NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 7, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Tuesday, August 7, 2001
- Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 11:02:03 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Tuesday, August 7, 2001
INCIDENTS
01-348 - New River Gorge NR (WV) - Follow-up: Flash Flooding
An interdisciplinary resource assessment team (RAT) led by Erv Gasser
of Pacific West Region (Seattle) has completed an analysis of flood
effects following the storms of July 8th, 26th, and 29th. The
15-member team used aerial and ground reconnaissance methodologies
throughout park lands impacted by the floods:
o The watershed group assessed and mapped the overall flood
impacts to the watersheds.
o The historical architect and cultural resource specialist
inventoried flood impacts for potential damage to cultural
sites and began a cultural resource damage assessment.
o The vegetation specialists evaluated and assessed flood
effects to vegetative resources, including rare, threatened
and endangered species, noxious weed populations, and forest
resources. They also identified values at risk associated with
vegetative losses and began Section 7 consultations with the
US Fish and Wildlife Service.
o The GIS specialists gathered the data layers necessary for the
plan, coordinated GPS activities, processed data calculations
for other resource specialists, and produced maps for the
emergency rehabilitation plan and for presentations.
o Facilities and roads and trails specialists inventoried flood
impacts to park facilities and park infrastructure affected by
the floods.
These specialists developed specifications for each treatment and
implemented emergency rehabilitation treatments to restore park
operations and to open facilities for safe visitor use.
Slides and debris flows had a heavy impact on the park's
infrastructure, especially roads and trails. Fourteen of the park's
twenty-seven trails were impacted, eroding trail treads, washing out
footbridges, and damaging trailhead parking. Access to the river was a
major concern of the 30 commercial boating companies. While 10 of the
12 major access points were open to the public, the most popular ones
- Cunard and Fayette Landing - were closed. Overall, the floods
affected about 30 miles of the New River on public and private lands
within the middle and lower gorge and the Gauley River. Flood impacts
affected 15 major tributaries of the New River, 14 park trails, 16
park roads, two state roads within the park, three boat ramps, five
launch/take-out sites, six parking areas, and six facilities. The
entire flood area was mapped by the RAT team for impacts and
treatments. Following is a summary of the different discipline
findings:
o Soil and Watershed: Fifteen major tributaries and many smaller
ones received impacts from flooding, debris flows, and channel
scouring. Damage included inundation and sedimentation of over
bank areas. Debris flows caused extensive erosion, dispersed
large quantities of extremely course debris, and complete
restructuring of some stream channels. The most damaged
channels occurred in the Laurel, Buffalo, Slater, Claremont,
Dunloup, Arbuckle, Coal Run, and Wolf Creeks.
o Water Quality: Many visitors to New River Gorge come to
participate in water-based recreational activities. The
activities frequently involve extensive contact with river
waters. Post-flood water quality was assessed on the New and
Gauley Rivers and their tributaries in the flood impacted
area. Water samples taken after each flood event indicate that
some conditions in the river exceed acceptable recreational
use standards.
o Aquatic Resources: Impacts of the three floods were assessed
on biological populations, communities, and ecosystems.
Results have shown that aquatic life was markedly absent from
the most severely scoured tributaries. Aquatic life was
reduced to levels well below that noted previously in the less
severely scoured streams. Large alluvial fans, derived from
materials eroded from these streams, were deposited in the New
River. Since these fans were deposited in riffle areas,
potential negative effects to habitat were minimal.
o Vegetation Resources: New River Gorge has a diverse flora that
provides a habitat for many rare species and unique plant
communities. Some of the rare species include purple-three awn
grass, false blue indigo, hairy tickseed, milk pea, McDowell's
sunflower, and Loomis's mountain mint. While the flood was a
natural event, vegetation/seeding will be used for slope
stabilization and to stem the invasion of noxious weeds.
o Cultural Resources: An assessment was conducted to determine
the damage to historic structures, archaeological resources
and museum collections. Damaged structures assessed included
the Mankin-Cox building at Thurmond, Beury Mansion ruins,
Quinnimont Coke Ovens, and the Craig Branch Rail Bridge. The
Nuttallburg site also has the potential for slide- related
effects. Floodwaters also damaged the Bank of Glen Jean, which
is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Damage
to archaeological resources appears to be greatest in the
stream channels. Museum collections were exposed to the flood
waters but not directly impacted. Storage of the park's
collections will need to be reviewed.
