NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, May 4, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-179 - Buffalo NR (AR) - Follow-up: Search 

H.Z., the six-year-old girl who has been the subject of an 
extensive interagency search since April 29th, was found alive and 
unhurt on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 1st. H.Z. disappeared while 
hiking with her grandparents on Forest Service land adjacent to the 
park. She was found by two local residents searching on mules in the 
extremely rugged headwaters area of the Buffalo River. She had spent 
three days and two nights alone in the wilderness with no food or 
water, but suffered only minor scratches and mild dehydration. H.Z. 
was found approximately two miles from the spot last seen and just 
outside the park on USFS land. Thirty agencies participated in the 
search at its peak. Five helicopters were on scene, and there were 
several hundred searchers. Park employees Sammy Lail and Jeff West 
served as operations section chiefs. Eight other park staff served in 
various functions. Media coverage was extensive, with national 
coverage on the morning network news shows. (Bob Howard, Acting CR, 
BUFF, 5/3)

01-185 - Blue Ridge Parkway/Appalachian NST (VA) - Aircraft Crash 

On May 1st, ranger Zeph Cunningham was seeking the source of a fire 
that had burned eleven acres on the east slope of Humpback Mountain 
the previous day (see "NPS Fires" below) when he came upon wreckage 
from a small aircraft. A joint investigation by the NPS, NTSB, FAA and 
Virginia State Police revealed that the plane had evidently gone down 
on April 30th. Forensic specialists working with the Virginia Medical 
Examiner's Office retrieved some of the pilot's remains. It appears 
that the victim was an 80-year-old doctor from Pennsylvania. The 
investigation continues to confirm the number of possible occupants of 
the plane. [Gordon Wissinger, BLRI, 5/4]

01-186 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Emergency Aircraft Landing

On the afternoon of Sunday, April 29th, S.M., the pilot of a 
single engine 1940 Fleet biplane, experienced engine problems while 
flying over Sandy Hook.  S.M. avoided beach-goers and made an 
emergency landing in a shorebird nesting area 200 yards northwest of 
Gunnison Beach. Rangers John Cahill and Sara Weimer were near the area 
and witnessed the plane make a rough landing and roll out that ended 
with the plane doing a forward flip and coming to rest upside down. 
The pilot was uninjured.  The FAA was notified and is investigating.  
The plane sustained damage to its upper wing, but no damage was done 
to natural resources in the area. The aircraft was righted the 
following day, then towed off the beach by hand, dismantled, and 
removed from the park.  [Tom Lobkowicz, SA, GATE, 5/3]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

The DOI Office of Wildland Fire Coordination is facilitating the 
development of a department-wide National Fire Plan database. Ivette 
Gosser, on detail from USGS, is the project manager for developing a 
common reporting system to track performance and units of 
accomplishment for the plan. She is working with information 
technology contacts and fire experts in each of the bureaus to assess 
current systems and develop a recommendation that is departmental in 
perspective.  

Hiring continues for NPS fire positions. Here's the tally as of 
yesterday: temporary positions - 739 total, 349 hired to date; 
career/seasonal positions - 235 total, 178 hired to date; permanent 
positions - 416 total, 235 hired to date. That's a total of  762 
people hired for 1,390 total positions (55%).

Fire Program Management

Today and coming days mark the first anniversary of the Cerro Grande 
fire in Bandelier NM, Los Alamos and environs. 

The NPS has from the beginning fully accepted responsibility for the 
escape of the Cerro Grande prescribed fire.  Since the fire, the 
Service has worked extensively with other federal agencies to address 
the issues raised in the various reports and inquiries concerning the 
fire.  In doing so, it has made aggressive efforts to ensure those 
policies and procedures have been changed.  

Specifically, the National Park Service:  

o       Participated with other federal land management agencies in 
        conducting a complete review of the 1995 Federal Fire Policy. 
        The Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and 
        Agriculture reconvened the working group that developed the 
        1995 Federal Fire Policy to assess the status of the policy 
        and its implementation. The working group found that the 
        policy is sound and continues to provide a solid foundation 
        for wildland fire management activities and for natural 
        resources management activities of the federal government. The 
        2001 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy (2001 Federal 
        Fire Policy) replaces the 1995 Federal Fire Policy.  

o       Now requires a technical review of all NPS prescribed burn 
        plans by equally qualified peers who are not directly involved 
        in the plan. This additional review seeks to assure that 
        proposed burn, upon implementation, will meet the resource 
        objectives stated in the plan, and that the burn will be 
        conducted successfully. To serve as a technical reviewer, the 
        individual: Cannot be involved in the plan preparation; should 
        have knowledge of the local area; should have experience 
        burning in similar fuel types; and can consider conducting an 
        on-site review.

o       Has a new procedure in place to improve risk assessment and 
        complexity analyses. 

o       Is developing an agency administrator's checklist for a 
        prescribed burn "Go/No Go" decision designed to increase the 
        involvement of park superintendents in the implementation of 
        prescribed burns and to increase the accountability of agency 
        administrators in the prescribed burn process. 

o       Has a new procedure in place to clearly define how to staff 
        prescribed fires adequately.  A worksheet has been developed 
        to provide a more thorough analysis of staffing necessary to 
        successfully implement a prescribed fire. Generally, this 
        translates to additional holding forces on the ground when a 
        prescribed fire is lit and readily available in the event that 
        additional staffing is needed.

o       Now requires all NPS burn bosses, burn boss trainees, 
        prescribed fire managers, prescribed fire manager trainees, 
        and fire management officers to participate in an 
        NPS-sponsored prescribed fire workshop. These workshops 
        address the changes in NPS prescribed burn procedures, 
        policies and programmatic requirements.  The first workshop 
        was conducted on February 26, 2001, a second workshop is 
        scheduled to occur this month.

o       A number of regional workshops have been held which focus on 
        increasing the understanding of the implications of the 2000 
        fire season.  The target audience for these workshops has been 
        NPS management officials and interdisciplinary staff who are 
        involved in park fire operations.

