NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, May 21, 2001

INCIDENTS

No incident reports today.

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

Initial attack was moderate in the South on Sunday and light 
elsewhere. Two new fires were reported - one in Florida, the other in 
Oregon. High pressure over the Gulf of Mexico will bring an increase 
in relative humidity and a south wind to Florida and southern Georgia. 
High pressure will build over New Mexico and Arizona, bringing mostly 
sunny skies in all areas except southern New Mexico. Very high to 
extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

NICC has not posted any watches or warnings for today.

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

National Resource Status

Date                    5/17    5/18    5/19    5/20    5/21

Crews                   36      29      23      13      12
Engines                 84      101     84      39      36
Helicopters             22      19      17      18      12
Air Tankers             0       0       0       0       0
Overhead                287     294     234     108     107

Park Fire Situation

Big Cypress NP (FL) - There's no new information on the Bear Island 
Fire (22,500 acres, 75 FF/OH, five engines, one helicopter) on either 
NICC or NPS reports.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         N/A
Very High       Everglades, Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend
High            Grand Canyon, Hawaii Volcanoes, Guadalupe Mountains

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/21; NPS Situation 
Summary Report, 5/20]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Risk Management Program Update - Recent developments include the 
following:

o       Park Assistance Contract - The parks selected to participate 
        in the 2001 contract assistance program have begun meeting 
        with their selected contractors. These sessions include 
        employee interviews, on-site safety program assessments, 
        training for managers, supervisors and all employees, and 
        assistance in developing site-specific occupational safety and 
        health programs.

o       Worker's Compensation (OWCP) - Two new booklets have been 
        produced to answer OWCP questions.  The first, "Workers'       
        Compensation and the NPS Supervisor," is a tri-fold brochure 
        that summarizes the responsibilities of all those involved in 
        the OWCP process, including the employee, the supervisor, and 
        the OWCP coordinator. The second, entitled "Employee 
        Injuries/Illnesses Rights and Responsibilities," is a handbook 
        for employees who have filed claims for Federal worker's 
        compensation benefits and a tool for agency personnel to 
        ensure that all injured employees receive their benefits in a 
        timely manner. Both documents are available on the Risk 
        Management Division web page at www.nps.gov/riskmgmt, under 
        the OWCP link. This is the third year of a contract to 
        investigate possible fraud and abuse of OWCP benefits.  Since 
        its inception, the NPS has saved over $2,888,982 in workers ' 
        compensation benefits through this contract. These savings are 
        based on current monetary compensation benefits to the injured 
        employee on a monthly basis, with a lifetime expectancy of age 
        72.

o       Public Safety Initiative - DO-50C on the public risk 
        management program is out for a 60-day review through the 
        Policy Office. Comments are due back to program manager Dick 
        Powell by June 20th. A public safety workgroup will meet in 
        Denver in June to prepare the associated reference manual.

o       Safety Management Information System (SMIS) - A new, condensed 
        version of SMIS, the DOI computer system for reporting 
        employee accidents, illnesses, property damage, and related 
        information, is now available. It includes new additions to 
        the system and can be obtained from Mary Davis, WASO Risk 
        Management Division, at 202-208-6241.

o       National Risk Management Awards - The NPS has presented two 
        national safety award. The Andrew Clark Hecht Memorial Public 
        Safety Achievement Award went to Lake Meredith NRA, as 
        partners with Texas Parks and Wildlife and Coast Guard 
        Auxiliary Flotilla 52. The park was commended for going 1,260 
        days without a fatality. The citation includes this passage: 
        "In a collaborative effort, these groups have been successful, 
        not only in changing the way visitor recreate, but by helping 
        visitors realize that safety maximizes their enjoyment and 
        diminishes potential threats of tragedy." The park received a 
        monetary award of $1,000 and a plaque from the Hecht 
        Foundation. The Director's Employee Safety Achievement Award 
        went to Lincoln Home NHS ranger Jeffrey M. Budney. Budney was 
        selected because of his exceptional achievement in support and 
        implementation of plans and programs to revitalize the park's 
        safety program. He was responsible for moving park safety 
        projects forward, developing an inspection checklist for 
        offices and public use buildings, and taking the lead in 
        developing training materials for the implementation of new 
        OSHA forklift requirements. He received a $1,000 monetary 
        award and a plaque.

[Dick Powell, Shirley Rowley, RMD/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       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.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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