o Roads & Trails: Since most of the roads and trails in the
inner Gorge either cross slopes or are located at the bottom
of slopes many were impacted. As noted above, flood impacts
affected 14 park trails, 16 park roads, two state roads within
the park, three boat ramps, five launch/take-out sites, and
six parking areas. Foot and vehicle bridges were washed out or
made impassable. Roads and trails were washed out, water bars
filled, trail tread damaged, and trees blocked many of the
roads and trails. Over 40 culverts were either damaged or
washed out. Boat ramps and launch sites were impacted by mud
and debris flows, in some cases depositing as much as eight
feet of material. The Thurmond Depot retaining wall, which
supports the parking area and a structure, was undermined and
has dropped approximately one foot.
o Facilities: Six park facilities were impacted by the flood -
the Bank of Glen Jean, headquarters building, maintenance
facility, resource management offices and water lab, fire
cache, and the Dent picnic area. Because of the decreased
water quality of the areas inundated by floodwaters, ductwork,
air conditioners, HQ crawl space, Bank of Glen Jean basement,
baseboards, and carpeting will need to be disinfected to
mitigate the growth of bacteria. In addition, park vehicles
impacted by floodwaters will need to be cleaned and serviced.
The process used to conduct the damage assessment and prepare this
emergency rehabilitation plan in an efficient manner was modeled after
the Department of the Interior's burned area emergency rehabilitation
(BAER) Team for wildland fires. This incident marks the third time
that this process, used for assessing wildland fire impacts, has been
used for a non-fire incident. This kind of innovative approach to
integrated resources damage assessment is what is needed when
emergency incidents like the New River Gorge floods occur. The
DOI-BAER teams have developed an efficient, comprehensive approach to
assessing resource damage and providing emergency rehabilitation
requirements for protecting human life, safety, property, and critical
natural and cultural resources. [Erv Gasser, BAER Team, NERI, 8/6]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2
Seven new large fires were reported yesterday - one each in southern
California, the eastern Great Basin, and the northern Rockies and four
in the South. Another four large fires were contained. 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 today for afternoon and evening
dry lightning about 5,000 feet in the Sierra Nevadas from Yosemite
southward to the Kern County line.
For the full NICC report, see http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf.
National Resource Status (Five Day Trend)
Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
Date 8/3 8/4 8/5 8/6 8/7
Crews 212 164 145 134 181
Engines 338 300 377 319 341
Helicopters 73 89 84 75 85
Air Tankers 9 1 4 6 7
Overhead 1,397 1,583 1,279 1,078 1,388
Park Fire Situation
Yellowstone NP (WY) - Fire crews on the Arthur Fire (2,800 acres, 35%
contained) made excellent progress in efforts to contain the fire
along its northwestern and southwestern flanks yesterday, and also
made significant headway on spot fires above Canfield Creek. Low
relative humidity and high temperatures caused more volatile fire
behavior, with torching, short runs, and short range spotting. Several
trails along the North Fork of the Shoshone River remain closed to
visitors. A total of 810 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.
Park Fire Danger
Extreme Hawaii Volcanoes NP
Very High N/A
High Joshua Tree NP
Fire Management
GAO has issued a report entitled "The National Fire Plan: Federal
Agencies Are Not Organized to Effectively and Efficiently Implement
the Plan" (GAO-01-1022T, July 31). If you're interested in looking at
it, you can find it at http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?gao-01-1022t.
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 8/6; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 8/7]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Virgin Islands NS (VI) - The park is seeking a chief ranger. The
position is listed as a supervisory LE ranger, GS-025-12 (no promotion
potential), and the announcement number on USAJOBS is VIIS-01-06. It
closes on August 31st. Duties include supervision in law enforcement,
visitor safety, environmental conservation, and land and water use
management, and management of all facets of the resource and visitor
protection function. The chief ranger is also directly responsible for
planning, initiating, administering, and evaluating complex resource
and visitor protection programs. [Mindy Silva, VIIS]
FILM AT 11...
Last Friday's Philadelphia Inquirer carried an article on Valley Forge
NHP's business plan and the entire business plan partnership effort
between NPCA and the NPS. The article is by reporter Jane M. Von
Bergen and is entitled "Analyzing Financial Nature Of U.S. Parks: A
Nonprofit Group Helps Parks Learn To Operate More Efficiently And To
Seek Funding More Effectively." It can be found on the web at
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/08/03/business/PARK03.htm.
[Bob Krumenaker, VAFO]
* * * * *
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