Questions or media inquiries pertaining specifically to that fire and 
related events should be directed to one of three people - Rick Frost, 
assistant regional director, communications, Intermountain Region 
(303-987-6732); Roberta D'Amico, fire communications national program 
lead, NPS Fire Management Program Center (208-387-5239); or Sue Vap, 
national fire management officer, NPS Fire Management Program Center 
(208-387-5225). 

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1. Three new large fires were reported on 
Thursday - two in the South and one in northern California. Initial 
attack was moderate in the East and South and light elsewhere. A 
fast-moving front approaching the Pacific Northwest will bring a 
chance of precipitation to the northern California coast. Northern 
Florida will remain under a high pressure system; there will be a 
chance of showers and thunderstorms in the southern portion of the 
state. Very high to extreme fire dangers were reported in New Mexico 
and Florida.

FIRE WEATHER WATCHES have been issued for low relative humidity and 
wind speeds greater than 15 mph in northern Florida and portions of 
southeast Georgia, and for low relative humidity and strong winds in 
northern Connecticut, northern Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

National Resource Status

The following were commited as of yesterday:

Crews           28
Engines         79
Helicopters     18
Air Tankers     0
Overhead        201

NPS Fires

Blue Ridge Parkway (VA/NC) - On April 30th, a smoke was spotted on the 
east slope of Humpback Mountain on lands administered by the 
Appalachian Trail Park Office but protected through cooperative 
agreement by the parkway. Due to dry conditions, the Virginia Division 
of Forestry ordered a contract helicopter to respond while 
firefighters attempted to reach the remote area. This action prevented 
the fire from becoming too large for hand crews to get a scratch line 
around the fire that night. A unified command was set up for initial 
attack before the park took full responsibility for the fire on the 
following day. The wildfire was contained at just over 11 acres. The 
aircraft that crashed and caused the fire (see "Incidents" above) was 
removed from NPS lands.

Indiana Dunes NL (IN) - The park reports two small fires - one of two 
acres, the other of 25 acres.

Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - The BLA Fire on Horn Island was declared out 
on May 1st. It burned a total of 108 acres of maritime forest and salt 
marsh. The investigation of the fire continues; all suspects have been 
identified and interviewed. Prosecution of the responsible parties is 
being coordinated with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

New River Gorge NR (WV) - The Bridge Fire has been contained and 
controlled. The Prescott hotshot crew was released on Wednesday. 

NPS Fire Danger

Very High       N/A
High            Joshua Tree, Hawaii Volcanoes, Great Smokies, 
                Everglades, New River

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO; Gordon Wissinger, BLRI, 
5/4; Roberta D'Amico and Mike Warren, NPS FMPC, 5/3; NIFC Incident 
Management Situation Report, 5/4; NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/3]

MEMORANDA

"National Public Lands Day - 2001," signed by AD/Park Operations and 
Education Dick Ring and sent to all regional directors (attention to 
superintendents) on April 9th. The text follows:

"Saturday, September 29, 2001, is National Public Lands Day (NPLD). On 
that day, thousands of citizens will be volunteering to help our 
public lands. On NPLD - 2000, 45,000 volunteers in all 50 states, the 
District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico picked up shovels, rakes, litter 
bags, paint brushes, and hammers and performed an estimated $6.5 
million in improvements to national parks, forests, refuges, and other 
public lands.  NPLD is organized by the National Environmental 
Education & Training Foundation supported by nine federal land 
managing agencies, and sponsored by Toyota and other businesses.

"This year will be especially noteworthy.  Since 1934 the Civilian 
Conservation Corps (CCC) alumni have held a yearly reunion in 
Shenandoah National Park.  Due to attrition and the ages of the 
remaining CCC alumni, September 29, 2001, may be the last national get 
together.   The CCC alumni will turn over their tradition of service 
on public lands to the National Public Lands Day Partnership Team in a 
ceremony in Shenandoah National Park.  As we all know, the CCC 
contributed a great deal to the National Park System.  There were, in 
fact, 198 CCC camps in 94 national parks and monuments.  Their 
presence is reflected in the crafted stone walls, bridges, roads, 
overlooks, and structures that are still in use today.  What better 
tribute to the contributions of the CCC than to encourage today's 
'civilians' to come out for a day and volunteer to make their national 
parks a better place to visit.

"This is not only a good opportunity to accomplish some important work 
in the parks, but it also provides an opportunity for the public to 
become directly involved in the management of their lands while 
promoting long-term volunteerism.  We can also share the message of 
the NPS and remind the public of the contributions of the CCC through 
national and local press coverage.

"I would encourage park managers who are interested in obtaining more 
information about NPLD to visit the website at www.npld.com.  Parks 
that are interested in participating should contact the NPLD 
Coordinator, Patti Pride at pride@neetf.org with a cc: electronic copy 
to the NPS Coordinator, Bob Huggins, or call Ms. Pride at 
202/261-6474.  Parks participating in NPLD will be provided with a 
participant's package that includes press kits, a manual, posters, 
brochures and other useful information.

"Thank you for your support."

HOT LINKS

Mike Maki at Santa Monica Mountains NRA has sent along an interesting 
site, which he notes is "a great resource for free digital images of 
all U.S. USGS topos." The site is http://topozone.com.

ADDITIONAL SECTIONS

Regular sections not appearing today (due either to lack of 
submissions or time constraints in preparing this edition) but are 
available at all times:

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       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       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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