NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, June 9, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1893, excavations in the basement of the former Ford's 
Theatre, which had been converted into a War Department office 
building after President Abraham Lincoln's assassination there in 
1865, caused the three floors above to collapse, killing 22 government 
employees and injuring 68 others.  The original theater interior was 
reconstructed in 1968, and Ford's Theatre National Historic Site in 
Washington, D.C., is again the scene of theatrical performances.

INCIDENTS

00-264 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - ARPA Conviction

In January, rangers Ron Jackson and Curtis Oman received a report that 
two people were digging at a location along the parkway. R.S. 
of Flora, Mississippi, and an accomplice were found to be 
excavating and removing objects from the site. R.S. pled guilty to 
excavating archeological resources (16 USC 470ee) in April and has 
since been sentenced to a year's probation, banned from all NPS areas 
for a year, and ordered to pay $500 in restitution to the park. The 
other suspect will appear in court in July. R.S. has also been 
contacted at Vicksburg NMP for similar offenses. [Tim Francis, DCR, 
NATR, 6/6]

00-265 - Cape Cod NS (MA) - Resource Violation

Rangers and resource managers are investigating the intentional 
destruction of a piping plover nest last week in the oversand vehicle 
corridor near Race Point. The piping plover is a federally-listed 
threatened species; protection of the nesting birds in areas used by 
recreational vehicles has been a contentious issue at the park for 
many years. The park has posted a $5,000 reward for information 
leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the 
crime. Media interest is high. [Kevin FitzGerald, CR, CACO, 6/6]

00-266 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Armed Robberies, Arrests

Over the past several months, there have been at least three armed 
robberies of park visitors on Ocean Beach. In two of the three 
robberies, some type of chemical agent was sprayed into the eyes of 
the victims. The victims were able to provide descriptions of their 
assailants and the weapon employed in the robberies. On May 19th, Park 
Police officers began a plainclothes operation in the area. Two men 
and a woman drove to the location in a Lincoln Towncar (later found to 
have been stolen) just after midnight on May 21st. The two men got 
out, walked onto the beach, approached one of the plainclothes 
officers, then turned and began walking hastily away. The officers 
identified themselves and the men fled. The woman in the Lincoln, 
however, provided officers with information on where they lived. 
Several items connected to one of the armed robberies were found in 
the car. Surveillance was begun at one suspect's home and he 
eventually showed up there in another stolen vehicle. He was joined by 
two other men. USPP and city officers arrested all three. A gun was 
recovered, and a can of mace was found in the main suspect's pocket. 
The weapon and a hat he'd worn have been positively identified by the 
victims in one of the robberies. San Francisco police are employing 
the information obtained in this case in their investigation of 
several robberies with similar MO's which occurred elsewhere in the 
city this spring. [Raymond Rapp, USPP, 5/25] 

00-267 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Suicide

A park visitor found the body of a 32-year-old man floating about two 
miles offshore from South Swim Beach on the morning of June 5th. The 
victim was identified as a person reported missing from the Boulder 
Beach Campground on May 31st. The cause of death has been ruled as 
suicide. This was the park's twelfth fatality this year. [Dispatch, 
LAME, 6/5)

                    [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

Fire reporting will resume on Monday.

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Misuse of NPS Arrowheads/Badges - Many people have provided RAD/WASO 
with information from time to time about the sale of NPS arrowheads 
and badges through Internet auction sites. As the Internet has grown 
and the auction sites have increased, this work load has exceeded the 
ability of RAD to deal with on a regular basis. Through the interest 
and cooperation of the Midwest Regional Office, special agent Gary 
Pace has agreed to lend his considerable skills to this effort and has 
taken over the responsibility of investigating these illegal sales. By 
designating a coordinator for these incidents, it will  help to reduce 
the confusion that may occur in dealing with the various Internet 
auction sites and to the public. Any employee or other interested 
party should contact Gary with any information concerning the Internet 
sale of NPS protected items, including the NPS arrowhead, NPS badges 
and shields, and any items of antiquity that may have originated from 
NPS lands. Gary can be contacted via cc:Mail or by calling 
440-546-5942. [Dennis Burnett, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Cuyahoga Valley NRA (OH) - The park has an announcement out for a 
GS-9/11 full-time permanent botanist. The position is in the resource 
management division; the incumbent works with a wildlife biologist, an 
ecologist, a biologist, and a resource management specialist. The 
closing date is June 23rd. Contact Garree Williamson at CUVA Resource 
Management for further information.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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.

                             --- ### ---