and associated tributaries as a component of the 
        National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
o       H.R. 4190 (Hilleary, TN), a bill to amend title 23, United 
        States Code, relating to the Federal share for reconstruction 
        of a road and causeway in Shiloh Military Park in Hardin 
        County, Tennessee.

NEW LAWS

The following bills have passed Congress and been signed into law over 
recent months:

o       Public Law 106-18 - Authorizes appropriations for the Coastal 
        Heritage Trail Route in New Jersey.
o       Public Law 106-45 - Preserves the cultural resources of the 
        Route 66 corridor and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior 
        to provide assistance.
o       Public Law 106-115 - The law establishes Minuteman Missile NHS 
        in South Dakota.
o       Public Law 106-116 - The law clarifies the boundaries of Cape 
        Hatteras National Seashore.
o       Public Law 106-131 - The law authorizes the construction of 
        the Gateway Visitor Center at Independence NHP.
o       Public Law 106-132 - Redesignates Great Kills Park in Gateway 
        National Recreation Area as "World War II Veterans Park at 
        Great Kills."
o       Public Law 106-134 - Amends the act that established Keweenaw 
        NHP to require the Secretary of the Interior to consider 
        nominees of various local interests in appointing members of 
        the park's advisory commission.
o       Public Law 106-135 - Amends the National Trail System Act to 
        designate the route of the War of 1812 British invasion of 
        Maryland and Washington, District of Columbia, and the route 
        of the American defense, for study for potential addition to 
        the national trails system
o       Public Law 106-143 - The law authorizes the creation of the 
        Four Corners Monument Tribal Park Interpretive Center in Utah.
o       Public Law 106-146 - Establishes Thomas Cole NHS.
o       Public Law 106-147 - Transfers land for a visitor center at 
        Franklin D. Roosevelt NHS.
o       Public Law 106-149 - Extends the boundaries of the Quinebaug 
        and Shetucket Rivers National Heritage Corridor in 
        Connecticut.
o       Public Law 106-150 - The law provides for land acquisition by 
        Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefield NMP.
o       Public Law 106-154 - The law adjusts the boundary of 
        Chattahoochee River NRA.
o       Public Law 106-157 - The law authorizes the conveyance of 
        certain Federal land associated with the Lewis and Clark 
        National Historic Trail to the state of Illinois to be used as 
        an historic and interpretive site along the trail.
o       Public Law 106-164 - The law establishes Fallen Timbers 
        Battlefield and Fort Miami NHS in Ohio.
o       Public Law 106-173 - The law establishes the Abraham Lincoln 
        Bicentennial Commission to study activities related to the 
        Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial.  It outlines the regulations and 
        responsibilities of that commission.
o       Public Law 106-176 - The Omnibus Parks Technical Corrections 
        Act of 2000 provides technical corrections to the Omnibus 
        Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996.
o       Public Law 106-181 - The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment 
        and Reform Act for the 21st Century amends USC 49, which 
        contains the FAA programs.  Title VIII of that law, which 
        concerns air tour management and overflights of national parks 
        and tribal lands, includes the recommendations of the national 
        parks overflights working group as they pertain to commercial 
        air tours. over the national parks and tribal lands.

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Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed 
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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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