NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, April 24, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-027 - Gateway NRA (NJ/NY) - Follow-up: Search for Missing Fishermen

A visitor fishing on the shoreline of Sandy Hook on the morning of 
April 14th discovered a body floating in the ocean. Rangers were 
notified and brought it to shore. A medical examination confirmed 
identification of the remains as those of W.B., 39, of 
Belford, New Jersey, who was one of two local clammers missing since 
their boat sank in the bay on January 27th. His death was ruled an 
accidental drowning. The remains of the second victim have not yet 
been found. [Thomas Lobkowicz, GATE, 4/22]

01-156 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Search and Rescue

The Coast Guard sought assistance from the park in a large, 
multi-agency search for three overdue sailors late on the evening of 
April 18th. Rangers David Carter, David Pharo, Tom Rutledge and Randy 
Whitton searched waters within and outside the boundaries of the park. 
One of the missing persons was the son of the chairman of the 
Republican National Party. Interest from state elected officials was 
accordingly high, and included continuous communications with 
Florida's governor and Congressional delegation. During the early 
hours of April 19th, an overturned vessel was spotted in park waters 
by a Coast Guard helicopter. A park boat arrived on scene shortly 
thereafter and rescued the two people who were found clinging to the 
overturned sailboat. The third missing person was found by a Florida 
Fish and Wildlife Conservation personnel. All three were treated for 
hypothermia and released to their families in good condition. About 40 
people from three agencies participated in the search. [David Pharo, 
LES, BISC, 4/19]

01-157 - Zion NP (UT) - Rescue

Four visitors entered the slot canyon on Pine Creek around 1 p.m. on 
April 22nd. None of them had a wet suit, and the only descending gear 
they had with them consisted of two lengths of webbing. After passing 
the second rappel, they realized that they were not equipped to 
continue down the canyon. One person was able to climb back up the 
canyon and alert a ranger. The park's SAR team responded, and team 
member Bo Beck rappelled about 100 feet down from the canyon rim to 
the stranded party. Each of the three people was then raised to the 
rim. There were no injuries. The leader of the group was cited for 
failing to obtain a canyoneering permit. Ray O'Neil was the ops chief 
for the rescue. [Chuck Passek, ZION, 4/23]

01-158 - Big South Fork NR&RA (TN) - Rescue

Just after noon on April 21st, the park received notification that 
there was an unconscious person on the O&W road in a remote section of 
the park. Several rangers and a county ambulance crew responded and 
eventually found 57-year-old D.L., who had been thrown from a 
horse when it had been spooked by a branch. D.L. suffered serious 
head injuries. He was transported by ATV to a Lifestar helicopter and 
flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. As of yesterday, 
he was still in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care 
unit. [Frank Graham, CR, BISO, 4/23]

01-159 - Fort Sumter NM (SC) - Special Event

The 140th anniversary of the opening battle of the Civil War was 
observed at Fort Sumter on Saturday, April 14th. That battle began on 
April 12, 1861, and ended 34 hours later when the Union garrison 
surrendered and returned to New York. The event began on the evening 
of Friday, April 13th, when 40 reenactors made camp and stayed the 
night at Fort Sumter, supervised by ranger Chris Mekow. The following 
day 1,914 visitors were escorted into Fort Sumter by uniformed 
soldiers. Altogether, 66 Civil War reenactors participated in the 
event, providing living history programs that included musket firing 
demonstrations, talks on equipment, food, and uniforms, and the mock 
firing of a 42-pounder smoothbore gun. Three ladies organizations gave 
talks on fashion, food, marriage, Southern women and the war effort. 
Nineteenth century "wet plate" photography demonstrations were also 
given. The principal participants were the 10th, 25th, and 27th South 
Carolina Infantries, Bachman's Artillery Battery, the Charleston 
Relief Society, the South Carolina Ladies Auxiliary and the Soldiers 
Relief Society of Summerville. Historian Rick Hatcher was IC for the 
event. Monocacy NB ranger Cathy Beeler provided black powder 
supervision. (Bill Martin, PIO, FOSU, 4/22)

01-160 - Independence NHP (PA) - Special Event

Secretary Gale Norton visited the park on April 19th to tour the area 
and promote the administration's FY 2002 budget request to deal with 
the NPS maintenance backlog. Secretary Norton visited the Liberty 
Bell, Independence Hall and the portrait gallery in the Second Bank of 
the United States, and held a press conference in Independence Square. 
[Phil Sheridan, PAO, INDE, 4/19]

