NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, September 21, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne began to make numerous 
alterations to The Wayside, his home in Concord, Massachusetts, 
including the addition of a tower containing his study.  The Wayside 
is now part of Minute Man National Historical Park.

INCIDENTS

00-595 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Oil Spill

A private barge struck the U.S.S. Detroit at Naval Weapons Station 
Earle on the afternoon of September 14th, holing the side of the ship 
and releasing about 30,000 gallons of #2 fuel oil into the ocean. The 
majority of the fuel was contained in the immediate vicinity of the 
accident, but a sheen measuring a mile by a mile-and-a-half was 
spotted further out. Oil containment booms were deployed along the 
northern shore of the park's Sandy Hook Unit and other environmentally 
sensitive areas in the harbor. One boom extends from the tip of Sandy 
Hook to Horseshoe Cove, a distance of about a mile-and-a-half. Rangers 
patrolled the water and found no impacts to the park shoreline. NOAA 
has predicted that the spill will move out of the harbor, then 
disperse in open waters. The Coast Guard, Navy, state agencies and 
commercial contractors are involved in cleanup operations. [Jose 
Rosario, CR, GATE, 9/15]

00-596 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Drug Smuggling

On September 17th, a non-commissioned wilderness ranger contacted four 
men with large packs hiking south on the Chilliwack Trail, a 
25-mile-long trail that crosses the U.S. - Canadian border.  The men 
refused to acknowledge the ranger and continued south.  Three hours 
later and 12 miles further south, district ranger Hugh Dougher was 
moving to a surveillance location when he encountered one of the men.  
The man dropped his pack (later determined to contain 18 pounds of "BC 
Bud" marijuana with a wholesale value of $70,000) and ran north.  He 
met his companions and all four headed into thick vegetation. Dougher 
located and arrested one of the men, and also detained the suspected 
driver of a pickup vehicle - a man from Berkeley, California - at the 
trailhead. The remaining three suspects were not located, despite 
containment north and south of the scene and a search involving 
rangers, Customs agents, deputies, and a canine unit.  While this 
incident was occurring, other rangers were attempting to locate 
suspected smugglers in a valley to the east, and the Border Patrol was 
arresting four other backpackers with 138 pounds of BC Bud and their 
courier along a trail immediately to the west.  [Pete Cowan, CR, NOCA, 
9/19]

00-597 - Charles Pinckney NHS (SC) - Special Event

The park celebrated Constitution Week by hosting a naturalization 
ceremony for 246 new American citizens on Friday, September 15th The 
event, which was the third annual naturalization ceremony held at the 
park, was attended by about 600 people. Visitors also became 
co-signers of the Constitutions as part of a program sponsored by the 
National Constitution Center. The event was sponsored by a coalition 
of federal, state, local and private agencies and organizations. It 
was covered by Fox and ABC News. [Bill Martin, PIO, FOSU, 9/18]

00-598 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event

On September 16th, park staff assisted in the eleventh annual cleanup 
of all South Carolina waterways and beaches by coordinating cleanup 
efforts for Sullivan's Island. This state event is organized by the 
South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium and takes place between 9 a.m. and 
noon on a designated day. This year, 475 volunteers, coordinated by 
ranger Dawn Hammer, came to Fort Moultrie to cleanup Sullivan's 
Island. Many of the volunteers were families with children or members 
of scout troops, civic-minded organizations, and school groups. The 
event went smoothly and resulted in a cleaner beach. [Bill Martin, 
PIO, FOSU, 9/20]

00-599 - Hawaii Volcanoes NP (HI) - MVA with Fatality

The lone occupant of a truck died in an unwitnessed high-speed 
accident and fire on Highway 11 at 9 p.m. on September 13th. The 
victim's identity has not yet been established. The highway was closed 
for over an hour. The park's special agent and rangers are working 
with forensic pathologists and others to determine the driver's name. 
[Paul Ducasse, CR, HAVO, 9/14]
 
                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE SITUATION

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III

CURRENT SITUATION

Seven new large fires were reported in the South. Crews reached 
containment goals on six large fires. Initial attack activity was 
moderate in the South and light elsewhere. 

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, Washington, 
California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, 
Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

The following resources were committed nationwide as of yesterday 
(changes from Wednesday's numbers in parentheses): 146 crews (- 33), 
1,037 overhead (- 75), 449 engines (- 82), and 65 helicopters (- 10).

NPS AND NPS-RELATED FIRES

No reports.

OUTLOOK

NICC has issued two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - the first for low fuel 
moisture in all of Mississippi, the second for gusty winds and low 
relative humidity in northwestern Arizona and southern Nevada.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/21]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (MI) - Piping Plover Protection and Monitoring

