NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, April 12, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-040 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Drug/Illegal Immigrant Incidents

The park continues to deal with drug smuggling across its roads and 
lands. The following occurred during March:

o       March 8th - Rangers stopped a jeep containing eleven 
        undocumented aliens on the Victoria Mine trail. Border Patrol 
        agents were unable to respond. The Mexican nationals were 
        released and directed to walk back to Mexico; the vehicle was 
        impounded.
o       March 11th - Rangers saw a Ford Bronco exiting the desert near 
        milepost 78 on Highway 85. They attempted to pull it over, but 
        the driver declined to stop and fled south at a speed of about 
        80 mph. The Bronco cleared a ditch on south Puerto Blanco 
        Drive, but became stuck in the same ditch when the driver 
        turned around and headed back north. The vehicle contained ten 
        undocumented aliens. The driver was cited for driving 
        violations; the Border Patrol is pursuing felony charges 
        against him.
o       March 11th - Four vehicles were seen in the desert west of 
        Highway 85 near milepost 78. Rangers spiked the first of the 
        four and found contraband within it. The occupants fled on 
        foot to Mexico. The second vehicle stopped in a wash, its 
        occupants also exiting and fleeing to Mexico. The remaining 
        two vehicles turned around and fled back to Mexico at a high 
        rate of speed. Rangers seized over 830 pounds of marijuana, a 
        Chevy Tahoe, and an Isuzu Trooper and turned them over to the 
        Border Patrol.
o       March 22nd - A Ford Taurus was seen driving from the desert 
        onto Highway 85 near milepost 80. The information was passed 
        on to Border Patrol agents, who later stopped the vehicle and 
        seized 185 pounds of marijuana.
o       March 24th - Rangers saw two vehicles in the desert between 
        the campground and the border with Mexico. One was stopped; 
        the other failed to stop and was spiked after a high speed 
        chase through the park. Thirteen undocumented aliens were 
        apprehended and turned over to the Border Patrol.
o       March 26th - The Border Patrol set up a checkpoint just north 
        of the park. Rangers reported that as many as 70 vehicles 
        turned around just short of the checkpoint and returned to 
        Mexico. This operation also caused a dramatic reduction in the 
        number of vehicles being driving in the park's wilderness 
        areas. Foot traffic through the park increased, though, in an 
        effort to circumvent the checkpoint.
o       March 27th - A ranger found 25 pounds of marijuana hidden in 
        the brush near milepost 72 on Highway 85. The marijuana and 
        packaging were subsequently used as a training aid for a 
        special operations course, then turned over to Customs for 
        disposal.

[Dale Thompson, CR, ORPI, 4/2 and 4/7]

01-041 - Coronado NM (AZ) - Drug Smuggling and Arrests

A number of drug-smuggling incidents occurred within the park on the 
week of March 25th:

o       March 25th - While on road patrol, a ranger saw two suspicious 
        trucks driving back and forth through the park. When he pulled 
        in behind one of the trucks, they both changed direction. A 
        pursuit ensued, with speeds averaging twice the posted limit. 
        Both fled over Montezuma Pass and onto Forest Service lands, 
        then into Mexico. Both were likely loaded with drugs.
o       March 26th - While working with the Border Patrol to interdict 
        a group of undocumented aliens in the park, rangers and Border 
        Patrol agents saw several suspicious vehicles cruising the     
        area. One, a Dodge pickup, was later seen returning from 
        Montezuma Pass with a package in its bed. It was stopped 
        within the park. The driver bailed out, allowing the truck to 
        roll off the road, and was arrested while attempting to flee 
        on foot. He was armed with a .32 caliber semi-automatic pistol 
        and carried an encrypted radio. Agents and rangers seized 277 
        pounds of marijuana from the truck.
o       March 27th - Customs contacted the park and asked rangers to 
        assist in interdicting a smuggling operation. Rangers and 
        agents set-up and waited for the smugglers. Three loaded 
        pickup trucks and a "heat" vehicle chose not to enter the 
        park, but instead drove up the west side of the mountain range 
        and through Fort Huachuca, an active military installation. 
        They were chased back to Mexico. 
o       March 27th - A Border Patrol dog discovered several bales of 
        marijuana along the park's main road. They had evidently been 
        recently abandoned. They contained 218 pounds of marijuana.
o       March 27th - A Border Patrol agent found a cache of 1,000 
        pounds of marijuana in Ash Canyon, which lies just north of 
        the park and is administered by the Forest Service. It had 
        been backpacked through the park, passing within a half mile 
        of the VC and employee housing area.
o       March 28th - A ranger leaving the park to attend a border drug 
        strategy meeting in Tucson discovered a drug load-out in 
        progress along the main park road. He followed, keeping the 
        vehicle in sight until Cochise County Boarder Alliance Group 
        (BAG) units could arrive and interdict them. Pursuit speeds 
        outside the park reached 100 mph before the load vehicle was 
        spiked. Rangers and other BAG officers arrested the driver and 
        seized 252 pounds of marijuana.