01-161 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Accidental Shooting

H.B., 13, of Leonardo, New Jersey, was accidentally shot by 
a turkey hunter near Silver Spray Farm in the park's New Jersey 
District just after 8 a.m. on April 23rd. H.B. had just set out 
three turkey decoys and was watching them when H.M., 59, 
fired upon one of the decoys, thinking that it was a real turkey. 
H.B. was beyond the decoys, but in the line of fire, and received 
minor wounds from shotgun pellets in his right leg and right wrist. He 
was taken to Newton General Hospital, where he was treated and 
released. H.B. was wearing full camouflage at the time. Hunters 
are not required to wear orange while hunting turkeys in New Jersey. 
The accident is being investigated by a state conservation officer and 
ranger Chris Kross. Charges against H.M. are pending. [Doyle 
Nelson, CR, DEWA, 4/23]

01-162 - Big South Fork NR&RA (TN) - Drowning

A nine-year-old boy drowned while on a canoe trip in the park on April 
18th. Rangers were notified of the incident in mid-afternoon, and 
found that a party of four individuals - two adults and two children - 
had capsized above Angel Falls Rapids, a class IV rapids on the Big 
South Fork River. Three members of the group reached shore below the 
rapids, but the fourth could not be found. Over 40 searchers from the 
park and an interagency rescue squad searched the river and shores 
until well after dark. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency was 
contacted; that organization provided an infrared-equipped helicopter. 
Search efforts were called off at 3 a.m., then resumed later that 
morning. Due to lower river levels, searchers found the body of Donald 
Hunt a short distance from the point where his canoe capsized. He was 
still wearing his life jacket, but had been pinned below the water by 
the force of the river's currents. The park provided counseling for 
family members during the incident and a stress debriefing for park 
staff involved in the incident thereafter. [Steven Seven, PIO, BISO, 
4/22]

01-163 - Gulf Islands NS (FL/MS) - Drowning

A.M., 21, and his fiancè R.S. were floating on rafts on 
the Gulf side of Ship Island on the afternoon of April 22nd when A.M. 
told R.S. that he was going into shore. When last seen by R.S., A.M. 
was heading into shore, but was being blown toward the west by the 
wind and seas. Two friends on the beach saw A.M.'s raft flip over and 
saw A.M. go under. They watched, but did not see him come back up. 
They began looking for him along with R.S., who had come to shore; 
ranger and sheriff patrol boats were on scene within ten minutes and 
joined in the effort. Assistance from the Coast Guard was solicited, 
and they provided a helicopter and search boat. Five sheriff's 
department divers arrived a few hours later and made an underwater 
search, which was suspended around 7:30 p.m. A victim counselor from 
the Harrison County Sheriff's Department met R.S. and A.M.'s family 
and provided assistance. This incident occurred at the same time as 
the below-noted arson fire. [Mark Lewis, DR, GIS, 4/23]

01-164 - Curecanti NRA (CO) - Boating Accident with Fatality

On April 20th, L.G., 57, of Grand Junction, Colorado, was 
fishing with his son-in-law and a friend in the West Elk arm of Blue 
Mesa Reservoir. While crossing the main body of the reservoir in an 
attempt to get back to the boat ramp in the late afternoon, they 
encountered 40 to 50 mile per hour winds and three to four foot 
swells. Their 13-foot fishing boat took on water and eventually 
swamped in the middle of the mile-wide bay. Two of the men were able 
to swim to shore and call for help, but L.G. couldn't make it. 
Rescuers retrieved him from the 34-degree water, but resuscitation 
efforts failed. All three were wearing life jackets. [Linda Alick, CR, 
CURE, 4/23]

01-165 - Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - Arson

On April 22nd, visitors along the north shore of Horn Island saw four 
men bring a boat up to the beach near Big Lagoon. A few minutes later, 
they saw two of them walk to the dune line overlooking the marsh on 
the west side of the lagoon. The two men came running back a minute or 
so later, one of them carrying an orange distress flare pistol. The 
men jumped in their boat and fled back toward the mainland. Only 
minutes later, a fire erupted in the dry marsh grass and swept toward 
the north and west, pushed by 15 mph winds. The witnesses recorded 
part of the incident on their video recorder and provided excellent 
descriptions to rangers. It appears that the boat had been stolen 
before the men came out to the island. One of the witnesses tried 
fighting the fire in his swim trunks and repeatedly ignored 
instructions from ranger Scott Martin to leave the danger area. Martin 
eventually had to take him into protective custody to prevent his 
returning into the fire. Firefighters attacked the blaze, which was 
only 30% contained at the time of the report (see "Fire Management" 
below for more). Martin is working on the case with Mississippi 
Department of Marine Resources officers. [Mark Lewis, DR, GUIS, 4/23]

                   [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.

