NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, May 10, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-196 - Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - Employee Death

Supervisory visitor use specialist F.G., a 26-year employee at 
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, was found dead Tuesday inside 
his park residence from what appears to be self-inflicted injuries.  
Frank was a fixture in these parks, particularly at Ash Mountain, 
where he greeted untold millions of visitors and employees over the 
years. He is survived by sons T.G., 26, and J.G., 21. Chief 
ranger Debbie Bird adds this note: "We may never understand the reason 
why F.G. chose to end his life, but we will remember him with 
fondness. His friendly wave and kind words started many of our 
mornings out on a good note. He will be missed by all of the current 
and former employees of these parks." [Debbie Bird, CR, SEKI, 5/9]

01-197 - Glen Canyon NRA (UT/AZ) - Employee Serious Illness

Cindy Ott-Jones, the park's chief ranger,  has returned home following 
hospitalization for a serious illness. She will remain at home for 
some time to regain her strength. She and her husband R. appreciate 
all the support, care and messages of concern that they have received 
from everyone in the NPS family. [Rick Jones, GLCA, 5/9]

01-198 - Carlsbad Caverns NP (NM) - Search; Hiker Found

On May 5th, E.S., 42, of Somerville, Massachusetts, became 
disoriented while hiking in Rattlesnake Canyon and was unable to 
locate the exit trail. Although only prepared for a short day hike, 
she spent the night in the canyon. On May 6th, she walked up and down 
the canyon several times and left a note near a rock cairn, stating 
that she was lost and that she did not feel that she would survive. 
She also left several dated and timed notes along the trail that 
included her direction of travel. On May 7th, day-hiker Brian Tenney 
of Erie, Pennsylvania, found some of the notes and directed rangers to 
the area. The Eddy County Sheriff's Office assisted with ground 
searchers and an airplane. E.S. was found in an area approximately 
two miles away from her notes - in the opposite direction from that 
indicated in her notes - by the crew of the aircraft.  E.S. was 
found within four-and-a-half hours of the initial notice and was in 
good condition. She was rehydrated by IV and oral fluids and walked 
out on her own. The incident has received local media attention due to 
similarities between this incident and the David Coughlin murder that 
occurred along the same trail in 1999.  [Mark Maciha, CR, CAVE, 5/9]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

The number of NPS fire hires continues to rise.  Yesterday's tally:  
Temporary positions - 739 total, 390 hired to date; career/seasonal 
positions - 235 total, 181 hired to date; permanent positions - 416 
total, 232 hired to date. That's a total of 803 people hired for 1,390 
total positions (58%).

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1. New large fires were reported in northern 
California, Florida and Pennsylvania.  Initial attack activity was 
moderate in the South and light elsewhere.  Increased humidity will 
assist in moderating fire activity in Florida.  Isolated thunderstorms 
may produce some initial attack activity in New Mexico and Arizona.  
Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Florida, Arizona, 
New Mexico, Texas, and Connecticut.

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for low relative humidity in most 
of western and central Florida.

The full NICC Incident Management Situation Report can be found at 
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf

National Resource Status

Date                    5/6     5/7     5/8     5/9     5/10

Crews                   9       18      23      24      23
Engines                 29      24      63      50      58
Helicopters             7       9       12      12      12
Air Tankers             0       0       0       0       0
Overhead                43      63      131     105     112

Park Fires

Everglades NP (FL) - The Lopez Fire (4,000 acres) started outside the 
park on Tuesday and quickly spread into the Everglades on strong 
northeasterly winds. The cause of the fire is unknown, but it's 
suspected to have been human-caused. Park, Metro-Dade and Florida 
Division of Forestry engines, two helicopters and a single-engine air 
tanker were committed to the fire. Park personnel and engines focused 
their efforts along Context Road, which runs along the head of the 
fire, in order to prevent its spread. An extensive firing operation 
was conducted through the night. Efforts are continuing to prevent the 
fire from spreading into the habitat of the endangered Cape Sable 
seaside sparrow. The fire has been 35% contained; full containment is 
expected by May 13th. 

Big Cypress NP (FL) - The human-caused Burns Fire (2,600 acres) is 60% 
contained. The fire is being monitored by aircraft.  Conditions 
continue to be extremely dry.

Badlands NP (SD) - The first phase of the Roadside Rx Fire (303 acres) 
was completed on May 8th. The park is awaiting another prescription 
window to continue the project, which has received an exemption from 
the current burn ban.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Wind Cave
Very High       Badlands, Everglades
High            Joshua Tree, Hawaii Volcanoes

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO; NICC Incident Management 
Situation Report, 5/10; NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/9]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Yosemite NP (CA) - DNA Identification of Problem Bears

