NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, April 16, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-049 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Employee Death

Grant Village subdistrict ranger Donald Unser died at his home in 
Grant Village on April 6th. He was 47. Don is survived by his wife, 
S., and daughter, A., both of Bozeman, Montana. Don loved the 
outdoors - fishing, road cycling and skiing - and was a member of the 
Bridger Ski Foundation. He was very involved in his daughter's 
activities, from sports to music.  During his career with the National 
Park Service, Don worked at Natchez Trace, Channel Islands, Fire 
Island, Joshua Tree, and Lassen, and had worked in Yellowstone since 
1989. A memorial service was held on Thursday, April 12th, in Bozeman. 
Memorials in Don's name may be made to the Bridger Ski 
Foundation/Nordic Division, P.O. Box 1243, Bozeman, MT 59771. [Marsha 
Karle, Public Affairs, YELL, 4/12]

01-050 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Sponge Poaching Conviction

In 1999, rangers began surveillance on Innocentey Caldentey and 
Alberto Garcia, who were suspected of poaching sponges from the park. 
Evidence indicates that they and their associates had taken several 
thousand sponges over the previous few years. The rangers saw the two 
men poach 860 sponges from park waters over the course of several 
early morning surveillance operations. They were arrested and 
convicted of poaching; the conviction resulted in a sentence of time 
served and a four-year ban from entering Biscayne, Big Cypress and 
Everglades. On August 22, 2000, the Coast Guard caught the two men in 
the park. An investigation by rangers and Florida Fish and Wildlife 
Conservation Commission officers revealed that they were also in 
possession of 3,280 processed sponges and 225 sponges that were under 
the minimum size limit. On February 26th, the two men pled guilty to 
the probation violation and to the illegal possession of the sponges. 
They were sentenced to six months in prison, lost their commercial 
sponge fishing licenses, placed on additional probation, and again 
banned from the three parks. Caldentey and Garcia have been caught 
poaching sponges from the park about ten times since 1992, not 
including the above incidents, and have prior convictions for Lacey 
Act and conspiracy violations. [David Pharo, LES, BISC, 3/3]

01-051 - Cumberland Island NS (GA) - Structural Fire 

On Thursday, April 12th, contractors working on the Plum Orchard 
Mansion reported smoke emanating from the structure. Park and Camden 
County firefighters extinguished the small exterior blaze in time to 
minimize damage. Plum Orchard was constructed for George Carnegie and 
his wife Margaret Thaw in 1898, and was the original donation helping 
to establish Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is in the first 
phase of a multi-million dollar restoration. Contractors had been 
soldering copper sheathing near wood portions of the structure under 
procedures established in the contract. Three hours after soldering 
had ended, contractor employees saw smoke and called 911. Five NPS 
personnel and five county firefighters responded. Damage was limited 
to less than ten square feet of burned wall and smoke throughout the 
24,000 square foot structure. Soldering procedures have been modified 
for the rest of the project. The logistical challenges of a fire 
emergency on the island are compounded by the limited number of people 
on the island, distance to the island (40 minutes by boat for county 
firefighters) and the poor roads (25 mph effective speed limit). To 
reduce these problems, the county communicates with park staff on NPS 
frequencies, one structural engine and various wildland equipment are 
staged on the island, and county firefighters respond to the NPS dock 
for transportation by park boat. The county also employed a 
thermal-imaging device, thereby permitting firefighters to detect 
hotspots without unnecessarily dismantling the structure, aiding 
resource preservation. [Brian Peters, CR, CUIS, 4/13]

01-052 - St. Croix NSR (WI) - Underwater Recovery of Stolen Vehicle

On April 10th, Polk County deputies investigated the report of a 
submerged vehicle at the Nevers Dam boat launch. Because of the severe 
flooding conditions, deputies contacted the park's dive team for 
assistance in recovery. Divers Jeff Woods and Bob Whaley recovered six 
large pieces of the "chopped" chassis of a 2001 Ford pickup that had 
been recently stolen in Minnesota. Ranger Tod Turner and deputies 
reassembled the truck parts for identification. Since the truck was 
not complete and could not be used for a replacement patrol vehicle, 
it was released to the sheriff's office for further investigation. 
[Bob Whaley, DR, St. Croix River District, SACN, 4/11]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

Outreach and recruitment efforts are continuing nationwide. Employment 
Network and NPS fire employees will attend job fairs at several 
locations this month, including Yavapai College in Prescott, AZ; the 
Military and Civilian Job Fair in Biloxi, MS; San Juan Community 
College in Farmington, NM; the Armed Forces Job Fair in Hampton, VA; 
and Fort Campbell, KY. Fire personnel have also taught basic fire 
courses for students of three historically black colleges - the 
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Southern University, and 
Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. As a result, 15 
students are being evaluated for qualifications under student hiring 
authorities. These applicants will be available for employment this 
summer.

Park Fires

No fires reported.

Park Fire Danger

Very High       Hawaii Volcanoes NP
High            Everglades NP

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO; Merrie Johnson, NIFC; NPS 
Situation Summary Report, 4/15]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

National Police Week - Each year, National Police Week events are held 
in Washington, DC, to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice 
in the performance of their law enforcement duties. This year's 
activities will take place between May 11th and 15th. Events include 
the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial candlelight vigil on 
May 13th and the Peace Officers Memorial Day Service on May 15th. 
These events traditionally draw thousands of law enforcement officers, 
family, and friends from all over the country. On May 14th and 16th, 
the Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS) will also sponsor seminars on 
a variety of subjects of interest to families who have lost a law 
enforcement officer in the line of duty. A full list of events and 
information on volunteering at the National Law Enforcement Officers 
Memorial are available at www.nleomf.com. Rangers and families who 
plan to attend activities during the week are invited to contact Einar 
Olsen, regional chief ranger, National Capital Region, if they are 
interested in attending events with other NPS rangers and families. 
(Einar Olsen, RCR, NCR)

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Dinosaur NM (CO) - The park has three engine boss detail opportunities 
available. Details will be from June to September and can be 
negotiated for any time during that period. This is a good opportunity 
for candidates with task books. The park works cooperatively with 
BLM's Craig and Vernal Districts, providing suppression on fires on 
lands adjacent to the park. Monitoring opportunities are also 
bountiful, as WFU fires are permitted on 90% of park lands. For more 
info, please contact FMO Bruce Miller at 970-374-3014 or fuels tech 
Bruce Fields at 970-374-3011. [Bruce Fields, DINO]

HOT LINKS

NPS History Sites (www.cr.nps.gov/history) - The Service's history 
site contains both information on the history of the National Park 
Service and links to other related sites. These are updated 
periodically. The following have been recently added:

NPS uniforms - www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/workman5
Hopewell Culture admin history - www.nps.gov/hocu/adhi/adhi.htm
Japanese-American internment site preservation - 
www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/internment/report.htm

Links to the following park publications can be found on the Service's 
publications page (www.cr.nps.gov/history/publications.htm):

Yellowstone's Northern Range: Complexity & Change In A Wildland 
Ecosystem
Bandelier National Monument: An Administrative History  
Navajo National Monument: A Place and Its People 
Aztec Ruins National Monument Historical Handbook (1962)

Parks with new publications or web features relevant to the park 
history web page should contact Harry Butowsky in WASO.

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       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       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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