NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, February 6, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-034 - Mammoth Cave NP (KY) - Rescue

On the afternoon of January 31st, park hydrologist Joe Meiman advised 
rangers that Dr. C.G., a professor from Western Kentucky 
University, had been injured in Sides Cave, located on the park's 
eastern boundary. Meiman, C.G., park employee Brice Leech and a WKU 
graduate student had been retrieving dye-trace collectors from the 
cave when the accident occurred. C.G. was attempting to go around a 
pit on a rock ledge when the ledge broke free and he plunged about 30 
feet into the pit, which contained about two-and-a-half feet of water. 
Meiman was able to reach C.G. and pull him from the water. Leech 
stayed with C.G. while Meiman then sought help. The accident site 
was at the end of a 1,450-foot "wet crawl" through a low, narrow 
passage with two to ten inches of water in the bottom. More than 100 
rescuers from Mammoth Cave, TRACERS (The Rock and Cave Emergency 
Rescue Squad, based in Kentucky), and the National Cave Rescue 
Commission (based in Indiana) conducted the rescue; acting chief 
ranger Brad McDougal was IC. The rescue proved extremely difficult 
because of the long and narrow passage and the length of time the 
rescuers had to work in the water. Because of the threat of 
hypothermia, teams of four relieved each other throughout the night 
and were shuttled to the Cave Research Foundation's nearby Hamilton 
Valley Center to warm themselves and obtain food and dry clothing. 
There were usually four teams in the cave at a time working with 
C.G.. The 14-hour rescue ended successfully the next morning at 3:35 
a.m. C.G. was alert and responsive. He was taken to Cave City, then 
flown to the University of Louisville Hospital, where he was treated 
for four broken ribs, a broken collar bone, a punctured lung, cuts, 
contusions and bruises. [CRO, MACA, 2/2]

01-035 - Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS (GA) - Assault

Park resident A.J., 94, was assaulted in her home on Auburn 
Avenue at 12:30 a.m. on January 25th. A.J. reported that a man 
entered her apartment and grabbed her around the neck while pulling 
her towards the rear of the apartment. She struggled with her 
assailant, and he began to strike her in the face. A.J.'s brother 
heard her screaming; when he entered her apartment, A.J.'s 
assailant ran directly towards him, knocked him over, and fled. 
A.J. was taken to the hospital by her granddaughter to be treated 
for her injuries. Atlanta police are leading the investigation. [Clark 
Moore, CR, MALU, 1/31]

01-036 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Homicide

A visitor contacted USPP officer John Lattuca on February 1st and told 
him that he'd found a suspicious object on the shoreline at Floyd 
Bennett Field. Lattuca determined that it was a suitcase; further 
investigation revealed that it contained the bound body of an 
unidentified woman. The suitcase had evidently been floating in the 
waters of Jamaica Bay, then had washed ashore. A lead in the case has 
been developed, and identification of the victim is pending. The cause 
of death has not yet been determined. A joint investigation is being 
conducted with NYPD. [Lt. John Marigliano, USPP, GATE, 2/2]

01-037 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Search; Suicide

A search was begun on February 1st for a 54-year-old man from Chevy 
Chase, Maryland, when his car was found to have been parked at the 
Gimlet Ridge overlook for three nights. This attracted the attention 
of rangers because there are no trailheads near the overlook. A search 
dog team found the man's body near the overlook just before midnight. 
He had died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. [Alan Sager, 
DR, North District, SHEN, 2/3]

                  [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

An exemption has been sought from the current hiring freeze for 
fire-related positions, but hasn't yet beeng granted. The Fire 
Management Program Center is checking on the status several times a 
day and will send out an advisory as soon as there is word. The 
Department's action plan identified the need to convert 768 seasonal 
or temporary positions to permanent status and hire 1,044 seasonal and 
626 permanent employees to meet the goals outlined in the plan. New 
positions range from front line firefighters to support personnel, 
such as fire management officers, fire ecologists, and biologists. 
Each of these positions has been identified as critical to achieving 
the results outlined and communicated to Congress in the DOI action 
plan. 

The "Review and Update of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management 
Policy," including the "2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy," 
was distributed late last month. The document states that the 1995 
policy was generally sound, but that its implementation was 
incomplete.  The 2001 policy outlines four specific actions:

1.      Update manuals, directives, handbooks, and other appropriate 
        documents to reflect the 2001 policy.
2.      Take appropriate and timely steps to address implementation 
        actions, particularly completion of appropriate fire 
        management plans.
3.      Work with other departments and agencies to include them in 
        the full range of policy, planning, and operations aspects of 
        fire management programs, as appropriate and consistent with 
        their programs and activities.
4.      Work with state, tribal, and other non-Federal organizations 
        to implement the 2001 policy on an intergovernmental basis.

Copies of the policy are available from NIFC or via the web at either 
www.nifc.gov or www.nifc.gov/fire_policy/index.htm.

Park Fires

No fires reported.

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Facility Management Division Update - Recent developments in the 
division include the following:

o       Hazardous Waste Management - The draft DO-30A on hazard and 
        solid waste management will be forwarded to the Office of 
        Policy this week for their review. 
o       Housing - The annual housing income and expenditures reports 
        were due to WASO on January 26th. This year's report included 
        supplemental information on how rental income was used during 
        FY2000 and how it will be projected for use during FY2001 to 
        improve the condition of park housing. 
o       Facility Management Software - NPS version 1.2 of Maximo is on 
        line. This version includes the necessary components to 
        capture comprehensive and annual condition assessment 
        information. Meetings continue with PMIS system managers on 
        plans to integrate the two software systems. The design of the 
        curricula for FMP/FMSS (Facility Management Process/Facility 
        Management Software System) training has been completed. A 
        second training session was held in January at Albright 
        Training Center.
o       Coordinated Federal Lands Highway Technology Implementation 
        Program (CTIP) - The National Park Service has about $400,000 
        available for CTIP projects and can compete with other federal 
        agencies for an additional $1,000,000 in funds. The program 
        seeks to facilitate the transfer of innovative and proven 
        design and construction technologies already in use within the 
        transportation community to the NPS and other federal 
        agencies.

Additional information on Facility Management Division programs can be 
obtained on the web at http://pfmd.nps.gov. The opening page lists 
each program on the site. [FMD/WASO]

National Leadership Council (NLC) Journal - The second edition of the 
NLC Journal has been issued. It has been sent to all superintendents 
via cc:Mail, with instructions to ensure that employees without access 
to cc:Mail receive a hard copy. It can also be accessed at 
www.nps.gov/refdesk/policies.html. [Loran Fraser, WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Pacific West Region (CA) - Stan Albright retired from the National 
Park Service on February 2nd after "more than 30 years of great 
experiences filled with cherished memories." He and his wife, Kris, 
will be living in Walnut Creek, California. Stan had this to say as he 
departed: "I feel so rewarded to have been able to work in a situation 
that has always seemed more of an avocation than a job. I want to 
especially thank all of the many dedicated employees I have had the 
privilege of working with over the years. Each of you can be proud of 
your efforts to achieve the objectives and high standards set forth in 
that 1916 legislation passed so long ago. What a legacy to leave all 
of our families and those who follow! I'm not an admonishing person, 
but in this case I'd ask that we heed those words of Horace Albright 
when he warned us not to let the National Park Service 'become just 
another bureaucratic agency.' The cultural and natural resources of 
our heritage don't deserve that."

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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