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Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, December 6, 2000
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Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 09:14:22 -0500
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2000
ALMANAC
On this date in 1863, Colonel Kit Carson was ordered by General James
H. Carleton to lead an expedition into Canyon de Chelly against "that
notorious stronghold of the Navajos." Navajos who survived the attack
were forced to leave their homeland and walk at least 400 miles to be
incarcerated at Fort Sumner/Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. The Navajos
were held there until 1868, when a new treaty was signed allowing them
to return to a portion of their homeland. Several hundred to several
thousand Navajos (records are unclear) died at Bosque Redondo. Canyon
de Chelly NM is now a unit of the national park system.
INCIDENTS
00-731 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Hunter Falling Fatality
J.B., 58, of Voorhees, New Jersey, was hunting deer from a
tree stand off the Peters Valley-Dingmans Road around 9 a.m. on the
morning of December 5th. J.B. shot a deer, then fell 20 to 30 feet
while descending from the tree stand to get it. He lay on the ground
for about three hours before he was found by other hunters in the
area. They notified park dispatch around 12:30 p.m. and seven rangers
responded immediately along with a local rescue squad and paramedics.
J.B. was conscious and communicative, but complained of pains to his
back and chest. He was flown to Morristown Hospital via a Northstar
helicopter ambulance and was subsequently pronounced dead at the
hospital. The cause of death is not yet known; an autopsy is being
conducted. Rangers will be investigating. Preliminary indications are
that J.B. was not using the safety straps available with his hunting
stand when the accident occurred. [Mike Fernalld, PR, New Jersey
District, DEWA, 12/5]
00-732 - Guadalupe Mountains NP (TX) - Assist; Multiple MVA's
At 8 p.m. on the evening of December 2nd, ranger Bruce Malloy was
notified of a motor vehicle accident on U.S. 62/180 outside of the
park. He found that several accidents had occurred on the icy road,
including one with an injured 15-year-old girl who complained of neck
and back pain. Shortly after Malloy arrived, a tractor-trailer
jackknifed nearby, blocking the highway's westbound lanes. The park
ambulance and ranger/EMT's Jeff Miller and John Cwiklik responded;
ranger Peter Pappas provided traffic control by blocking westbound
traffic, which was allowed to park at the Frijole Visitor Center. The
visitor center was opened for the stranded travelers' comfort and
staffed by park employees Liz and Rick Miller. About 50 vehicles and
150 people, including three buses full of high school students, were
stranded there until just before midnight, when the road was reopened.
Pappas was the IC. The Texas Highway Patrol investigated the
accidents. [Peter Pappas, PR, GUMO, 12/4]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Plan
No new information. Please check the NPS Fire Management Program
Center web page (www.fire.nps.gov) for further information on fire
plan projects.
Park Fires
No reported fires.
CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Black Powder Interpretive Program Update - Sandy Weber (WASO) and Rick
Martin(VICK) of the Servicewide Historic Weapons Advisory Team (SHWAT)
met with the Risk Management Advisory Team in Phoenix on November 14th
to discuss ways in which to strengthen the operational coordination
between the Service's historic weapons demonstration staff and Risk
Management Division staff. The discussions were very useful and
positive, resulting in a commitment to identify regional liaisons who
will work together to inspect, advise and oversee historic weapons
interpretive demonstrations on a regular basis. Plans are also
underway to provide more extensive orientation training on the
historic weapons demonstrations program to all interested risk
management staff. [Corky Mayo, I&ED/WASO]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
INTERCHANGE
No submissions.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Office of International Affairs (WASO) - The World Bank is seeking an
environment and public awareness training specialist to work in
Butrint National Park in Albania. The person selected will be
assessing training needs, developing basic ranger training for the
park (patrolling, monitoring, resource protection, etc.), developing
monitoring and reporting systems, designing community outreach
activities, and contributing to environmental education programs and
the park's developmental study. The person selected must have a
minimum of five years experience in a protected area or national park
ranger service and have proven skills in training local staff in basic
ranger work, environmental education, and developing community
liaison. He/she will likely be in Albania twice - once in January or
February, the second time in April/May. More info on the park can be
found at www.butrintfound.dial.pipex.com and www.historychannel.com/
classroom/unesco/butrint.html. Expressions of interest should be sent
to auront@albaniaonline.net. [Barbara Pitkin, DOI]
Midwest Archeological Center (NE) - Vergil Noble, a supervisory
archeologist in the Midwest Archeological Center, has been named
president-elect of the Society for Historical Archeology (SHA). He
will serve in that capacity throughout 2001 and became president in
2002. Formed in 1967, SHA is the largest scholarly group concerned
with the archeology of the modern world (AD 1400 - present). The main
focus of the society is the era since the beginning of European
exploration. Noble will be the third NPS archeologist to serve as
president of the international organization. [Flo Six, MWRO]
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (MO) - The Gateway Chapter of
Mothers of Drunk Driving has presented the park's ranger division with
this year's "Law Enforcement Agency of the Year" award - a large brass
eagle mounted on a walnut base with the following inscription: "Your
division's time and commitment to the removal of drunk drivers and
efforts to keep the citizens of Missouri safe has been commendable,
making your division a true MADD difference maker." Rangers made 86
DUI arrests between January 1st and September 30th this year. [Rod
Danner, JEFF]
UPCOMING IN CONGRESS
The 106th Congress is still in session. Although it is dealing
primarily with appropriations, some park-related actions may take
place. No hearings or mark-ups are scheduled.