In the wee hours of March 27th, ranger Kevin Harrison was conducting a 
midnight patrol of Yosemite Valley and came upon a vehicle whose 
window had been bent down by a black bear in search of a 
post-hibernation meal. No early season bear sightings had been 
reported, and no bears were seen in the area of the vehicle break-in, 
leaving a veil of  mystery around the incident. The bear, however, had 
left behind valuable clues to its identity which wildlife biologists 
hope to use to discern which bear is causing vehicle damage in 
Yosemite Valley. Later that morning, wildlife biologist Kate McCurdy 
was able to collect a tuft of hair left behind as the animal entered 
and exited the small sedan's broken window. The hair sample was 
shipped to the National Fish and Wildlife Service's Forensics 
Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, where serologists will extract DNA from 
the hair follicles and create a DNA map of the animal. Since 1991, 
Yosemite wildlife managers have sent hundreds of blood and tissue 
samples to the forensics lab to establish a DNA database of park 
bears. If the bear in question has been captured and marked over the 
past ten years, its DNA has been catalogued and its identity will soon 
be revealed. Wildlife biologists will use this information to make a 
management recommendation regarding the animal in question. No food 
was present in the vehicle, indicating a level of habituation and a 
tendency to cause property damage that may not be reversible. 
Extensive damage was caused to the vehicle, including a doubled-over 
window frame, a chewed headrest, and a trunk that the animal accessed 
by tearing  out the back seat. Since that break-in, an average of only 
two cars per week have been broken into by bears, a vast decrease from 
the levels of bear-inflicted property damage normally committed by 
black bears during spring months in Yosemite. This improvement in the 
black bear-human situation is being attributed to an extensive visitor 
education campaign, an increase in law enforcement patrols to reduce 
human  food sources,  evening trash collection, the removal of 
food-conditioned bears, and intensive efforts to haze bears from 
developed areas. Since 1998, when these protective measures were 
begun, the park has seen the number of reported bear incidents 
decrease by 59% and the amount of damage drop by 81%. While some bears 
still occasionally break into vehicles,  it is becoming a rare event, 
and no new bears are become food conditioned since an interdivisional 
black bear management program was enacted in 1998. [Kate McCurdy, 
Wildlife Biologist, YOSE]

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

Gettysburg NMP (PA) - Distance Learning Event

The Pennsylvania Cable Network, and the nation's largest public 
broadcasting stations in Los Angeles and New York City will be 
carrying Gettysburg National Military Park's May 9th
educational broadcast - "Gettysburg: The Face of Battle" - live on 
television. The broadcast will explore battle as experienced by the 
common soldier in the Civil War, his motivations for being a soldier, 
his physical and emotional experiences during the battle, and his 
perspective on its consequences once the battle was over. Through this 
distance learning project, the National Park Service offers teachers 
the opportunity to bring their students to Gettysburg without leaving 
the classroom.  Featured in the one-hour broadcast are two eighth 
grade school groups that will participate in a special program on 
Picket's Charge, the last Confederate gamble at Gettysburg. There will 
also be an opportunity for students to submit questions about the 
battle and personalities involved in the campaign via the world-wide 
web or by calling 1-800-527-4893 during the broadcast.  The web site 
(http://www.nps/gov/gett) features pre-broadcast activities for 
teachers and students prior to May 9th and information about how to 
receive the broadcast via satellite. "Gettysburg: The Face of Battle" 
will be broadcast twice on May 9th - once at 10 a.m. and once at 1 
p.m.  Pennsylvania Cable Network is carrying the 10 a.m. program. 
Gettysburg National Military Park received a Telly award for 
excellence in children's programming for last year's program, which 
reached 498,000 students across 31 states. [Katie Lawhon, PIO, GETT]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Official NPS Business Cards - One of the first things to come from the 
NPS "Messaging Project" and the resulting development of Servicewide 
design standards is the official National Park Service business card.  
For the first time, all NPS employees will be provided with business 
cards combining quality in design and consistency in appearance. Like 
our uniform, these cards will clearly identify the holder as an 
official NPS representative. We know that NPS employees are anxious to 
receive these cards and begin participating in the Message Project.  
The card design was finalized several months ago, but production and 
distribution have proven troublesome. We are bound along with all 
federal agencies by the terms of a governmentwide contract for 
acquisition of business cards from the Lighthouse for the Blind in 
Seattle.  Unfortunately, Lighthouse for the Blind has been unable to 
meet our needs in a timely manner.  On Monday, May 7th, a conversation 
was held by principals at Harpers Ferry Center, the Department's 
Office of Acquisition and Property Management and the Customer Service 
Department for Lighthouse for the Blind. Lighthouse has since taken 
positive steps to resolve the problem, including assignment of a 
troubleshooter to HFC to ensure the program gets back on track.  HFC 
is working closely with DOI to ensure we have the best contractor for 
this task.  Your patience during this process is greatly appreciated. 
Be assured that the NPS business card issue has HFC's highest priority 
status. (Gary Cummins, Manager, HFC]

FILM AT 11...

Today's edition of the Washington Post has an article by Eric Pianin 
entitled "New U.S. Park Expansions Shelved: Interior Aims to Clear 
$4.9 Billion Backlog." The theme of the article is stated in the first 
paragraph: "The Bush administration has declared a moratorium on new 
proposals for expanding the national park system, a budgetary move 
that has triggered conflict on Capitol Hill and complicated Republican 
efforts to designate Ronald Reagan's boyhood home a historic site." 
You can read the article today on the paper's web site:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6488-2001May9.html
[Dave Barna, WASO]

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       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       Hot Links - Web addresses for NPS-related sites.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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