NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, February 28, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-070 - Grand Teton NP (WY) - Avalanche Fatality

A.W., 24, of Jackson Hole was killed in an avalanche in 
Granite Canyon on the afternoon of February 23rd. A.W. and three 
companions left the Jackson Hole Ski Resort along the park's southern 
boundary at 4 p.m. to ski a chute near Caledonia Couloir. The four 
soon reached a 40-foot cliff with a narrow 200 foot chute below. Two 
members of the party skied terrain to the right, and A.W. started to 
follow. When he was about 40 feet above the cliff, he triggered the 
release of an 18-inch snow slab, which took him over the cliff into 
the chute. The avalanche increased in size until it was 175 feet wide 
with a three-foot crown.  A.W. was carried over 500 feet until the 
avalanche stopped near a creek, burying him about three feet deep. His 
companions were able to quickly locate and uncover him, but their 
resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and had stopped before 
responding rescuers arrived at 6:30 p.m. Rangers recovered his body. 
[Colin Campbell, CR, GRTE, 2/25]

                  [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

The remaining members of the incident command management team working 
in the Boise office to implement the National Fire Plan have been 
demobilized. The business of implementation is now being managed by 
FMPC staff, with extra assistance as needed.  Sue Vap, NPS national 
fire management officer, expresses sincere appreciation for the 
assistance and support received from throughout the Service to meet 
the Congressional reporting deadlines and implementation workload.

Fire Management

The NPS national fire management conference - "People, Parks and Fire: 
Better Together" - formally opened on Tuesday morning with introductory 
remarks from Sue Vap, head of the NPS Fire Management Program Center 
in Boise. She began by noting that the conference was the first of its 
kind "in size, focus and involvement of many other disciplines," and 
said that the conference was designed to "inform you about the past, 
present and future of the National Park Service fire program."

Fire, she said, is "critical and essential" to the management of 
parks: "There's no way I can overstate the importance of fire 
management to the NPS." 

Despite the difficulties of the past year, she said, "the future is 
bright." The Service's fire program has evolved over a long period of 
time. Over those years, there have been critical and difficult 
periods, but in each case the fire program has emerged in better 
condition. That will again be the case. It will, however, take the 
efforts of everyone in the agency "to assure the stability and 
resiliency of the fire program."

Keynote Address on Communications

Dr. Susan Dellinger delivered the opening address, entitled 
"communicating beyond our differences." Dellinger is the originator of 
psycho geometrics, a system for analyzing people through their 
affinity for geometric shapes. An understanding of the 
interrelationship of different personality types facilitates teamwork 
and improves communications; hence its applicability to all 
disciplines, including fire management. But the system has broad 
relevance, beyond borders and cultures. She has found that people's 
reactions to these shapes are constant across both and provide 
insights into people of all nations.

The five shapes - a box, triangle, rectangle, circle and "squiggle" - 
correlated with specific personality types. The first three were 
generically "left brain" linear thinkers; the latter two were "right 
brain" intuitive thinkers. The correlations were as follows:

o       Box - Highly organized, hard workers, loyal, tactical 
        thinkers.
o       Triangle - Leaders and bosses, decisive, competitive, 
        strategic thinkers.
o       Rectangle - A person in transition, characterized by 
        uncertainty and questioning. Introspective. A phase that all 
        go through.
o       Circle - Favors harmony, reads people well, communicates and 
        listens well, hates conflict.
o       Squiggle - Creative, intuitive, apolitical, likes constant 
        activity and excitement, highly motivated.

She illustrated each type with anecdotes and cartoons that drew 
animated and appreciative responses from the audience of over 300 
people - particularly when she asked if they knew people of each type.

Dellinger said that most people strongly favor one type, with another 
as a backup type. But, she said, "all five are in each person." 
Recognizing that fact is "the key to building a team. True leadership 
is knowing what type to use at what time." The critical factor is the 
ability to "flex," to adapt to each type.

She then asked the audience to vote on which of the five symbols most 
characterized the Service's fire program at present. The vote was 
almost unanimous in favor of the rectangle. Dellinger said that this 
was a good sign, because a time of transition and uncertainty is also 
a time of opportunity, creativity and growth.

Dellinger closed by offering an admonition: "Be a box to your boss, a 
triangle to your employees, a circle to your customers, and a squiggle 
to your spouse."

Federal Fire Policy

Jan Wagtendonk, research scientist at Yosemite, and Rick Gale, deputy 
chief ranger for the NPS, led an overview of the newly revised federal 
fire policy. 

The policy was originally drawn up in 1995 and was notable because it 
was the first time that all federal land management agencies were 
under the same fire policy umbrella. Among the key points of that 
policy were provisions that placed the top priority on the safety of 
firefighters and the public, mandated that fire was to be incorporated 
in all land management plans and that all areas with burnable 
vegetation had to have a fire management plan, and said that 
protection of both property and natural and cultural resources were 
the second priority behind the protection of human life. 

