NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, July 14, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1864, Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest tried to cut the 
railroad supplying Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's march on Atlanta in 
the Battle of Tupelo, Mississippi.  Tupelo National Battlefield 
preserves the scene of the fighting.

INCIDENTS

00-395 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP (CO) - Two Rescues

On June 17th, Z.A., 20, fell while leading a climb of the 
5.10+ Cruise route. Z.A. was climbing about ten feet above his last 
piece of protection when he lost his footing, slipped and fell, 
sustaining possible fractures to both ankles. Z.A.'s climbing 
partner contacted North Rim ranger Ed Delmolino at 9:30 p.m. Delmolino 
treated Z.A.'s injuries and monitored his condition through the 
night until rescue operations could begin the following morning. Park 
and local rescue teams raised Z.A. up the North Chasm wall over 
1,500 feet to the rim of the canyon. The mission took about five hours 
and over 25 rescuers to complete. Marion Parker was IC. On July 9th, 
M.M., 41, fell while lead-climbing Cruise Gully after she and 
her partner abandoned a climb on the Leisure route. M.M. was climbing 
50 feet above her first protection in intermittent rain when she 
apparently lost her footing, falling and tumbling about 80 feet and 
sustaining severe head injuries. Her partner contacted ranger Ed 
Delmolino, who responded along with a paramedic  from a local EMS 
squad. The nighttime litter evacuation involved lowering her down the 
remainder of the gully in rain, lightning and continuous rock falls. 
M.M. was then raised over 1,500 feet up the North Chasm wall to the 
rim and flown by helicopter to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, 
where she underwent surgery for a skull fracture. The entire operation 
took 12 hours and involved 50 rescuers and support personnel, 
including a number of local, county and volunteer rescue squads. 
Kinsey Shilling was IC. These two operations constitute the most 
significant technical raises to date in the park. [Linda Alick, CR, 
BLCA/CURE, 7/11]

00-396 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Drug Seizure

Rangers and Border Patrol and Customs officers conducted a search for 
a smugglers camp in the desert west of Highway 85 on July 11th. A 
support helicopter with a ranger on board was employed in the 
operation. The ranger spotted a rental pickup truck heading north on 
Highway 85 that appeared to contain bundles of marijuana in its bed. 
Border Patrol agents attempted to pull the vehicle over in the town of 
Why within the park, but the driver refused to stop. County deputies 
employed spikes to deflate the vehicles tires just outside of the town 
of Ajo, but the truck continued heading north. The helicopter overhead 
gave directions to ground units in pursuit. The truck finally wrecked; 
the 22-year-old female driver and her male companion were arrested. A 
loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun was found on the truck's console, 
and  a total of 528.5 pounds of marijuana wrapped in 70-pound 
backpacker bales were found in the bed. The county is processing the 
case under Arizona law. [Dale Thompson, CR, ORPI, 7/11]

                  [Additional reports pending...]
 
FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

CURRENT SITUATION

Only one new large fire was reported yesterday, but initial attack 
crews were active throughout the Rockies. Strong winds associated with 
a passing cold front could challenge control efforts on fires east of 
the Cascades and into the northern Rockies today.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from yesterday's numbers in parentheses): 102 crews (+ 21), 
453 overhead (+ 114), 243 engines (+ 69), 56 helicopters (+ 4), and 
seven air tankers (- 1).

Very high to extreme fire danger indices were reported in Oregon, 
Washington, California, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, 
Colorado, and Wyoming.

NPS FIRES

Bandelier NM (NM) - As of Sunday, July 9th, a combined workforce from 
more than a dozen federal, state, local and volunteer agencies had 
treated more than 26,000 acres of land scarred by the Cerro Grande 
Fire adjacent to Los Alamos and surrounding pueblo communities. 
Workers have implemented the interagency BAER plan before the summer 
monsoon season begins in earnest. Most of the recommended work has 
been completed - workers are now focusing on additional areas that 
have a higher than normal potential for flooding in an effort to 
mitigate damage to property. Treatments of the hydrophobic soils have 
ranged from hand seeding and raking to aerial hydro-mulching. Over the 
last two months, workers and volunteers placed approximately 5,000 
sausage-shaped straw wattles on hillsides to slow runoff. More than 
50,000 bales of straw mulch have been hand broadcast over seeded areas 
to aid germination. Aircraft continue to make as many as 200 flights 
each day applying 2,000 to 2,800 gallons of hydro-mulch per acre. 
Although much of the work has been performed by trained firefighters 
assigned to the fire, local volunteers have been providing invaluable 
service to the rehabilitation effort. As of July 7th, there were 128 
people assigned to the fire - 36 from the NPS, 44 from the Forest 
Service, five from BLM, 24 from BIA, ten from the state, and nine from 
private organizations. The multi-agency rehabilitation program is 
currently under the command of the Intermountain-Midwest all-risk 
incident management team (Mona Devine, IC). 