Fire Intelligence Briefing

The April 21st intelligence briefing paper for the Southern Area 
(eastern Texas, most of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama, Florida, the Carolinas, Kentucky and Virginia) reports an 
unusually active late winter and early spring period. Large fires have 
already been reported in most of these states, largely because of the 
combination of long-term drought conditions and the dry and windy 
weather pattern that has predominated over the area for the past few 
months. Because of this, the area has been in Preparedness Level 3 
since February 17th. There have already been 20 mandatory evacuations; 
hundreds of homes have been threatened and another hundred or so have 
been damaged or destroyed. So far this year, the Southern Area has had 
a total of 16,431 starts, burning 351,530 acres. The number of acres 
burned in the last three weeks is 32% of the total for calendar year 
2001, year-to-date. Moderate to heavy initial attack has been reported 
in all states, not just Florida. Resources are also staying on 
incidents longer than normal to monitor and insure fires are 
controlled due to the high number of escapes that have occurred. 

The National Weather Service predicts that the Southern Area will have 
temperatures warmer than normal over the next 90 days, and that 
precipitation will be less than normal during the same period in 
Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Continued fire 
activity is accordingly expected. 

Park Fires

Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - A fire started by a flare pistol (see 
"Incidents" above) burned 30 to 40 acres on April 22nd and 23rd and 
was only 30% contained by yesterday morning. NPS firefighters and a 
hotshot crew from Fort Apache are working the blaze. The fire is 
burning in dense grasses and heavy brush. Although the fire was west 
of the Horn Island ranger station, a cold front was expected 
yesterday, so efforts were being made to secure the eastern and 
southern flank.

Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - The park conducted the 506-acre 
Stony Ridge prescribed fire yesterday as part of an effort to 
reintroduce repeated fires over the next dozen years to perpetuate the 
yellow pine community that is found on ridge tops and upper slopes. 
This is a community that is threatened by fire suppression. The burn 
was conducted by a crew of 26 people with a helicopter in support. No 
problems were anticipated.

Everglades NP (FL) - The Pit Fire, which started outside the park on 
April 20th, has been completely contained after burning 1,500 to 2,000 
acres. A burning operation conducted by the park crew along the canal 
between the fire and the park kept the blaze out of Everglades NP. The 
suspected cause of the fire is a spark from an ATV.

Park Fire Danger

Very High       Hawaii Volcanoes NP
High            Great Smoky Mountains NP, Everglades NP, Carlsbad 
                Caverns NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP

[Mike Warren, NPS FMPC, 4/23; Doug Wallner, NERO, 4/22; Mark Lewis, 
GUIS, 4/22; NPS Situation Summary Report, 4/23]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Foot and Mouth Disease - Although foot and mouth disease (FMD) has not 
been reported in the United States, the ongoing outbreak of the 
disease in some European and other countries is of great concern to 
the North American agriculture and wildlife communities. FMD is a 
highly infectious viral disease that affects domestic and wild 
cloven-hoofed animals. The United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) has primary responsibility for dealing with FMD in this 
country, but DOI is working closely with them to identify actions for 
DOI lands should the disease be introduced into the U.S. The 
Biological Resource Management Division (BRMD) and the Ranger 
Activities Division (RAD) are representing the NPS on a departmental 
FMD committee. BRMD has also taken steps to inform park managers about 
this potential threat to our wildlife resources and to provide timely 
and useful management information on FMD.  Some of those steps are 
listed below:

1.      Information on FMD and useful links to FMD web sites will be 
        posted on www.nature.nps.gov/Intranet/fmd/. This site will be 
        available as of tomorrow.

2.      BRMD staff will work closely with and provide information to 
        the NPS representatives on the DOI FMD committee, which is 
        chaired by the DOI Office of Managing Risk and Public Safety. 
        BRMD will convey natural resource-based concerns of parks to 
        the committee and communicate back to parks management 
        strategies developed by the committee.

3.      BRMD is in close contact with wildlife disease specialists at 
        the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, 
        Wisconsin, and is helping the NWHC communicate to wildlife 
        managers the potential threat of the disease.

4.      BRMD has prepared a paper entitled "Precautions for NPS Staff, 
        Volunteers and Collaborators Arriving from Foot-and-Mouth 
        Disease Affected Countries" and has provided a copy to NPS 
        Office of International Affairs. 

You will be kept informed as more information becomes available. NPS 
representatives to the FMD committee are Dennis Burnett, acting chief, 
RAD, at 202-208-7675, and Gary Johnston, BRMD, Washington liaison, at 
202-208-5886.  Please contact either of them if you need more 
information on this issue.  In addition, you may also contact Margaret 
Wild, BRMD wildlife veterinarian, at 970-225-3593, or 
margaret_wild@nps.gov, or Mike Coffey, BRMD wildlife biologist, at 
970-225-3553, or mike_coffey@nps.gov. 

More information about FMD and USDA guidelines on FMD and other 
foreign animal disease can be found at the following web sites. 
www.usda.gov,  www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/fmd/index.html, and 
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed/promed.home.

[Mike Coffey, BRMD/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       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 
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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