NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, December 8, 2000

ALMANAC

On this date in 1805, members of the Lewis and Clark expedition began 
building the log fort near the mouth of the Columbia River in which 
they would spend the winter of 1805-06.  Fort Clatsop National 
Memorial, Oregon, contains a reconstruction of the fort near its site.

INCIDENTS

00-734 - Badlands NP (SD) - Assist; EMS Response, Multiple Lives Saved

On December 1st, the owners of a service station in the town of 
Interior contacted the park and asked for emergency assistance with a 
number of people who were suffering from severe carbon monoxide 
poisoning. One, a year-old girl, was reportedly not breathing. Park 
facility manager Nick Koenigs and facility maintenance assistant Julie 
Ann Hanes responded along with ambulances from the nearby towns of 
Wall and Kodoka. They found the eight members of a family - three 
adults and five children - suffering to varying degrees from the 
effects of monoxide poisoning. The infant had resumed breathing, but a 
four-year-old was blue in the face and going into convulsions. The 
driver said that he was suffering from an extreme headache, felt 
faint, and was having difficulty seeing. Two other children were 
lethargic and unresponsive. Additional help soon arrived on scene, 
including Pinnacles District DR Scott Hall, South Dakota Highway 
Patrol officers, and other park staff. The family had been traveling 
from Rapid City to Wanblee to visit relatives. Unknown to the driver, 
the vehicle had been involved in a minor accident the previous day in 
which its exhaust pipe was damaged, enabling fumes to enter the 
passenger compartment. The driver said that he became nauseated and 
confused about 15 miles west of Interior, and that several children 
had already become unconscious and were unresponsive to efforts to 
awaken them. Two ambulances transported seven of the family members to 
Rapid City Regional Hospital. It took ambulance crews from 25 to 35 
minutes to reach the scene; the quick response and intervention by 
park emergency personnel was pivotal in saving the lives of several of 
the family members. [Scott Lopez, CR, BADL, 12/7]

00-735 - Pacific West Region - Assist; Major Area Closure Operation

On Thanksgiving week, Pacific West Region dispatched a special events 
team (SET) to El Centro, California, to assist BLM and other agencies 
in the enforcement of a court-ordered closure of approximately 50,000 
acres in the Glamis area of Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. The 
SET team, comprised of rangers and Park Police from all three Pacific 
West teams, helped patrol and manage over 80,000 visitors in that area 
of the dunes. Over a six-day period, SET personnel made over 1,000 
violator contacts, issued 281 violation notices, and arrested ten 
people for drug, alcohol and safety violations. The agencies together 
made more than 50 arrests and thousands of violator contacts, nearly 
triple the amount of incidents at past events on this weekend. SET 
personnel also responded to several vehicle accidents with injuries, 
two missing person calls, and one fatal motor vehicle accident. One 
SET officer was hit with a thrown can of beer while working in a large 
crowd on Thanksgiving night. The can caused a head laceration, but the 
officer was able to continue working. A suspect has been identified 
and is being sought by BLM special agents. Also participating in this 
operation were the Border Patrol, Forest Service, California Highway 
Patrol, and Imperial County Sheriff's Office. [Jeff Sullivan, 
Supervisory SA/PacWest SET 2 Leader, YOSE, 12/5]

00-736 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Probable Arson

Rangers received a report of a fire in the Pound Bottom area of the 
park around 2:30 a.m. on December 5th. The fire was located in a 
remote backcountry area about two miles downstream of the community of 
Terry and was only accessible from the river or a very rough four 
wheel drive road. The fire was initially reported to 911 by the 
engineer of a CSX train traveling through the gorge.  Members of a 
volunteer fire department searched for the fire for about two  hours 
before notifying the park of the report. When the fire was located by 
responding rangers, they discovered that the historic Gwinn house, 
owned by the park, had been totally destroyed by fire. All that was 
left standing were the two chimneys and the stone foundation. The 
Gwinn house was a large, two-story wooden frame house that dated back 
to the early 1900s. The house was vacated in the early 1990s and had 
since been the site of some vandalism, including the theft of the 
chestnut trim and solid oak flooring.  The park purchased the house in 
1999. Some vandalism and theft continued, but at a reduced rate.  
Arson is suspected in the case; an investigation by rangers is 
underway. [Rick Brown, ACR, NERI, 12/7]

00-737 - Cuyahoga Valley NP (OH) - Rape Arrest Warrant

A federal warrant has been issued for the arrest of C.S., the 
prime suspect in an alleged rape that occurred at a secluded trailhead 
in the park late on the evening of September 16th. Details of the 
incident are being withheld due to an on-going joint investigation by 
rangers and FBI agents. C.S. has been missing since September 17th. 
After an initial contact by rangers that day, he left his home, quit 
his job, and stopped attending college classes. An area fugitive task 
force headed by the FBI is searching for C.S. [Mosie Welch, DR, 
North District, CUVA, 12/7]

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 new fires.

