NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, January 9, 2001

INCIDENTS

00-771 - Chickasaw NRA (OK) - Follow-up: Major Winter Storm

On the evening of December 25th, a severe winter storm with freezing 
rain hit southern Oklahoma and caused massive damage to woodlands 
throughout the entire park. About an inch of ice developed in the 
trees, causing whole trees to fall and dropping many large limbs 
across roads, trails, buildings, and campgrounds. The entire park, 
except for the highway running through it, was closed on the morning 
of the 26th pending hazardous tree and debris removal. Boat ramps to 
Lake of the Arbuckles have since been cleared and opened to the public 
at three different locations. All other public use areas will remain 
closed until cleared of hazards. This phase of the incident will 
include hazard mitigation and the step-by-step cleanup of more than 
2,400 acres of public use areas rendered unsafe by the tree fall. All 
employees lost power, water, and heat for several days; six are still 
without power and heat.  The community and other park employees have 
come together to assist those with personal needs.  A hazardous fuel 
removal team from Lake Meredith has been in the park since the 30th 
and has been instrumental in removing newly created hazard fuels. The 
park worked closely with state and local agencies throughout the 
incident. It will likely take at least five months to completely 
reopen the park, which will be just in time for the large crowds 
arriving in the spring.  Intermountain Regional Office staff have 
given much assistance in the incident recovery efforts.  [Mark Foust, 
CR, CHIC, 01/8]

00-778 - Saguaro NP (AZ) - Resource Damage

Some time during the night of December 22nd, a stolen Jeep left the 
end of Broadway Boulevard in the Rincon Mountain District at a high 
rate of speed and collided with a 150-year-old saguaro, splitting it 
into several pieces. The driver then continued cross-country through 
the park for another quarter mile before abandoning the totaled 
vehicle. A total of 195 trees, shrubs and cacti were damaged or 
destroyed. The replacement value has been estimated at just under 
$16,000. Ranger John Williams and NPS special agent Dan Wirth are 
following up on investigative leads, but there was little physical 
evidence found in the vehicle. [Paula Nasiatka, CR, SAGU, 1/7]

01-005 - Gateway NRA (NJ/NY) - Vessel Grounding

On the evening of January 4th, the New York fast ferry "Finest" ran 
aground in park waters off Sandy Hook just west of Skeleton Hill 
Island. The 118-foot catamaran was carrying 257 passengers and was en 
route from New York City to Highlands, New Jersey. Ice may have 
contributed to the accident by moving and obscuring buoy markers; ice 
and shallow waters complicated attempts by the Coast Guard and a 
private tugboat to free the vessel. The ferry was finally freed after 
five hours with the assistance of the rising tide. One passenger 
suffered an allergic reaction and was evacuated by New York City 
police helicopter. Four Coast Guard helicopters were also flown to the 
scene. A back-up plan would have evacuated the remaining passengers to 
a parking lot landing zone that Sandy Hook rangers and firefighters 
had illuminated with a portable light tower next to the 1894 U.S. 
Lifesaving Service's Spermaceti Cove Station, which serves as the 
Sandy Hook visitor center. Had passengers been evacuated, the 
structure would have seen a historic use last known to have occurred 
when a Liberty Ship grounded off Sandy Hook in 1943. Ranger Steve 
Ambrose was the NPS incident commander.  [Russ Wilson, GATE, 1/8]

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 fires reported.

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No submissions.

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

New River Gorge NR (WV) - Those of you interested in getting in touch 
with Pete Hart, who retired early last week, can reach him at 119 
Riverview Lane, Beckley, WV 25801. [Gary Hartley, NERI]

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

Although the 107th Congress is in session, no significant activities 
are expected (other than confirmation hearings) until after the 
inauguration. Now that the 106th is through and all the legislation 
has been reviewed, however, it's finally possible to present a 
definitive listing of all the laws that have been passed that affect 
the National Park Service. 

Due to the vast number of new laws pertaining to the parks, it will be 
necessary to run this list over several days. The list was prepared by 
Don Hellman, deputy assistant director of the Service's Office of 
Legislative and Congressional Affairs. The relevant public law (P.L.) 
appears at the beginning of each entry.

