NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Saturday, June 9, 2001

                            *** NOTICE ***

There were no Morning Reports on either Thursday or Friday due to a 
minor technical problem at this end, now resolved.

INCIDENTS

01-255 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Death of Employee

Mule wrangler Doug Isaia, 63, was found unresponsive in his bunk at 
the wrangler bunkhouse at Phantom Ranch at 4:45 a.m. on June 7th. 
Rangers Bryan Wisher and KJ Glover responded and determined that he 
was dead. Isaia had apparently passed away in his sleep. Investigation 
revealed no indications of foul play. His body was flown out of the 
canyon and taken to the county medical examiner's office for a 
determination of cause of death. [Mark Law, DR, Canyon District, GRCA, 
6/8]

01-256 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Rescue

Late in the evening on June 1st, two climbers came to the Yosemite 
Valley SAR cache and reported that their partner, T.C. of 
Colorado, was injured at the top of the thirteenth pitch on the 
Lurking Fear route on El Capitan. They said that he had taken a 20 to 
30 foot fall the previous day and had injured his ribs. That night, 
Yosemite Valley rangers made voice contact with T.C. and his 
remaining partner and confirmed their location and that they in fact 
needed to be rescued. On the morning of June 2nd, an eleven-person 
team was flown to the top of El Capitan by helicopter. They 
established a series of fixed ropes a thousand feet down the face to 
Thanksgiving Ledge. From there, two rescuers were lowered to the 
injured party's position. After a radio call-in to medical control, 
the go-ahead was given for the injured climber and his partner to 
ascend the ropes under their own power. All personnel were flown off 
of El Capitan before dark. [Steve Yu, Operation Chief, YOSE, 6/6]

01-257 - Grand Canyon NP - Rescue; Heat Stroke Victim

On the afternoon of Friday, June 1st, a 911 call came in to park 
dispatch reporting that a woman had collapsed on the South Kaibab 
trail just above Phantom Ranch. The woman had been left there for 
about an hour while members of her family quickly hiked to Phantom to 
get help. Ranger Ivan Kassovic organized a rescue and mobilized a 
litter team from the Phantom area while ranger Peggy Kolar responded 
and began treating the unresponsive woman. Within an hour, she had 
been taken to the Colorado River and cooled, bringing her dangerously 
high core temperature down by several degrees. She was then flown out 
of the canyon via park helicopter and transferred to an air ambulance 
for transport to Flagstaff Medical Center. She was released the next 
morning with no apparent after-effects. [Rosie Peragine, IC, GRCA, 
6/5]

01-258 - Yellowstone NP (WY) - Sewage Spill

On June 5th, park staff discovered a broken sewage line serving the 
Lake government housing area. Approximately 10,000 gallons of raw 
sewage had soaked into the ground, then came to the surface and 
emptied into a ditch that flows into a spawning stream. Some of the 
liquid may have reached the spawning stream near Yellowstone Lake 
before the sewage line could be shut down. The break was discovered on 
a routine check of the Lake Lodge lift station. The line was found to 
be blocked, and the cracked pipe was discovered after it was cleared. 
The pipe, placed in the late 1960s or early 1970s, can be susceptible 
to breakage when settling or shifting occurs, which apparently 
happened in this instance. Park staff have replaced the damaged pipe 
with new pipe that can more appropriately handle and adjust to 
shifting and settling. The area has been cleaned up. No visitor 
services were affected by the breakage. The incident has been reported 
to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. [PIO, YELL, 6/6]

01-259 - Mojave NP (CA) - Body Found

A foreman for the Union Pacific Railroad found a body under a railroad 
bridge east of Kelso on the morning of June 4th. The victim had been 
there for several days. The initial suspicion was that he had fallen 
off a passing freight train, but a truck was later found stuck in a 
sandy wash about a third of a mile away by a county sheriff's office 
helicopter. At the time of the report, investigators had not 
positively linked the two, nor had they identified the victim. An 
autopsy will be conducted to determine if he died from natural causes 
or from foul play. [Tim Duncan, PR, MOJA, 6/5]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Plan

Hiring continues for NPS fire positions. Here's the tally as of 
Thursday: Temporary positions - 739 total, 415 hired to date; 
career/seasonal positions - 235 total, 197 hired to date; permanent 
positions - 416 total, 255 hired to date. That works out to a total of 
867 people hired for 1,390 total positions (62%). Overall, the 
Department of Interior fire management agencies have hired 6,168 
people for 8,365 fire positions (74%).

