NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, March 30, 2001

                           *** NOTICE ***

Flags are to be lowered to half-staff today in commemoration of the 
passing of Representative Norman Sisisky (D-VA), who died on March 
29th. Twenty-four hour flags will remain lowered until Saturday at 
12:01 a.m. All other flags will be returned to full staff Saturday 
morning.

INCIDENTS

01-019 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Death of Chief Ranger

Jason Houck, the park's chief ranger, died yesterday in a Knoxville 
hospital, apparently from complications following surgery for cancer. 
He had expected to make a full recovery from the operation. Jason's 
funeral will be at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 1st, at the First 
Baptist Church of Gatlinburg, 111 Oglewood Lane, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 
(865-436-2885). The family will receive mourners at 1:30 p.m. at the 
church. The family has asked for a National Park Service presence, so 
uniforms are suggested where appropriate. The uniform of the day will 
be Class A winter, but without either the Ike or dress jackets. No 
decisions have been made yet on wearing of defensive equipment or on 
flowers or other memorials. A follow-up notice will likely be posted 
either late this afternoon or sometime on Saturday. If you are 
planning on attending or making a contribution or sending condolences, 
please check cc:Mail or the Morning Report web page 
(www.nps.gov/morningreport) late today or tomorrow for additional 
details. [Bob Miller, PIO, GRSM, 3/29-30]

01-020 - Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Plane Crash with Fatalities

Rangers were notified around 1 a.m. on March 21st that a search was 
underway for a downed aircraft and that the ELT fixes indicated that 
it might have crashed in the park. The Piper Cherokee 140 had been 
reported missing on the previous afternoon. A unified command was set 
up with the Greenwater VFD, and search teams from the park, Seattle 
Mountain Rescue and Tacoma Mountain Rescue began searching for the 
plane in the Lost Creek drainage. An Army Chinook helicopter conducted 
an aerial search of the drainage, checking out ELT hits picked up by a 
CAP aircraft. The wreck was found at the 4,250-foot elevation of Slide 
Mountain on a steep, heavily timbered slope. The plane was not visible 
from the air, but searchers spotted flames issuing from the wreckage. 
A search team was flown to a landing site in the upper Lost Creek 
drainage by the Chinook. They traversed the mountain along the 
4,400-foot elevation until they reached the site. Two fatalities were 
confirmed. The remains were flown from the crash site by long line 
from a contract helicopter. Aircraft recovery efforts have been 
suspended until late spring or summer. An investigation into the 
accident continues. [Uwe Nehring, MORA, 3/28]

01-021 - Independence NHP (PA) - Fire

Rangers were alerted to a fire on the roof of the 
concessioner-operated City Tavern at 10:45 p.m. on the evening of 
March 27th. The city fire department responded and extinguished the 
fire, which had burned a five-by-ten-foot area of shingles on one of 
the building's outcrops. Since the building is a reconstruction and 
was built to current fire codes in 1976, it has a cement ceiling under 
the shingles. There was accordingly no structural damage to the 
building. Preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire by the 
NPS and fire department has been inconclusive, but it appears that it 
may have been started by smoking material discarded from an upper 
window by concession employees. [Hollis Provins, CR, INDE, 3/30]

01-022 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/TN/AL) - Stolen Vehicle

Ranger Tim Morgan came upon a 1998 Acura with fresh damage to its rear 
in the Garrison Creek lot early on the morning of March 14th. A 
disheveled man came out of the nearby restroom, got in, and headed 
north on the parkway. Morgan followed and conducted a warrant check on 
the moving vehicle. The check confirmed that the vehicle was stolen. 
Morgan made a felony stop and arrested J.M. of Nashville, 
Tennessee. Further checks revealed that there were three felony 
warrants out against him in that city, one each for vehicle theft, 
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary. The detective 
in charge of the case said that J.M. had previously pinned the arm 
of an officer trying to arrest him against a car window and had 
dragged him for some distance. NPS charges against J.M. include 
possession of stolen property, operating on a suspended license, and 
DUI. Several car stereo components and a slim-jim were found in the 
car and are being treated as stolen property. [Jackie Henman, ACR, 
NATR, 3/28]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

The number of people hired for fire jobs continues to increase. 
Departmentwide, the number of hires increased from 30% to 38% this 
past week. DOI bureaus expect to have 100% of the seasonal and 
temporary and 92% of the permanent fire jobs filled by June 15th.  The 
status of National Park Service hires as of March 27th is as follows: 
Temporary positions - 832 total (154 hired to date); career/seasonal 
positions - 277 total (107 hired to date); permanent positions - 
416 total (217 hired to date). 

Park Fires

Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - The Tunnel Ridge Fire was 100% 
contained on the evening of March 28th; firefighters expected it to be 
fully controlled by yesterday evening. The overall fire intensity 
ranged from low to moderate. A light rain fell yesterday and is 
expected again today. Unburned islands could continue to burn for the 
next several days, depending on rainfall. All resources were released 
on Wednesday except for a four-person patrol. No problems are 
anticipated.

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO, 3/309; Mike Warren NPS 
FMPC, 3/29]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

6c Retirement - Yesterday's note on the resolution of problems 
pertaining to 6c retirement was inadvertently labeled "Medical 
Standards." Any questions regarding the issues raised in that notice 
should be addressed to Dennis Burnett at 202-208-7675. [RAD/WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Mount Rainier NP (WA) - Ed Wilson, area ranger at Carbon River, will 
hang up his ranger hat on April 30th after 29 years, 7 months and 23 
days of federal service. Following his military service, Ed put on the 
green and gray as a seasonal at Grand Teton NP in 1968. He became a 
career employee at Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP in 1977, 
transferred to North Cascades NP in 1978, and moved to Mount Rainier 
NP in 1981. Friends will gather to salute Ed with a pot luck luncheon 
at the Longmire Community Building at Mount Rainier on April 20th. If 
you're planning on attending, please call the Mount Rainier 
Communications Center at 360-569-2211 ext. 2334 so that the park can 
get an idea of how many will be coming. Special thoughts or 
remembrances will be shared at the luncheon. Call the communications 
center for details on where to send them or send them via cc:Mail to 
MORA Comm Center. [Mike McClain, MORA]

Philadelphia Support Office (PA) - Mike Gordon is retiring on April 
3rd and moving on to gardening full time from then on. Mike has been 
an employee of the Department of Interior since August of 1967. He 
began his career in Washington, DC, worked in Denver from April, 1970 
to May, 1973, then arrived in Philadelphia in May, 1973.  He has 
worked on a variety of special studies, plans and projects, managed 
the land and water conservation fund (LWCF), the urban parks and 
recreation recovery program (UPARR), the surplus property program, and 
the NEPA review and planning programs. Among his many contributions, 
one of the most notable was his effort in the development of the Upper 
Delaware Scenic and Recreational River management plan. Mike's 
assiduous efforts on behalf of the partnership programs, his desire to 
see his staff grow as professionals and individuals, and his 
willingness to work on a collaborative basis and establish 
partnerships represent the essence of what his legacy will always mean 
to this agency and to all of us in Philadelphia. Mike will be farming 
on his ranch in Bucks County PA. [Joe DiBello, PSO]

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS

Regular sections not appearing today but available at all times for 
submissions:

o       Natural/Cultural Resource Management - Significant 
        developments in these fields.
o       Interpretation/Visitor Services - Significant developments in 
        these fields.
o       Memoranda - Memoranda from WASO to the field on all 
        operational matters.
o       Interchange - Requests or offers from any park or office for 
        materials, information or any other operational needs.
o       Film at 11 - Reports on current or upcoming print or 
        electronic media stories on the NPS.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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