New Areas

As was noted in some detail in a December edition of the Morning 
Report, there are five new areas:

P.L. 106-115 - Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, SD
P.L. 106-352 - Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front NHP, CA
P.L. 106-291 - First Ladies NHS, OH (included in Department of the 
Interior Appropriations Act for FY 2001)
P.L. 106-465 - Sand Creek Massacre NHS, CO
P.L. 106-530 - Great Sand Dunes National Preserve, CO

Park Name Changes

P.L. 106-291 - Cuyahoga Valley NP, OH (included in Department of the 
Interior Appropriations Act for FY 2001)
P.L. 106-510 - Hawaiian national park names changed to reflect the 
native Hawaiian spellings 

Park Name Changes with Boundary Adjustments

P.L. 106-76 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO
P.L. 106-530 - Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

New Affiliated Areas

P.L. 106-164 - Fallen Timbers Battlefield, OH.
P.L. 106-146 - Thomas Cole National Historic Site, NY

Boundary Modifications

P.L. 106-154 - Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, GA
P.L. 106-113 - Boundary map for the Colonial NHP Page Landing addition 
was corrected to allow for acquisition of property to be added to the 
park (included in Department of the Interior Appropriations Act for FY 
2000)
P.L. 106-176 - Boundary map for the Colonial NHP Page Landing addition 
was corrected to allow for acquisition of property to be added to the 
park-the same change was made in P.L. 106-113; also makes a change in 
a criteria for NPS minor boundary adjustments (both changes were 
included in the Omnibus Parks Technical Corrections Act)
P.L. 106-248 - Bandelier National Monument, NM (acquisition of Baca 
Ranch)
P.L. 106-258 - Women's Rights NHP, NY (addition of Hunt House)
P.L. 106-271 - Shiloh NMP, MS (establishes the Corinth unit of the 
park)
P.L. 106-290 - Gettysburg NMP, PA (adds Wills House to park)
P.L. 106-350 - Golden Gate NRA, CA
P.L. 106-323 - Effigy Mounds NM, IA
P.L. 106-356 - Dayton Aviation NHP
P.L. 106-291 - Sitka NHP (included in Department of the Interior 
Appropriations Act for FY 2001)
P.L. 106-491 - Saint-Gaudens NHS, NH
P.L. 106-511 - Richmond NB (included in Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe 
compensation act)
P.L. 106-482 - Hamilton Grange NM
P.L. 106-524 - Fort Matanzas NM, FL
P.L. 106-574 - Sequoia National Park (adds Dillonwood Grove to park)
P.L. 106-554 - Gulf Islands National Seashore (adds Cat Island to park 
- included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2001)

New Heritage Areas

P.L. 106-278 - Lackawanna Valley and Schuylkill River Valley National 
Heritage Areas, PA
P.L. 106-319 - Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, AZ
P.L. 106-291 - Wheeling National Heritage Area, WV (formal 
establishment - included in Department of the Interior Appropriations 
Act for FY 2001)
P.L. 106-554 - Erie Canalway National Heritage Area (included in the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2001)

Modifications to Existing Heritage Areas

P.L. 106-149 - Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage 
Corridor, CT (boundaries extended)
P.L. 106-113 - Steel Industry American Heritage Area name changed to 
the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area (included in Department of 
the Interior Appropriations Act for FY 2000)
P.L. 106-113 - Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor 
changed to the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National 
Heritage Corridor (the commission for the heritage corridor also was 
renamed for the late Senator Chafee -included in Department of the 
Interior Appropriations Act for FY 2000)
P.L. 106-176 - America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership transferred 
from Agriculture to Interior (included in the Omnibus Parks Technical 
Corrections Act)
P.L. 106-291 - Southwest Pennsylvania Heritage Commission, PA 
(reauthorized - included in Department of the Interior Appropriations 
Act for FY 2001)
P.L. 106-554 - Illinois and Michigan Canal Commission authorization 
increased to $1 million (included in the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act for FY 2001)

        [To be continued in the Wednesday Morning Report...]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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