NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, April 2, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-023 - Pu'ukohola Heiau NHS (HI) - Employee Injury

On the morning of March 29th, maintenance worker William Akima was 
bucking up a fallen tree about six- to eight-feet above the ground. 
The 30- to 40-foot tree had fallen sideways during high winds a month 
ago. As Akima was working on the tree, it started to rise up into a 
standing position, with its large root bole falling back into the root 
hole. Akima jumped to the ground and landed on his back, suffering 
serious injuries. He was taken to North Hawaii Community Hospital in 
Kamuela. [Ben Saldua, CR, PUHE, 3/30]

01-024 - Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (MI) - Search and Rescue

Two boys who live near the eastern boundary of the park began 
following deer tracks with their dog on the evening of March 28th. 
When the boys - ages six and eight - failed to return home, the family 
reported them as missing to the county sheriff's office. The resulting 
search included 50 ground searchers, three SAR dog teams, rangers and 
a Coast Guard helicopter. The two hypothermic boys were spotted by an 
observer in the helicopter with a handheld infrared scope around 3 
a.m. near Otter Creek within the park. They were treated at the scene 
and released. [Kym Mukavetz, Acting CR, SLBE, 3/29]

01-025 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Rescue

On March 27th, park dispatch received a report of a man stranded on a 
cliff in the Land's End area of San Francisco. South Unit rangers 
Steve Prokop, Sam Eddy and Bob Airey-Van Diem responded and found the 
man yelling for help from a precarious location about 60 feet down a 
nearly vertical 200-foot cliff face. Prokop served as IC; Airey-Van 
Diem was designated as rescue climber; Eddy was the rigger. The city 
fire department also provided assistance, with personnel belaying 
Airey-Van Diem over the cliff on two rescue ropes. The uninjured man 
was secured in a seat and chest harness and raised to the top of the 
cliff. The man told rescuers that he thought he was going to die and 
that he had almost lost his grip on the cliff just before Airey-Van 
Diem reached him. South Unit rangers and city fire and rescue 
personnel had conducted a two-day cliff rescue training session just 
two weeks previously at the same location. [Richard Danielson, Ops 
Supervisor/Steve Prokop, SPR, GOGA, 3/29]

01-026 - Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - Body Recovery

Visitors walking on the sound side of the Fort Pickens area on the 
afternoon of March 28th discovered the body of a fully-clothed man in 
the surf. Rangers, FBI agents and Florida Department of Law 
Enforcement officers are conducting a joint investigation into his 
death. An identification card with a local Pensacola address was found 
on the body and fingerprint analysis has confirmed his identity. A 
coroner's report indicates that the cause of death was drowning, but 
homicide has not yet been ruled out due to unique circumstances 
surrounding the condition of the body. Investigators believe that the 
body may be the same one that a fisherman hooked four days earlier at 
a local pier. The fisherman was unable to retrieve the body at that 
time because his line snapped. Local authorities are not aware of any 
missing person reports matching the victim's description. [John 
Bandurski, DR, Florida District, GUIS, 3/30]

                  [Additional reports pending....]

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.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

WASO Interpretation and Education Division Update - A number of 
activities are underway in the division:

o       Volunteer Senior Ranger Corps - The parks selected for the 
        United Parcel Foundation grants for the volunteer senior 
        ranger program include Carlsbad Caverns NP, Cuyahoga NP, 
        Eisenhower NHS, Fire Island NS, George Washington Memorial 
        Parkway, Homestead NM, Point Reyes NS and Timpanogos Cave NM. 
        Training for the program will be held in Albuquerque on the 
        week of April 16th.
o       NASA Space Ranger - Kate Bucco from NCP-East has been selected 
        as the next "space ranger" at NASA's Goddard Space Flight 
        Center. She starts the year-long detail on March 26th, 
        replacing Anita Davis, who returns to Wupatki NM.
o       Interpretive Leadership Seminar - Sixty-one applications were 
        received for the seminar. Thirty-eight participants have been 
        selected. Work is proceeding on the agenda and instructor 
        selection for the course, which will be held at Mather TC on 
        the week of May 7th.
o       Historic Weapons - The Servicewide historic weapons advisory 
        team met at Springfield Armory NHS on the week of February 
        26th. Major items on the agenda included the designation of 
        regional inspectors, planning for the FY02 certification 
        course, completion of the DO-6 reference manual material, and 
        a discussion of the advisability of allowing demonstrations of 
        modern smokeless powder weapons. Staff at SPAR will draft 
        guidelines and certification standards for the proposed 
        smokeless powder demonstrations for review by the full team.
o       DO-7 - The draft of DO-7 on volunteers has been sent to the 
        field for a 60-day review period.

[Corky Mayo, I&ED/WASO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

USPP Headquarters (DC) - Chief Robert Langston will retire on April 
7th after more than 35 years of dedicated and faithful service. He has 
been chief since September, 1991. A retirement luncheon in his honor 
will be held on May 4th. If you'd like to send along any 
presentations, thoughts, stories or messages, please contact Sharon 
Stephenson at 202-619-7350 or via cc:Mail by April 30th. [Sgt. R. 
MacLean, USPP]

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.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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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