Following last summer's fires, the land management agencies again 
convened to reexamine the plan. Joining them were DOD, DOE, FEMA, 
USGS, EPA, and BOR. The main points of the 2001 revision of that 
policy are as follows:

o       The 1995 policy is generally sound.
o       The hazard fuel and urban interface problems are worse than 
        had been thought.
o       The implementation of the 1995 policy was incomplete; changes 
        and additions are needed.
o       An emphasis on program management is essential.

Wagtendonk said that the main point that all agreed to was that all 
fires are to be treated the same, no matter how they are started. Gale 
added that there are three big changes in the 2001 version of the 
plan - an increased emphasis on science, an emphasis on public 
education and communication, and a strengthening of the role of 
employees and agency administrators in the management of wildland 
fire. Both speakers emphasized that work on the plan continues and 
that many issues still need to be resolved.

Prescribed Fire

Dick Bahr, national fuels specialist for the NPS, presented an 
overview of recent developments in the evolution of the Service's 
prescribed fire program. He began by summarizing the changes in a 
single sentence: "It's a new day and we need to look at the new world 
before us."

Although the program has been "highly effective and efficient," Cerro 
Grande caused an "acute disruption" that required that adjustments be 
made to further refine the program. The main changes are that:

o       The program will now deal with the full range of fuels 
        management - prescribed fire, hazard fuels, and debris 
        disposal.
o       The focus on planning and compliance has been increased, with 
        an emphasis on collaborative approaches to both.
o       Approaches to risk management have been improved.
o       Technical reviews have been incorporated.

The changes have been incorporated into the draft chapter ten of 
RM-18, now entitled "fuels management" rather than "prescribed fire." 
Among the additions and revisions is the inclusion of a number of 
tools or "job aids" sought by the field:

o       A new risk management program.
o       A "go/no go" checklist for agency administrators.
o       An operational "go/no go" checklist.
o       A sample prescribed fire program.
o       Operational worksheets.
o       A post project analysis SOP.

Once the revised chapter ten is formally approved, it will be 
disseminated to the field through the fire web site - probably in the 
near future.

Fire Planning

Sarah Robertson lead a well-attended workshop on fire planning during 
the afternoon's concurrent sessions. 

The fire planning project that's been underway since last year has 
focused on revising both the USFS and NPS fire planning manuals, with 
the objective of bringing them into harmony. The draft, contained in 
RM-18's chapter four, is "very close" to being released. Similar 
efforts at joint planning will be made in the future with FWS, BLM and 
BIA.

Robertson cited a number of benefits to collaborative planning, 
including integration of fire management with science-based analysis 
across agency boundaries, information sharing, and the development of 
measurable criteria and indicators for wildland fire management.

She emphasized the importance of establishing measurable objectives 
for fire management plans, as they give you valuable information on 
the effectiveness of fire programs and provide essential data needed 
for development of budget requests for program funding. The balance of 
her session consisted of a review of the new outline format for fire 
management plans and the need and purpose of each section.

Business Management

Linda Swain, administrative officer at the Fire Management Program 
Center in Boise, presented a session entitled "Business Management 
Issues: Credit Card Use on Incidents and Emergency Fire Timekeeping." 

"It's not important to know all the answers," she said. "Instead, know 
where to find them." She then told the audience about resources 
available that are available to them.   

Swain covered many topics in her two-hour session, including the 
biweekly pay cap, overtime pay cap, hazard pay, environmental 
differential, hiring ADs (administratively determined positions, also 
known as emergency hires), and rest and relaxation rules. Key advice 
from Swain to help all involved in incidents, included:

o       Essential resources for firefighting timekeeping include the 
        Interagency Incident Business Management Handbook, NWCG 
        Handbook 2, National Wildfire Coordinating Group; the Client 
        Interface Manual, Federal Personnel/Payroll System; and the
        T&A Pay Codes Manual, Federal Personnel/Payroll System
o       For details on charging regular time to wildland fire 
        incidents, see a memorandum of the same name dated April 9,    
        1998. The memorandum was sent out to regional directors by the 
        associate director for administration.
o       It's now possible to charge your hotel to your government 
        credit card on an incident and have it billed directly to the  
        government rather than to you individually. This is possible 
        through a "fire option." Ask your supervisor for approval and 
        contact your credit card account program coordinator. 

Fire on the Web

WASO web team member Wyndeth Davis led an interested group through the 
intricacies of the web and ways that the fire program in each park 
could use web resources to support and promote their programs. "There 
is almost nothing we can't attain with the web," she said - it 
provides nearly limitless possibilities to reach our various internal 
and external audiences in promoting our programs, providing current 
information, offering feedback mechanisms, and more.

Davis emphasized that there is help available through ParkNet for 
those creating a web page. The web page, www.nps.gov/helpdesk, 
provides basic information, web statistics, DO-70 (Internet and 
Intranet publishing), and contact information for regional web 
coordinators. The software package, Dreamweaver/Fireworks, has become 
the recommended software for web creation for the National Park 
Service.

