NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, June 19, 2001





                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Tuesday, June 19, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-283 - Lake Meredith NRA (TX) - Serious Employee Injury

Chief of maintenance L.P. and his wife S.P. were returning 
from Amarillo on the afternoon of Saturday, June 16th, when a Jeep 
traveling in the opposite direction crossed the road and hit their own 
Jeep head-on. S.P. suffered a concussion and numerous abrasions, 
cuts and contusions. She was airlifted to a hospital along with the 
other driver, who suffered serious leg injuries.  L.P.'s left foot 
was severely damaged and he was trapped for almost an hour in their 
overturned Jeep. He underwent surgery late on Saturday night and will 
have to endure additional operations and a long recovery due to his 
shattered heel. Both will soon be released from the hospital.  L.P. 
and S.P. said that their seatbelts saved their lives, not their 
Jeep's airbags. Both Jeeps were totally destroyed, as were the 
Pingree's two Harley-Davidson motorcycles, which they were towing on a 
trailer. The accident occurred because the driver of the other Jeep 
was reaching for something on the vehicle's floor and lost control. 
Get well wishes may be sent to  L.P. and S.P. [John Benjamin,
Superintendent, LAMR, 6/18]

                   [Additional reports pending....]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level II

Six new large fires were reported in Florida yesterday; three were 
contained. Initial attack was moderate in northern California and the 
South and light elsewhere. Very high to extreme fire indices were 
reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, 
Utah and Wyoming.  

No fire watches or warnings have been issued for today.

The full NICC situation report for today can be found at 
http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Fri     Sat     Sun     Mon     Tue
Date                    6/15    6/16    6/17    6/18    6/19
        
Crews                   46      77      99      114     137
Engines                 84      130     125     246     305
Helicopters             14      21      30      49      52
Air Tankers             2       5       3       1       5
Overhead                339     367     420     425     509

Park Fire Situation

Mesa Verde NP (CO) - The Alpine IHC (interagency hotshot crew) is 
staged at the park.

Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP (CA) - The Arrowhead IHC has been committed to 
the Hemlock Fire (1,074 acres, 75% contained, 795 FF/OH), which is 
burning in Bautista Canyon in San Bernadino NF.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         Great Basin NP, Hawaii Volcanoes NP, Grand Canyon NP
Very High       Zion NP, Crater Lake NP, Everglades NP
High            Joshua Tree NP, Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 6/18; NICC Incident Management 
Situation Report, 6/19]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Agate Fossil Beds NM (NE) - The park is seeking applicants for a 
permanent GS-025-5/7/9 park ranger position with both law enforcement 
and lead interpretation duties. This is a 6(c) designated position. In 
addition to its fossil emphasis, Agate Fossil Beds also features a 
collection of American Indian artifacts and 3,000 acres of short grass 
prairie. This position is currently listed as a merit promotion 
announcement on USA Jobs and will be open to all sources within two to 
three weeks. [AGFO]

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during 
coming weeks on matters pertaining to the National Park Service or 
kindred agencies.  

For inquiries regarding legislation pertaining to the NPS, please 
contact the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at 
202-208-5883/5656 and ask to be forwarded to the appropriate 
legislative specialist. For additional information on specific bills 
(full text, status, etc.), please check Congress's web site at 
http://thomas.loc.gov/.

HEARINGS/MARK-UPS

Tuesday, June 19th

House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public 
Lands (Hefley): The subcommittee will hold a markup on the following 
bill prior to the hearing noted below:

o       H.R. 1668 (Roemer, IN), a bill to authorize the Adams Memorial 
        Foundation to establish a commemorative work on federal land 
        in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor former 
        President John Adams and his family.

House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public 
Lands (Hefley): 
Hearing on:

o       H.R. 1462 (Hefley, CO), a bill to require the Secretary of the 
        Interior to establish a program to provide assistance through 
        states to eligible weed management entities to control or 
        eradicate harmful, nonnative weeds on public and private land. 

The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in 1334 Longworth.

Wednesday, June 20th

House Resources Committee (Hansen): Hearing on: 

o       H.R. 701, Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 2001 (CARA)

o       H.R. 1592 (Thornberry, TX), a bill to amend the Land and Water 
        Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to provide greater protection of 
        private property rights.

The hearing will be at 10 a.m. in 1334 Longworth.

LEGISLATION INTRODUCED

The following bills either directly or indirectly pertaining to the 
NPS have been introduced since the last Morning Report listing of new 
legislation (June 12th): 

o       S. 1011 (Graham, FL), a bill to provide the financial 
        mechanisms, resource protections, and professional skills 
        necessary for high quality stewardship of the National Park 
        System and to recognize the importance of high quality outdoor 
        recreational opportunities on federally managed land.

o       S. 1051 (Warner, VA), a bill to expand the boundary of the 
        Booker T. Washington National Monument, and for other 
        purposes.

o       S. 1057 (Akaka, HI), a bill to authorize the addition of lands 
        to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park in the State 
        of Hawaii, and for other purposes.

NEW LAWS

The following bills have passed Congress and been signed into law by 
the President: 

No new laws.

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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