SIGNIFICANT NON-NPS FIRES 

Ely Field Office, BLM (NV) - The 6,500-acre Cherry Fire (70 miles 
northwest of Ely) is only 12% contained. Large pockets of unburned 
fuel remain, while difficult terrain and severe weather conditions 
continue to hamper suppression efforts. A total of 402 firefighters 
and overhead have been committed.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued two RED FLAG WARNINGS - one for strong winds in 
central and southeast Washington, the other for low relative humidity 
and strong winds in west central and southern Wyoming - and a FIRE 
WEATHER WATCH  for low relative humidity and dry lightning in 
northeast Wyoming and the Black Hills of South Dakota.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/14; Rich Littlefield, 
PIO, Cerro Grande IMT, 7/13]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Dinosaur NM (CO) - Reintroduction of Endangered Bonytail Fish

Bonytails, the rarest of endangered fish in the Colorado River system, 
were reintroduced into the Green and Yampa Rivers within the park on 
July 13th.  Bonytails have been functionally extirpated from riverine 
environments - one of the last riverine strongholds was in the Echo 
Park area of Dinosaur.  In a cooperative effort with the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service and the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the park 
released 5,000 three- to five-inch-long bonytails in the lower Yampa 
River and another 5,000 bonytails near the Gates of Lodore in Dinosuar 
and the lower reaches of Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge. Hopes 
are that they will reoccupy historic habitats in the canyons of 
Dinosaur once they acclimate to the river and begin to mature.  
Additional releases are planned over the next two years. [Steve 
Petersburg, RMS, DINO]

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Significant New Exhibit Opens

In mid-July, the new "Sunrise to Paradise" exhibit opens at the 
Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise. The exhibit, originally developed 
by the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, premiered at the 
museum in celebration of the park's centennial in 1999. Washington's 
National Park Fund helped raise money for the original exhibit and 
other major centennial projects; KCTS TV in Seattle developed the 
audio-visual programs that complement the exhibit. The Washington 
State History Museum transferred the exhibit panels to the park after 
the exhibit closed in Tacoma, and park staff worked with an exhibit 
contractor to redesign the exhibit for the park visitor center. The 
project, funded through the recreation fee demonstration program, 
involved a total facelift for the exhibit room, including lighting, 
paint, and carpeting. It replaces worn and outdated exhibits, many of 
which were originally installed in the Jackson Visitor Center in the 
1960s. A second exhibit room at the visitor center was upgraded with 
fee demo funds in 1999. Interpretive specialist Alisa Lynch 
coordinated this project. [Maria Gillett, CI, MORA]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Supreme Court Ruling - On June 26th, the Supreme Court held that the 
Miranda decision will continue to govern the admissibility of 
voluntary statements obtained from criminal suspects during custodial 
interrogation.  The court declined to overrule Miranda in the face of 
a 1968 law passed by Congress.  That law, contained within 18 USC 
3501, allowed trial judges to determine the admissibility of 
statements based on whether those statements were voluntary, without 
regard to Miranda.  The court pointed out that the Miranda decision 
was based in constitutional theory and that Congress could not 
supercede constitutional principles through legislation.  Dickerson v. 
United States, No. 99-5525 (S.Ct. 6/26/00).  For more information on 
this case or other court decisions, contact NPS legal instructor Don 
Usher at FLETC via cc:Mail at NP-WASO.

MEMORANDA

"Conflict Resolution (CORE) Program," signed on July 10th by Director 
Stanton and sent electronically to all employees. The full text 
follows: 

"As the National Park Service seeks to respond to workplace issues and 
concerns that are raised by our employees, we have initiated the 
Conflict Resolution (CORE) Program as a means for early intervention 
and resolution of these matters.  

"The major tenet of the CORE program is to provide a fair and 
effective means to resolve such issues and concerns at the earliest 
opportunity, at the lowest organizational level, and to the mutual 
satisfaction of the parties involved.  The program is voluntary for 
employees and designed to facilitate face to face communication.

"CORE has been adopted throughout the Department of the Interior.  It 
uses Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods to meet specific 
goals and improve relationships among employees, supervisors and 
managers. The National Park Service has selected an initial group of 
19 employees, each of whom is trained and qualified to provide CORE 
services.  The full list appears on the CORE website 
(www.doi.gov/core).  Should a bargaining unit employee wish to use 
CORE services, his or her bargaining unit must have specific 
authorization in the collective bargaining agreement or a Memorandum 
of Understanding (MOU) with local management that makes CORE services 
available to its membership.

"On June 22, 2000, the Department aired a satellite broadcast that 
provided employees with information concerning the CORE program. Video 
taped copies are being made and will be available through a CORE 
Specialist.  I encourage you to view the tape, to visit the CORE 
website for additional information (www.doi.gov/core), and to contact 
a CORE Specialist should you have need to do so."

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Lyndon B. Johnson NHP (TX) - The park is re-advertising for a GS-9 
park ranger (protection).   The announcement is available on USA Jobs 
and will be open through August 14th.  The incumbent will be one of 
two field rangers working with a wide variety of cultural and natural 
resources at an important time in the park's development.  The person 
selected will be duty-stationed at the LBJ Ranch in the heart of the 
Texas hill country.  Occupancy in park housing is required.  For more 
information on the position, please contact acting chief ranger Brian 
Carey at 830-868-7128, ext 232.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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