Another topic of interest during this session was FireNet, the Fire 
Management Program Center's website (www.nps.gov/fire).  It has 
evolved over the past few months and is another avenue for directing 
"virtual visitors" to individual parks' fire programs.  FireNet links 
park fire pages throughout the country; as more parks create fire web 
pages, they will be linked into the larger picture of "Fire on the 
Web." Just as the Service's fire program continues to change, so does 
web: a good website "is never finished, it is a living, evolving 
thing."

Capturing Fire Successes

The public demand for information about wildland fire, prescribed fire 
and fuels management is increasing.  Ways to capture compelling still 
and video images to help tell the story was the focus of one of 
Tuesday's mid-afternoon sessions.

The session stemmed from an idea originally hatched by Fred Bird, 
Midwest Regional fire management officer. Bird spearheaded an effort 
to capture aftermath of last summer's fires in South Dakota's Black 
Hills as a way to document the success of prescribed fire and fuels 
management at Jewel Cave NP. His idea evolved into a ten- minute video 
to be released later this spring aimed at explaining NPS efforts in 
wildland fire and fuels management to the public and to park staff not 
directly involved with fire management.  Work on gathering material to 
produce the video revealed a shortage of current, compelling NPS fire 
stills and video.

Al Nash, public affairs specialist at Indiana Dunes NL, outlined some 
steps parks can take to capture these photos and video scenes when 
hiring a professional isn't feasible. Among his recommendations:

o       Use a new camcorder that shoots in the DV-Cam format.  It      
        needs to have a manual iris and manual focus option, as well 
        as a microphone input jack.
o       Always use new tapes and edit from the original footage.  Turn 
        off the "time and date" stamp and shoot on the "standard play" 
        setting.
o       Never shoot without a purpose, but shoot close-ups of people 
        in action, flames and smoke. Work to capture action sequences 
        and before, during and after images.
o       Capture movement with the camera, instead of moving the camera 
        to create movement. Zoom or pan sparingly, and make sure each 
        pan or zoom has a static beginning, the move, and a static 
        end.
o       Never have an interview subject stare into camera, and use a 
        lavaliere or hand microphone for interviews.  Interview more 
        than just the FMO or IC - be sure to include firefighters, 
        visitors, neighbors and park partners.
o       Avoid jargon, including military time and terms such as 
        suppression or chains.

Park Fires

No fires reported.

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO, 2/27; Dana Dierkes, Tina 
Boehle, Al Nash and Bill Halainen, NPS Fire Management Conference, 
2/28]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Law Enforcement Task Force - The Service's law enforcement task force 
met in Washington, D.C., over a three-day period in mid-February. 
Director Stanton ordered the creation of the task force to assist Dick 
Ring, associate director for park operations, in three areas:

o       evaluating the recommendations found in the IACP report, the 
        law enforcement program study, and the draft report on women 
        in law enforcement Report; 
o       recommending appropriate responses to the reports; and 
o       developing and submitting an implementation strategy.

The three-day meeting was productive. A large number of 
recommendations were reviewed and organized into a set of 
comprehensive draft implementation strategies. Bruce Sheaffer and Don 
Hellmann gave context-setting presentations on the fiscal and 
political landscape. 

Last week, task force members returned to their parks and refined the 
draft material derived from the meeting. Over the next three weeks, 
group members will continue to flesh out details and edit the 
recommendations into a common format for submission to Ring. Prior to 
the Washington meeting, task force member Steve Shackelton visited 
FLETC to scope the training elements of the IACP report with FLETC 
superintendent Paul Henry and members of his staff. 

The task force greatly values the many contributions made to this 
effort and appreciates everyone's' patience as the drafting process 
continues.  The group is committed to reporting feasible means to 
achieving recommended changes. Task force members include       Martha 
Bogle, Kim Coast, Greg Jackson, Dianne Spriggs, Bill Sanders, Linda 
Alick, Jay Liggett, John Neal, Ron DeAngelo, Dennis Burnett, Pat 
Buccello, and Steve Shackelton. [Dennis Burnett, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

INTERCHANGE

No submissions.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Long Distance Trails Group Office (NM) - The office is recruiting for 
a GS-025-11/12 interpretive specialist. The vacancy announcement is 
IMSF-01-21 and can be found on USA Jobs. The office administers the 
Santa Fe and Trail of Tears National Historic Trails and will jointly 
administer the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail 
with the Bureau of Land Management. The interpretive specialist will 
develop interpretive media and programs with and provide technical 
assistance to a variety of partners, including other federal, state, 
and local agencies and private organizations, American Indian tribes, 
and private landowners. Applicants are sought who can work with 
diverse partners with tact and diplomacy and who have strong 
interpretive skills. Experience in interpretive planning and in 
working with teachers and educational curricula will be helpful. For 
more information, contact John Conoboy, chief of interpretation and 
resource management, at 505-988-6733.
 
                            *  *  *  *  *

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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