NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, May 11, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-199 - Independence NHP (PA) - Assault on Ranger

During the early morning hours of May 6th, bar patrons celebrating 
Cinco de Mayo spilled over into the Welcome Park area of Independence 
NHP. A ranger contacted a man who was standing in the middle of the 
street yelling obscenities at a passing car. At the same time, the 
manager of a parking garage located on park property contacted the 
ranger, pointing to a vehicle that just left the garage without paying 
exit fees. The ranger attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver 
ignored his request and accelerated. The ranger was struck in the 
right hand by the vehicle while trying to get out of its way.  When he 
then returned to the man still in the street, the man grabbed and tore 
his shirt. Rangers arrested the man, who was identified as one of the 
passengers from the fleeing vehicle. The ranger suffered bone 
contusions to the right hand as a result of being struck by the 
vehicle. Philadelphia PD, in conjunction with the National Park 
Service, is seeking charges against both the vehicle driver and 
passenger for aggravated assault against a police officer. [Mike 
Williams, LES, INDE, 5/9]

01-200 - Edgar Alan Poe NHS (PA) - Gang Shooting

A turf battle between rival gangs during the night of May 4th resulted 
in a shooting near the park. One gang member was shot across the 
street from the Poe house and two .40 caliber rounds struck the house 
itself. The man who was shot is in critical condition and not expected 
to survive. Philadelphia police are investigating. [Mike Williams, 
LES, INDE, 5/9]

01-201 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Special Event

The park and Bear Creek Council, a local conservation group, hosted 
the semi-annual community potluck to welcome the park's affiliated 
tribes in late April. Levi Holt of the Nez Perce Tribe reported on the 
gray wolf reintroduction project in Idaho, detailing successes and 
struggles and adding that the project is doing better than expected. 
Kerry Murphy, a wolf project biologist for the NPS, reported on the 
continuing successful wolf reintroduction program at Yellowstone. 
Tribal representatives then told ancestral wolf stories and talked 
about the relationship between Native Americans and wolves and other 
wildlife. Community members contributed their own stories about 
encounters with wolves in Yellowstone. This cultural and social event 
has proven to be an effective way to bring folks together to better 
understand each other and improve their ability to work together. 
[John Uhler, Web Coordinator, YELL, 4/24]

01-202 - Knife River Indian Villages NHS (ND) - Special Event

On April 8th, the park held a celebration to mark the opening of its 
reconstructed earth lodge for the season and to commemorate the 
departure of the Lewis and Clark expedition from its winter camp at 
Fort Mandan. The afternoon event included a presentation by the 
director of the Three Tribes Museum, a portrayal of Sakakawea and two 
village women by three high school students from the Three Affiliated 
Tribes (Hidatsa, Mandan and Arikara), and a discussion of trade at 
Knife River. The day ended with a traditional blessing by a tribal 
elder, who told park staff that "you are the caretakers of my 
ancestors' homes." The celebration was part of a two-day event held in 
cooperation with the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Washburn, 
North Dakota, and the Corps of Engineers. On April 7th, the staff from 
the center joined the NPS in hosting a reenactment of the departure of 
Lewis and Clark's "Corps of Discovery" from Fort Mandan. The park is 
located along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The trail's 
new superintendent is Gerard Baker, a member of the Three Affiliated 
Tribes. He will be heading up the major "Corps of Discovery II" event 
during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, which runs from 2003 to 2006. 
[Lisa Eckert, KNRI, 5/2]

                   [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.

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 1

New large fires were reported yesterday in California, Arizona, 
Florida, and New York. Initial attack increased in the Southwest and 
in northern California. Prescribed fire projects were also on the 
rise. Isolated thunderstorms will continue in the Southwest today, 
which may increase initial attack activity. High pressure dominating 
northern California will cause the fire danger to remain high. Very 
high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, New Mexico, 
Texas, Michigan, and Florida.

A FIRE WEATHER WATCH has been posted for low relative humidity in most 
of northern 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                    5/7     5/8     5/9     5/10    5/11

Crews                   18      23      24      23      67
Engines                 24      63      50      58      101
Helicopters             9       12      12      12      23
Air Tankers             0       0       0       0       6
Overhead                63      131     105     112     204

Park Fires

Everglades NP (FL) - The Lopez Fire (8,000 acres, up from 4,000 
yesterday) has been 35% contained. Full containment is expected on May 
15th. Summary: 

The fire began on May 8th on land adjacent to the park near Homestead 
General Airport. The fire appears to have been human-caused and is 
under investigation by the National Park Service and the Florida 
Division of Forestry. Driven by winds from the northeast, the fire 
quickly grew in size and expanded into the park. It is currently 
burning in an area of open sawgrass prairie and is approximately 8,000 
acres in size. It is located north of the Main Park Road. Firefighters 
are working to minimize the fire's impact on nesting areas of the 
endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow, other natural resources, such 
as hardwood hammocks, and park facilities. Helicopters and an air 
tanker have been dropping water on the fire to control its advance to 
the south and west. Ground crews have been working to hold the 
southern flank of the fire along Context Road, which is six to eight 
miles north of the main park entrance. Approximately 65 people are now 
assigned to the fire suppression effort. They include firefighters and 
support personnel from Everglades, Biscayne NP, Big Cypress NP, 
Florida Division of Forestry, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. An 18-person 
U.S. Forest Service hot shot crew has arrived from New Mexico. 
Visitors will see smoke to the north and west while driving along the 
main park road. Aircraft operations may be seen from some locations. 
At present, all normal visitor activities are unaffected by the fire.

