NPS Morning Report - Sunday, August 5, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Sunday, August 5, 2001

INCIDENTS

99-13 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Follow-up: Bear Poaching 

On January 18, 1999, the opening phase of Operation SOUP (Special 
Operation to Uncover Poaching), a three-year investigation into 
illegal hunting and commercial sale of black bear parts, came to a 
head with the arrest of 25 individuals who were charged with a total 
of 112 state violations. Over 100 rangers, officers and wardens made 
the arrests in a joint operation by the NPS and the Virginia 
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, with assistance provided by 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The initial phase of the 
investigation focused primarily on the sources of supply of bears and 
bear parts. Since then, this intensive, multi-agency investigation has 
been directed toward the end consumers and the international 
exportation of bear parts. During April and June of this year, federal 
grand jury indictments were obtained which charged ten Virginia and 
Maryland residents with 20 felony Lacey Act violations and included 
the seizure of three vehicles. The indicted have been involved in the 
international trade in black bear gallbladders, supplying customers 
with gallbladders with a total black market value of about $500,000. 
The investigation has also exposed what is now believed to be a 
rapidly expanding domestic market for bear parts and for other park 
flora and fauna, including threatened plant species. Valuable 
information has been gained on black market trends and networks and 
the types of organizational structures involved in these criminal 
enterprises. The serious decline of the Asian black bear population 
has led to the American black bear becoming a major target for 
commercial trade. It now appears that there is also significant black 
market trading in other flora and fauna. Future state and additional 
federal wildlife charges are anticipated. The results to date reflect 
a coordinated effort among investigators, rangers, game wardens, and 
representatives from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western 
District of Virginia, with assistance from the Maryland Department of 
Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and the FBI. 
[Ginny Rousseau, CR, SHEN, 8/2]

01-383 - Yukon-Charley Rivers NP (AK) - Follow-up: Aircraft Crash

Additional details have been received on the fatal July 25th crash of 
the RAF Jaguar jet fighter in the park. The pilot has been identified 
as 28-year-old flight lieutenant J.H. of the Royal Air Force. 
J.H. was participating in Cooperative Cope Thunder, an Alaska-wide 
multi-national military air exercise. He was reported overdue at 12:30 
p.m. on the 25th and the wreckage was located at 5 p.m. in a tributary 
of the Charley River. A British investigation team was dispatched to 
the site to determine the cause of the accident. Access to the area 
has been difficult due to poor weather and precipitous terrain. NPS 
personnel provided assistance to the RAF. The aircraft was totally 
destroyed in the impact and the explosion that likely followed. Only a 
few small pieces of the Jaguar were visible from the air. Cleanup 
operations are being conducted by USAF and RAF and will likely 
continue for several weeks. [Kevin Fox, Chief of Operations/Pilot, 
YUCH, 8/1]

01-416 - Padre Island NS (TX) - Coyote Fishing Conviction

R.W. and J.W., both 18 and from Corpus Christi, appeared 
in federal district court on July 13th and pled guilty to charges of 
attempting to take wildlife and possession of alcohol by a minor. On 
April 29th, rangers found the two men parked on the beach with fishing 
poles baited with deer meat. It was determined that they were fishing 
for coyotes - that is, waiting for a coyote to eat the bait, at which 
point they would reel the animal in as it fought to get away. R.W. 
was fined $550; J.W. was fined $750 and required to attend ten 
Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Both men were banned from the park for 
two years, prohibited from possessing Texas state hunting licenses for 
a year, and required to attend a hunter safety course. The fishing 
poles were forfeited; a handgun that R.W. had in his possession will 
be returned after two years. [Tom Crowson, PAIS, 7/23]

01-417 - Keweenaw NHP (MI) - Special Event

On July 11th, one of the park's main historic structures played host 
to the world premiere of a major new American opera based on 
significant events that occurred in the park. The Calumet Theatre, 
built in 1900, was the park venue for this opera, which depicts the 
story of the life and times of "Big Annie" Clemenc and her experiences 
during the 1913 strike. The pivotal event in this strike was a 
Christmas Eve party for the families of the striking miners, where a 
false cry of "fire" in the crowded Italian Hall led to the deaths of 
74 people. The opera, entitled "The Children of the Keweenaw," was 
commissioned by the Pine Mountain Music Festival, with major support 
from the park, the National Endowment for the Arts, and other 
partners. Bill Fink, the park's first superintendent, sang in the 
opera chorus and described the experience as the "ultimate 
interpretive program," wherein 50 voices, a 35-piece orchestra, a 
15-person technical crew and a "stunning" performance hall were used 
to tell one of the park's key stories. For more details, go to 
www.childrenofthekeweenaw.org. [Bill Fink, MWRO, 7/16]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Five new large fires were reported - two in the Rockies, two in the 
Great Basin, and one in the Northwest. Four large fires were contained 
- two each in the Rockies and Great Basin. Initial attack was light 
nationwide. 

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, 
Utah, Washington and Wyoming (same as yesterday).  

NICC has issued a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for winds for northeast Wyoming 
and western South Dakota, including the Black Hills.
 
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.

National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)

                        Wed     Thu     Fri     Sat     Sun
Date                    8/1     8/2     8/3     8/4     8/5

Crews                   238     235     212     164     145
Engines                 315     365     338     300     377
Helicopters             63      64      73      89      84
Air Tankers             4       6       9       1       4
Overhead                1,425   1,712   1,397   1,583   1,279

Park Fire Situation

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Crews made progress along the northwest and 
southwest flanks of the Arthur Fire (2,800 acres, 25% contained) on 
Friday, aided by a light afternoon shower over most of the fire. 
Earlier in the day, airplanes dropped retardant to delay the spread of 
spots above Canfield Creek and others along the eastern portion of the 
fire that had spotted into the Shoshone NF. A public meeting with 
about 90 residents, business owners and concerned citizens was held at 
the Pahaska Teepee Lodge on Friday evening. A population protection 
plan was presented which outlined actions that will be taken to 
evacuate portions of the community east of Yellowstone if it becomes 
necessary. The plan is a precautionary measure and does not mean that 
these communities are immediately threatened. The East Entrance to the 
park and the road from that point to Fishing Bridge remain closed to 
all public travel. A total of 733 firefighters and overhead were 
committed to the fire as of yesterday. For a full report on the fire, 
including topographic and fire perimeter maps, aerial photos, live 
camera images from Mount Washburn, and related data, please go to: 
http://www.nps.gov/yell/technical/fire/Fires/Arthur/arthur.htm. 

Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - the Vista Fire continues to smolder; the area 
burned now totals 1,056 acres.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme         N/A
Very High       Lake Mead NRA
High            Joshua Tree NP

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/4; NICC Incident Management Situation 
Report, 8/5]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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useful to the field, and have broad significance across the agency. 
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Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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