June 18, 2000


                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                    MORNING REPORT - SUPPLEMENTAL


SUBMISSION CRITERIA

Readers periodically ask about criteria for submission of items to the 
Morning Report. The following provides some brief guidance. The bottom 
line for all submissions (except incident reports, which fall under 
standard NPS/DOI guidelines that have been in place since 1986) is 
that they should be of Servicewide significance, applicability and/or 
consequence. While some events, projects, notices, awards, etc. have 
intrinsic merit and are of local or regional interest, the Morning 
Report goes to a national audience and therefore seeks entries with 
the greatest interest and relevance to readers throughout the agency.

INCIDENTS

All incidents are reported under the procedures established in 
Servicewide SOP's issued annually by the Associate Director, Park 
Operations and Education. The CY 2000 version of that memorandum was 
just signed and transmitted to the regions; a copy is ATTACHED to this 
message. It should be disseminated to and retained by all parties 
authorized to submit incident reports to WASO Ranger Activities. Copies 
of incident submissions should also be sent to regional offices, as per 
SOP's developed by most regions. Please note that the submission 
criteria have changed in small but significant ways this year.

At times, the Morning Report includes incidents that are outside the 
parameters established in this memorandum, generally because of their 
inherent merit or general interest. Some are included because they 
carry important messages relevant to employee or visitor safety, 
others because of their general human interest. If in doubt, send the 
editor a message (Bill Halainen at NP-DEWA, or WASO Ranger 
Activities - both go to the editor).

ALMANAC

The daily almanac contains brief summaries of historical events 
pertaining to the units of the national park system. Entries this year 
(CY 2000) are being taken from a list prepared by the Service's 
historian, but entries are being solicited for CY 2001 and beyond. If 
you have a date-specific entry for your park or for the Service in 
general, please send it along for use in coming years. 

FIRE ACTIVITY

The fire activity section reports wildland fires during the more 
active months of the year. It is drawn in general from the situation 
report issued daily by the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, 
but is augmented by specific reports from parks - either directly or 
through the NPS Fire Management Program Center, also in Boise. When 
available, these reports are supplemented by information from the 
narrative section of ICS 209's and any associated press releases. If 
possible, plans chiefs and IO's on major NPS fires should pass on 
either/both to the editor of the Morning Report via cc:Mail or fax 
(570-588-2780).

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Criteria for cultural and natural resource management reports have 
been disseminated on several occasions over the past decade and are 
recapitulated here:

o       The completion of notable resource management projects OR 
        the attainment of significant benchmarks in such projects.
o       New threatened and endangered species listings, significant 
        changes in status to listed species, or new threats to listed 
        species.
o       Any newly discovered threat to park esources. 
o       Reintroduction of a species to a park.
o       Any resource management action or action affecting park 
        resources which is inherently controversial.

The first of these is perhaps the most significant. Resource managers 
often note that it takes years to complete many projects, which is why 
they don't make submissions. But progress reports are as important as 
completion reports. Very few resource management projects are 
submitted to the Morning Report, even though there's a great deal 
going on Servicewide. Resource managers should keep in mind that the 
Morning Report has wide circulation throughout the NPS, DOI and a 
number of other agencies, and that Morning Report entries educate a 
wide array of readers on resource issues that are otherwise not well 
known.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

Effective Monday, June 19th, there will be a new section in the MR for 
entries on major events or initiatives in interpretation and visitor 
services. No criteria have yet been developed. Potential submissions 
should be in line with the principal noted above; that is, they should 
be "of Servicewide significance, applicability and/or consequence." 
We'll just feel our way forward.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

This section contains entries that affect operations in the National 
Park Service. Although most of the entries come from the Washington 
Office, entries from parks, regions and support offices on operational 
matters of systemwide importance are also published. 

MEMORANDA

The Morning Report carries informational copies of operational 
memoranda AFTER they have been formally transmitted to regions and/or 
superintendents. They are generally provided by program managers and 
other staff in divisions within WASO Park Operations and Education. 
The Morning Report does NOT issue instructions or orders - those come 
through the chain of command. Memos in this section are informational 
only, and are included because history has repeatedly demonstrated the 
importance of both breadth and redundancy in dissemination

INTERCHANGE

This section carries requests from parks and offices for information, 
materials or assistance from other areas, or offerings of same. Any 
area can send a submission.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Although this new section has so far almost exclusively carried job 
and retirement announcements, it's meant to be a catch-all section 
that reports on anything significant in a park that's not otherwise 
covered by incident or resource management or other reporting 
standards. A lot of entries are submitted for awards. These are okay, 
but must be of true significance. Although this is inevitably a matter 
of judgement and very much in the eyes of the beholder, submitters 
should limit themselves to really important awards and 
accomplishments. In any case, please be as brief as possible.

FILM AT 11...

This new, intermittent section will contain listings of upcoming 
significant TV and radio shows, films and print articles about the NPS 
or specific parks. These should be stories that are disseminated 
nationally, not regionally or locally. 

CALENDAR

This section appears every other Monday as a supplement to the Morning 
Report. Anyone may submit an entry, following the prescribed format. 
Entries may include training, meetings, conferences, events and 
workshops, but they must be Servicewide offerings - or, at the very 
least, multi-regional. 

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The Congressional update appears weekly on Tuesdays when Congress is 
in session. Information for this section comes from the Office of 
Legislative and Congressional Affairs in WASO.

                           *  *  *  *  *

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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