Big Cypress NP (FL) - The human-caused Burns Fire (2,600 acres) has 
been 100% contained.

Guadalupe Mountains NP (TX) - The Shumard Fire is in a remote area on 
the west side of the Guadalupes. It will likely be contained by 
natural barriers at less than an acre unless high winds develop. They 
are not forecast for the area.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Wind Cave
Very High       Badlands, Everglades
High            Joshua Tree, Carlsbad Caverns, Guadalupe Mountain

[Mike Warren, NPS FMPC, 5/10; Deb Nordeen, PIO, EVER, 5/10; NICC 
Incident Management Situation Report, 5/11; NPS Situation Summary 
Report, 5/10]

CULTURAL/NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Big Bend NP (TX) - Alamosaurus Dinosaur Fossils 

On May 7th, seven fossilized vertebrae of the dinosaur alamosaurus 
were successfully airlifted from an excavation site in Tornillo Flat 
and transported three miles to a flatbed truck. Researchers from the 
University of Texas at Dallas and the Dallas Museum of Natural History 
discovered the 27-foot long section of neck bones eroding out a 
hillside several years ago and requested permission to excavate and 
collect them. Alamosaurus is notable for being the only member of the 
sauropod family (long-necked plant-eaters) in North America in the 
Late Cretaceous time period (just before all dinosaurs went extinct), 
and the specimen is the best-preserved, most complete section of neck 
bones ever found for this species. The park prepared an environmental 
assessment on this project last November because of the size of the 
excavation and the fossil's location in a wilderness area. A 
helicopter was determined to be the minimum wilderness tool for this 
project, and Bell Helicopter of Hurst, Texas, volunteered its services 
for the airlift. A Bell 205B (essentially a Huey with a souped-up 
1800-horsepower engine) made ten trips with sling loads to move the 
fossil packages out of the wilderness. Bell ground crews guided the 
fossils onto a waiting flatbed truck, while a small crowd of reporters 
and museum and university staff looked on. The larger fossil bones are 
estimated to weigh more than a thousand pounds apiece. The fossils 
were trucked to the Dallas Museum of Natural History for cleaning, 
preparation, study, curation, and possible display, a process expected 
to take several years and to cost the museum $100,000. The researchers 
have procured a donor who is willing to provide funding for replicas 
of the gigantic bones for donation to the park at a cost of about 
$15,000. The park is considering how best to develop display space for 
this impressive specimen. Cary Brown was IC for the operation, and 
staff from all park divisions assisted with the incident.  [Don 
Corrick, Archeology Technician, BIBE]

INTERPRETATION AND VISITOR SERVICES

Glacier NP (MT) - Electronic Field Trips

On Wednesday and Thursday, Glacier National Park, School District 5 of 
Kalispell, Montana, and the Information and Technology Resource Center 
of the University of Montana teamed up to host another live electronic 
field trip of the park. Students from around the country learned about 
Glacier NP "live" over the Internet. Pre-recorded slide presentations 
permitted students and teachers flexibility in fitting the virtual 
field trip into their schedules.  A live question and answer session 
and chat rooms provided a direct link to park subject matter experts 
during this annual event. This website-based tour uses 'RealAudio' and 
the Internet to connect students "live" with park and local subject 
matter experts. Students submitted questions to presenters by using a 
toll free phone number or email. Speakers were also available via 
special chat rooms for an hour after the questions and answers 
session. This is the fourth year that the electronic field trip has 
been offered. Among the presentations: FMO Fred Vanhorn explained the 
role of fire in the natural landscape; USGS scientists Dan Fagre and 
Katherine Kendall guided students through their research projects on 
global climate change and grizzly bears; naturalist Susan Sindt 
explored the awakening of the park with the coming of spring. Previous 
electronic field trips have included individuals and classrooms from 
as far away as the Florida Keys and as near as local students in 
Columbia Falls and Kalispell. A number of home-schooled children also 
joined in. [Public Affairs, GLAC]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Saguaro NP superintendent Frank Walker has been 
named acting superintendent of Yellowstone, effective June 3rd. 
Current superintendent Mike Finley retires the day before. Walker 
began his career in the NPS as a seasonal ranger at Yellowstone in 
1967. He received his first permanent position in 1970, serving as a 
park technician at White Sands NM, then worked as an urban intake 
ranger at Jefferson NEM in 1972 and 1973 and as a park ranger at Gulf 
Islands NS from 1973 to 1977. He returned to Yellowstone in 1977, 
where he worked as the district naturalist until 1980.  From 1980 to 
1985, Walker served as the chief of interpretation at Carlsbad Caverns 
NP. In 1985, he was named to his first superintendency at Fort Clatsop 
NM, a position he held until 1990.  From 1990 to 1998, he served as 
superintendent at Nez Perce NHP. In 1998, Walker was named 
superintendent at Saguaro. [Public Affairs, YELL]

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       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       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.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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