The park has been running an intensive piping plover protection and 
monitoring program since 1986, when the Great Lakes plover population 
became both a federally and state-listed endangered species. This 
year, there were eight nests along Lake Michigan beaches within the 
park. Staff biologists, rangers, interns, student conservation 
assistants and many volunteers searched park beaches for nests, 
erected predator exclosures, fenced off nest sites to public use, 
monitored nests and chicks, contacted visitors to explain the need to 
protect the birds and endangered species in general, and offered 
opportunities to the public to view the birds at a safe distance 
through spotting scopes. Each year, the park's nests constitute nearly 
a third of all piping plover nests in the Great Lakes area. Although 
the park has had considerable success in protecting the nests, many 
chicks are lost before fledging, evidently because of avian predators. 
This year, 32 eggs hatched, but only 11 chicks fledged. A total of 
about 34 chicks were fledged on 30 nests in the Great Lakes area. 
These numbers are nonetheless higher than the 12 to 18 nests found in 
the 1980s. There were an estimated 250 nests in Michigan before the 
loss of beach habitat to development and the increase of people on 
favored nesting beaches. The park will now be working to identify the 
predators and seeking to reduce the losses of plover chicks. [Roger 
Moder, SLBE]

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP (CA) - Annual Festival

On Saturday, September 9th, about 300 people attended the second 
annual Celebrate Sequoias Festival in the Grant Grove area of Kings 
Canyon NP and in the Hume Lake District of the recently-proclaimed 
Giant Sequoia NM. The vent is co-sponsored by the NPS and the Forest 
Service and encourages visitors to experience the "Big Trees" through 
the eyes of scientists, naturalists and artists. Activities included 
hikes to lesser-known groves of giant sequoias, talks on recent 
research findings related to the big trees, and living history stage 
presentations on those who were associated with sequoias at the turn 
of the century. Local artists and associations displayed and sold 
artwork, photographs and books on the giant trees. [Kris Fister, SEKI]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

NPS Employee Phone Book - The Service is compiling a directory of all 
NPS employees. A template has been put on the NPS web site that 
contains all employees' names, duty stations, titles, and many - but 
not all - phone numbers. You can go in and add or edit these numbers 
at any time - for yourself, your work group, or your park or office. 
The employee phone book is easy to find. From the main ParkNet entry 
page (www.nps.gov), go to Infozone, then Reference Desk, then People 
and Places Directory. The screen has park directory entries on the 
left side (also editable), and people on the right side. Choose 
"Employee Maintenance" at the bottom of the "People Search" section to 
add, edit, or delete an employee. You can enter any phone number that 
you like to use as your business number and there is room for adding 
an extension. The more phone numbers the directory holds, the more 
useful it will be for all of us. [Betsy Chittenden, WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Canaveral NS (FL) - The park is advertising for a GS-9 PFT law 
enforcement park ranger. The announcement (SESO-00-114) opens today 
and closes on October 12th. [Personnel, CANA]

Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/TN/AL) - The park is advertising for a 
GS-11/12 assistant chief ranger. The announcement number is NATR-00-35 
and closes on October 4th. If you have questions about the position, 
contact chief ranger Mike Anderson at 662-680-4014. [Mike Anderson, 
NATR]

Buffalo NR (AR) - Facility manager Lowell Butts will be retiring from 
the NPS on September 29th. A potluck luncheon will be held at noon on 
September 27th at the Tyler Bend Pavilion. A memory book is being put 
together for him. Cards and photos from friends and other remembrances 
from his career would be appreciated. Please send them to Judy 
Deitrick, Buffalo NR, 402 North Walnut Street, Suite 136, Harrison, AR 
72601. [Sheila Maberry]

Washington Office (DC) - Calvin Cummings, a senior archeologist who 
retired from the NPS after 35 years of service, died September 2nd at 
his home in Golden, Colorado, after a long battle with lymphatic 
cancer. Cal began his career in 1962 as a park ranger/archeologist at 
Wupatki and subsequently worked at Tuzigoot, Lake Meredith, Alibates 
Flint Quarries, and Salinas. He did a tour as staff archeologist in 
the Navajo Lands Group, then spent the balance of his career in 
Southwest Regional Office, DSC and Washington, where he was chief 
anthropologist for the NPS from 1983 to 1984. From 1985 until his 
retirement in 1997, he was a senior archeologist in the Washington 
Office, duty-stationed in Lakewood, Colorado. Cal was recognized 
nationally and internationally as an expert in cultural resources 
management, underwater archeology, and pyroarcheology; among other 
things, he was instrumental in creating the NPS Submerged Cultural 
Resources Unit, establishing the Service's Southwest Cultural 
Resources Center, and starting the Zuni, Hopi and Navajo tribal 
archeological programs. His career was devoted to the protection, 
preservation and proper management of all park resources, and he was 
an outspoken advocate for all archeological resources inside and 
outside the National Park system. [Michele Aubry, Archeology and 
Ethnography Program, WASO]

Ninety Six NHS (SC) - Retired superintendent Sibbald Smith died of ALS 
early on the morning of September 9th. The funeral was held in 
Cherokee, North Carolina, on Monday, September 11th. Sib served as a 
tribal leader for the Eastern Band of Cherokees before joining the 
NPS. He worked at the Oconaluftee JCC, Natchez Trace, Delaware Water 
Gap, Ocmulgee, Canaveral, Chattahoochee, Cowpens and Ninety Six. He's 
survived by Mary Catherine, his wife of nearly 50 years, and by three 
children and eight grandchildren. Contributions in his memory can be 
made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or to Cherokee EMS, PO Box 
666, Cherokee, NC 28719. Condolences may be sent to Catherine Smith, 
PO Box 557, Cherokee, NC 28719. [Myrna Maffett, NISI; Pat Ruff, COWP]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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