Effective cooperation by number of agencies was crucial to the safety 
and success of these operations. [Mike Hardin, CORO, 4/1]

01-042 - Olympic NP (WA) - Drug Arrest

Port Angeles officers came to Pioneer Visitor Center on the afternoon 
of March 19th to check on a report that several people who had just 
left a known local drug house were parked in the lot there. An officer 
saw A.T. of Port Angeles injecting a needle into his arm; he 
was arrested and charged with possession of heroin and drug 
paraphernalia. A second person was also arrested but later released. 
A.T. was arraigned before a magistrate on March 20th and pled 
guilty to both counts the next day. He was sentenced to a year's 
probation, directed to participate in mental health treatment and 
substance abuse programs, and fined $20 in court fees. [Curt Sauer, 
CR, OLYM, 4/5]

01-043 - Obed W&SR (TN) - Special Event

Tennessee Paddle, a non-profit organization comprised of local paddle 
clubs and conservation groups, sponsored the second annual Paddle 
Festival for the Obed on April 8th. Over 2,000 people attended the 
event, which included a kayak/canoe race on the river, hikes, bike 
trips, bird-watching trips, climbs, and a paddling film fest. The 
actual festival was held on the town square in Wartburg and included a 
climbing wall, kayak rides, food booths sponsored by local civic 
organizations, outdoor recreation vendors, and local environmental 
organizations. Local residents were given free entry to the festival 
in order to promote a stronger understanding of the types of user 
groups who come to the county to participate in the wide variety of 
recreational opportunities available there. A portion of the profits 
from the event will be donated to the park. Rangers from Big South 
Fork assisted Obed staff with protection and interpretive activities. 
[Kris Stoehr, Unit Manager, OBRI, 4/10]

01-044 - Jefferson NEM (MO) - Special Event

Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg visited the park on the 
afternoon of April 4th. She spent about three hours in the park, 
making the trip to the top of the Arch, visiting the Museum of 
Westward Expansion, and visiting the Old Courthouse. She was 
particularly interested in the latter, where many famous trials have 
been conducted, including the Dred Scott and Virginia Minor trials 
(Minor was an early Missouri suffragette). [Rod Danner, CR, JEFF, 
4/10]

01-045 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Boating Accident with Fatality

Four people on a boat in Placer Cove were dumped into the lake on the 
evening of April 7th when their boat overturned. Three survived, but 
the fourth - D.H., 25 - drowned. His body was found 
mid-channel. D.H. was wearing a life jacket. [Dispatch, LAME, 
4/11]

01-046 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Fatality

On the evening of April 10th, the Clark County Fire Department 
notified the park of a possible suicide at a trailer in a remote 
mining camp in the park called Capitol Camp. Ranger Wilford Lopez and 
criminal investigator Mike Blandford investigated and determined that 
there had been an extended an on-going conflict between the victim - 
E.E., 85 - and a neighbor. Due to the suspicious nature of 
E.E.'s death, Las Vegas Metro PD investigators were summoned. The 
coroner has not yet released a report on the cause of death. 
[Dispatch, LAME, 4/11]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

The Western Rural Development Center is hosting a conference in May 
entitled "Managing Wildfire Risk at the Residential Interface."  The 
goal of the conference is to bring together community leaders, policy 
makers, resource professionals, and extension educators to learn about 
innovative community-based programs and educational resources used 
throughout the West to address wildfire risks. The meeting is 
scheduled for May 15th and 16th and will be held in Salt Lake City.  
For additional information, log on to www.ext.usu.edu/confer/wildfire.

Park Fires

Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - The park reported six new fires yesterday. 
Three that broke out on April 4th, ranging in size from one to ten 
acres, were all declared out. Another three started on April 7th. Two 
are out, and the largest, which has burned 170 acres, has been 
controlled.

Park Fire Danger

Very High               Mammoth Cave NP
High                    Everglades NP

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO, 4/11; Mike Warren, NPS 
FMPC, 4/11;
NPS Situation Summary Report, 4/11]

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS

Regular sections not appearing today (due to time constraints) 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       Operational Notes - Any information of consequence to the 
        field on operational matters.
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       Parks and People - Reports on people (job openings, 
        retirements, etc.) and parks (significant happenings of any 
        kind).
o       Hot Links - Web addresses for NPS-related sites.
o       Film at 11 - Reports on current or upcoming print or           
        electronic media stories on the NPS.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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address requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your 
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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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