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

NPS Areas - Wednesday's Morning Report contained a note on the five 
new units added to the system by Congress this year. They bring the 
total number of units in the system to 383. There are also two name 
changes coming out of this Congress - Cuyahoga Valley NRA is now 
Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Great Sand Dunes NM is now Great 
Sand Dunes National Park. There are also two new affiliated 
areas - Thomas Cole NHS in New York and Fallen Timbers Battlefield in 
Ohio - and two new heritage areas - Lackawanna Valley and Schuylkill 
River Valley National Heritage Areas (counting as one area) in 
Pennsylvania and Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area in Arizona. 
[Courtesy of Dave Barna, Public Affairs, WASO]

MEMORANDA

"Alternative Transportation Program - Category III," signed on 
November 27th by Associate Director, Park Operations and Education 
Dick Ring and sent to all regional directors, marked to the attention 
of regional transportation coordinators. The full text follows; the 
referenced attachments are NOT included on the Morning Report:

"The first Transportation Assistance Group (TAG) meeting was held in 
Denver, Colorado, on November 1-2, 2000.  The purpose of that meeting 
was to discuss the implementation and review of prioritized projects 
in the fiscal year 2001 Alternative Transportation Program (ATP).  

"There will be three TAG Teams to assist the parks in developing ATP 
planning and implementation proposals.  Each TAG Team will consist of 
a Washington Office (WASO) Transportation Planner, a Federal Lands 
Highways Division Transportation Planner, and a staff member from the 
Denver Service Center.  To supplement the TAG Team 's expertise, a 
staff member from the Federal Transit Administration or the John Volpe 
National Transportation Systems Center may be requested and these 
teams will be funded out of the ATP.  Ms. Amy Van Doren (415/427-1382) 
will serve as the WASO Transportation Planner for the Alaska and 
Pacific West Regional Offices.  Ms. Mary Devine (303/969-2175) will 
serve as the WASO Transportation Planner for the Intermountain and 
Midwest Regional Offices and Mr. Jim Evans (202/565-1289) will serve 
as the ATP Manager and WASO Transportation Planner for the Northeast, 
National Capital and Southeast Regional Offices.      

"An introductory letter will be sent to your office, with a copy to 
the park outlining the specific purpose of the review and the date(s) 
the TAG Teams' visits will occur.  Because this is a new program and a 
new process, a site visit will be made by the TAG Teams to review most 
proposals.  

"A copy of the fiscal year 2001-2003 ATP prioritized list of planning 
and implementation projects is attached and highlights which projects 
require TAG Team site visits in fiscal year 2001.  Each park will be 
asked to provide information that will help in the review of their 
proposals, that the TAG Teams cannot readily get from other sources, 
before these reviews proceed.  The TAG Teams will develop a trip 
report for the site visits and will forward a copy to your office and 
the park.   

"The WASO Transportation Planners will consult with each Regional 
Transportation Coordinator to prioritize these reviews.  Please direct 
all communications regarding these reviews through your designated 
WASO Transportation Planner."

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Lake Meredith NRA/Alibates Flint Quarries NM (TX) - The park has 
announced an opening for a GS-11 supervisory park ranger. The position 
is for a first level field supervisory park ranger, with primary 
duties and responsibilities in the performance and supervision of work 
in the Division of Visitor and Resource Protection. Specific duties 
include supervision, resource protection and education, law 
enforcement, emergency services, budget oversight, and communication. 
Activities include patrols and SAR operations via ATV and powerboats, 
wildland firefighting, on-site tours and off-site presentations, 
hunting patrols, and participation in a 12-person dive team (if 
qualified). For more information, contact chief ranger Bill Briggs via 
cc:Mail or at 806-857-0302. [Bill Briggs, LAMR]

Sitka NHP (AK) - Although the park plans to soon advertise for a 
GS-025-7/9 resources education ranger, consideration is being given at 
present to the possibility of a lateral reassignment at the GS-9 
level. The ranger selected will supervise a contingent of seasonal 
interpreters and volunteers in the operation of the park's visitor 
center and the Russian Bishops House and in the provision of guided 
walks, talks, historic tours, evening programs, etc. Other duties 
include management of the fee collection program, management of the 
park's collection, and coordination of the VIP program. The park 
receives about 200,000 visitors annually, primarily from cruise ships 
and between May and September. If you're interested in obtaining more 
information, call Mitzi Frank, chief of interpretation and education, 
at 907-747-6281. [Mitzi Frank, SITK]

                             *  *  *  *  *

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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