The NPS has increased in size by five new areas. Don Hellman, deputy
assistant director of the Service's Office of Legislative and
Congressional Affairs, has prepared this summary with brief
descriptions of these new sites:
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Ellsworth Air Force Base,
South Dakota was established to preserve the Delta One and Delta Nine
Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launch control
facilities. The Delta One site (6.35 acres) and Delta Nine site (1.58
acres) are approximately 11 miles apart along Interstate 90 in
southwest South Dakota. The sites will be managed by the National
Park Service.
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in
Richmond, California, was established to commemorate the mobilization
of the workforce on the home front during World War II, while
specifically recognizing the contributions of women and minorities to
this effort. The historical park will consist of various parcels of
less than 30 acres along the waterfront of Shipyard #3 and in the city
of Richmond, California. The National Park Service has authority to
acquire from willing sellers interests in the Atchison Village worker
housing, two day care centers, the Kaiser Permanente Field Hospital,
and Fire Station 67A and to acquire a leasehold interest in the Ford
Assembly Building for the purposes of establishing a World War II Home
Front Education Center. The park will be administered by the National
Park Service, which is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements
to preserve the various structures associated with the park and to
provide technical assistance and interpretive services.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Kiowa County, Colorado,
was established to commemorate the massacre of about 150 mostly women,
children, and elderly Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians along Sand Creek on
November 29, 1864 by approximately 700 volunteer soldiers commanded by
Colonel John M. Chivington. The site will be established when the
Secretary determines that sufficient lands have been acquired to
commemorate the massacre. The site could ultimately consist of
approximately 12,480 acres and will be administered by the National
Park Service. Descendants of the massacre and members of specific
tribes are permitted to have special access and rights to use the area
for commemorative activities and for traditional, cultural, or
historical observances.
First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton, Ohio, was established
to preserve and interpret the role and history of First Ladies in
American history. The site will consist of two properties: 331 Market
Avenue South, the home of First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley, and 205
Market Avenue South, the City National Bank Building. The site will
be managed through a cooperative agreement with the National First
Ladies Library, a nonprofit corporation.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in the San Luis Valley,
Colorado. The Great Sand Dunes National Monument established by
President proclamation in 1932 is authorized to be designated a
national park by the Secretary of the Interior upon acquisition of a
sufficient diversity of lands. Plans are for the acquisition of part
of the existing Baca Ranch as well as lands west and south of the
existing national monument to provide for a 108,000-acre national
park. A new 42,000-acre national preserve was established on the date
of enactment of the new law. The preserve is adjacent to the existing
national monument and consists of lands formerly administered by the
U.S. Forest Service as part of the Rio Grande National Forest. The
national preserve will be a new unit of the National Park System. The
park and preserve will be administered by the National Park Service.
A 92,000-acre national wildlife refuge was also established from
additional Baca Ranch lands. An additional 14,000 acres of the Baca
Ranch land would be transferred to the U.S. Forest Service to be added
to the Rio Grande National Forest.
FOOTNOTE
OK, so now you're maybe wondering about Ida Saxton McKinley, the First
Lady noted above. You can find a bio by going to www.whitehouse.gov,
then clicking on "President and First Lady", then on "Office of the
First Lady", then on "The First Ladies" (found in the list of topics
on the right), then on "1850-1901". Her biography can be found at the
bottom of the list of First Ladies from that era. . .
* * * * *
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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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