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level II

One new large fire was reported in Florida on Thursday; another three 
fires in that state were contained. Initial attack was light 
throughout the United States. Very high to extreme fire indices were 
reported in California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and 
Colorado. 

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

Date                    6/4     6/5     6/6     6/7     6/8

Crews                   145     123     93      74      26
Engines                 253     298     219     183     143
Helicopters             35      28      23      17      16
Air Tankers             2       1       1       1       1
Overhead                550     624     548     477     282

Park Fire Situation

Everglades NP (FL) - The park began the first phase of the Pinelands 
burn on June 7th and successfully burned 1,050 acres. Plans were to 
burn another 1,000 acres on the 8th if the weather cooperated.

Yellowstone NP (WY) - The Frog Rock Fire was started during blasting 
training on Thursday. It was controlled at a tenth of an acre within 
an hour.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         N/A
Very High       Mojave NP, Carlsbad Cavern NP, Guadalupe Mountains NP
High            Crater Lake NP, Big Bend NP, Hawaii Volcanoes NP

[Debee Schwarz, NPS Fire Information, WASO; NPS Situation Summary 
Report, 6/8; NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/7 and 6/8 - 
the full report can be found at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf] 

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Significant Court Decision - In 1995, Isle Royale NP began a 
multi-year effort to develop a new GMP. The GMP and accompanying FEIS 
were approved through a record of decision signed in May, 1998. In 
August, 1998, an organization called the Isle Royale Boaters' 
Association filed suit against the Secretary of the Interior in 
federal court seeking to overturn the GMP/FEIS. The association's 
seven count complaint charged that the GMP/FEIS violated the 
Root-Bryce Treaty of 1909 and numerous federal laws, including the 
Wilderness Act, the Isle Royale Wilderness Act, the NPS Organic Act, 
the Isle Royale National Park Organic Act, the Administrative 
Procedures Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 
Rehabilitation Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. In a 
decision issued on June 6th, the U.S. District Court for the Western 
District of Michigan (Northern Division) granted summary judgement to 
the United States. The court's 61-page opinion (Case # 2:99-CV-152) 
rejected each and every one of the Isle Royale Boaters' Association's 
legal challenges. Steve Hoffman from the Solicitor's Office in Denver 
and Glenda G. Gordon, assistant U.S. attorney in Marquette, Michigan, 
worked tirelessly to successfully represent the government in this 
important case. A copy of the court's decision can be viewed on the 
Internet at www.miwd.uscourts.gov. Click on "High Profile Cases" to 
access the case decision. [Pete Armington, ISRO]

Message Project Update (Second Notice) - Several recent additions have 
been made to the NPS graphic identity program website 
(www.graphics.nps.gov). The site now includes downloadable templates 
for three office forms: telefax cover sheets, transmittal forms and 
news releases. The forms are available for both PC and Mac computer 
platforms in a number of software programs.  Additional print 
publication templates will follow. The graphic identity program 
website now also provides two ways to obtain official NPS business 
cards.

Cards may be ordered from the Lighthouse for the Blind in Seattle, 
Washington, by downloading the form provided on the website and faxing 
or mailing the completed form to 206-322-4419 or 206-322-9180. If you 
can't download the form, call 800-799-0402 and a customer service 
representative will fax you one. Regulations allow the use of 
appropriated funds to purchase business cards providing that 
supervisory approval has been granted.  The standard business card 
costs are: $30 for 250, $36 for 500, and $45 for 1000. The Lighthouse 
for the Blind will accept your purchase card, a purchase order, check 
or money order as payment. Delivery time is expected to be ten days 
from receipt of the order to delivery.

For those not wishing to order preprinted cards, the graphic identity 
program website provides an alternate template that may be downloaded 
and printed internally. (The card available from the Lighthouse cannot 
be printed internally because desktop equipment cannot print to the 
edge of the paper as the card design requires.)  Government equipment 
and materials may be used for internal printing.  However, according 
to established DOI policy, neither the alternate card nor any other 
card may be printed by other vendors using appropriated funds.  

As the NPS graphics identity continues to grow, additional 
announcements will be posted on the Morning Report. [Gary Cummins, 
Site Manager, HFC]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Fort Smith NHS (AR) - The park will be advertising for a GS-025-11 
chief of interpretation and resource management in early July. Law 
enforcement certification is not necessary. The applicant should have 
a love and appreciation of Native American, old west, and military 
history. The park has an active living history and black powder 
program and a popular curriculum-based school program. There's a 
strong emphasis on historical research and information dissemination 
and on use of the Internet. The park has just completed a $7.5 million 
renovation, including all new exhibits, videos, bookstore, offices, 
park library and the visitor center and grounds of the old fort. 
Visitation will likely be at or near 100,000 this year. The park may 
acquire an historic railroad station in 2002 and develop a discovery 
center over the next few years. The park is in Fort Smith and has all 
amenities. The cost of living is moderate; recreational opportunities 
abound. For more information, check the park's web site at 
www.nps.gov/fosm and the links to the chamber of commerce and area 
attractions. If you would like to talk with the rangers, you can call 
Tom, Eric or Julie at 501-783-3961 or the superintendent or any of the 
staff at the same number. [Interpretation, FOSM]

Appalachian NST (ME-GA) - The park is advertising for a full-time 
permanent GS-0303-6/07 administrative technician. The position is 
located at the Appalachian National Scenic Trail Park Office in 
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The announcement (NPSWASO-01-052) closes 
on June 14th. Applications are being accepted from current federal 
employees serving under career or career-conditional appointments, 
former Federal employees with reinstatement eligibility, or persons 
eligible for non-competitive appointment under special authorities. 
For a copy of the announcement, check USA Jobs or call 202-208-5574. 
[Dawn Weigel, ANST]

Big Thicket NP (TX) - The park is recruiting qualified applicants for 
a lateral reassignment as a GS-9 resource protection ranger. The 
position will be located in the Kountze field office. Duties include 
road, boat and foot patrols, hunting/poaching patrols, monitoring oil 
and gas activities, fire and resource management. The area offers a 
diversified work experience. The position requires a Level I law 
enforcement commission. Experience in boat operations is essential. 
Big Thicket is located 90 minutes from Houston and an hour from the 
Gulf Coast. Park housing is not available. For further information, 
contact personnel officer Nellie Martinez at 409-839-2689 ext 240 or 
Chuck Boettcher at 409-283-5824. Interested applicants should send an 
application with references by mail to Big Thicket National Preserve, 
3785 Milam, Beaumont, Texas  77701, ATTN: Nellie Martinez. 
Applications should be sent no later than June 22nd. [Chuck Boettcher, 
BITH]

HOT LINKS

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) web page which provide the latest and 
historical rates of return for the plan has been redesigned. The 
returns for the month of May are now posted on the site at 
http://www.fpmi.com/pr/TSPMonthly.html. In addition, you can check out 
the rates for the newest TSP funds, the small cap index fund and 
international stock index fund. There is also a link to this page from 
the FPMI home page at http://www.fpmi.com (look under 3News and Notes² 
on the right hand side of the FPMI page to quickly find this link). 
[FPMI Communications]

FOOTNOTE

Okay, so it wasn't really a technical problem. It had more to do with 
forgetfulness, i.e. going on travel and packing everything except for 
the little doohickey that connects the PC comm port to the phone line, 
therefore having to call home and have one's spouse FedEx it to you in 
Maryland (thanks, Cath)...

                            *  *  *  *  *

The Morning Report solicits entries from the field and central offices 
for its daily and weekly sections (below). The general rule is that 
submissions, whatever the category, should pertain to operations, be 
useful to the field, and have broad significance across the agency. 
Additional details on submission criteria are available from the 
editor at any time (Bill Halainen at NP-DEWA, or 
Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). Ask for either incident reporting criteria 
(issued by WASO, June 18, 2000) or general criteria. 

Daily and weekly sections are available for news or significant 
developments pertaining to:

Field incidents                 Interpretation and visitor services
Natural resource management     Cultural resource management
Operations (WASO only)          Memoranda (WASO only)
Requests/offers of assistance   Park-related web sites
Parks and employees             Media stories on parks
Training, meetings, and events  Queries on operational matters  
Reports on "lessons learned" 

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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