NPS Morning Report - Sunday, September 9, 2001
- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Sunday, September 9, 2001
- Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2001 11:51:02 -0400
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Sunday, September 9, 2001
*** NOTICE ***
Since the national fire preparedness level has dropped significantly
and since the influx of summer incident reports is beginning to tail
off, this will be the last of the summer weekend editions of the
Morning Report.
INCIDENTS
01-502 - Ozark NSR (MO) - Indictment for Civil Rights Violations
Three southeast Missouri men were indicted on August 16th on one
felony count of conspiracy to violate civil rights, seven counts of
aiding and abetting one another in the willful interference of a
federally protected activity, and one felony count of destruction of
property on federal land. D.W., 24, C.M., 20, and R.H.,
27, of Mountain View, Missouri, appeared before a
federal magistrate on August 23rd. C.M. and D.W. were arrested by
National Park Service special agents Dan Madrid (OZAR) and Gary Pace
(MWRO), NPS criminal investigator Jodi Towery (OZAR), and agents from
the FBI, with the assistance of the Mountain View Police Department.
R.H. was already in custody of U.S. Marshals on unrelated
charges. Pace was an integral part of the complex two-year-long
investigation that led to the arrests. The incident occurred at the
Blue Springs primitive campground. According to the indictment, D.W.,
C.M. and R.H. conspired to threaten and intimidate a Hispanic
family in order to keep them out of the campground. They allegedly
threatened seven members of the family by yelling racial slurs,
shouting that the family didn't belong at the river, and by
threatening to kill family members, chop them up, and throw them into
the river. D.W. is also alleged to have assaulted a member of the
family by striking him with his fist. As family members sought refuge
in their vehicle, the three men reportedly began kicking and punching
the vehicle with their fists and feet, breaking the driver's side
window, while simultaneously yelling racial slurs and threatening to
harm the family. When the family attempted to flee, the indictment
states that the three men continued their attack by throwing rocks at
the family in their vehicle, shattering its rear window and causing
glass to fall on the children sitting in the back seat. The trio are
also charged with destroying or attempting to destroy a 1995 sedan at
the campground. The case is being prosecuted by attorneys for the
United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri
and the United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. If
found guilty of the charges set forth in the first eight counts of the
indictment, D.W., C.M. and R.H. face a maximum punishment of
ten years imprisonment and a maximum of five years if convicted of the
charge contained in the ninth count. Each count carries a maximum fine
of $250,000. U.S. attorney Raymond Gruender had this to say about the
indictments: "Insuring the basic civil rights of every citizen is one
of the fundamental obligations of the United States government and is
a high priority for this office. The suspects targeted and terrorized
a Hispanic family because of their race. Acts of racial intimidation
have no place in our society, and will be vigorously pursued by the
U.S. Attorney's Office." Gruender also praised the National Park
Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their work on the
case. [Bill Terry, Ozark NSR, 8/24]
01-503 - Navajo NM (AZ) - Trespass Case
In late August, the park completed an investigation into and the
prosecution of an ARPA case involving an Air Force major. In early
April, a visitor notified park staff that there was a web site
containing a narrative and photographs of an off-season and illegal
hike into the ancestral Puebloan village of Keet Seel. The web site
described the major's personal visit to the park and his account of
being denied access to the village of Keet Seel, as it was out of the
permitted season. In his narrative, he states that he was denied a
permit at the front desk because it was pre-season, but believed that
the summer season is much too hot for hiking. He describes getting up
early before park staff arrived at work and stealthily hiking into
Tsegi Canyon. The narrative also describes the number of gates he
passed through, "each of which is marked with a 'Permit Required'
sign." The paragraph describing his first view and encounter with Keet
Seel was well written, as was his observation that he saw the no
trespassing and ARPA violation warning signs and his description of
how he "proceeded intrepidly" past these signs on his own
recognizance. Evidence on the web site shows that he entered the
village, climbed on walls, and photographed old Anasazi jars that
still remain perched high in the dwelling. It was determined that an
admission would be needed to tie the major to the activities described
and to the photographs on the website, so ranger Brenton White set up
an email account and began a series of communications which eventually
produced a confession with further instructions on illegally visiting
the village. The email dialogue was continued until investigators felt
certain that no other ARPA or CFR violations had taken place. The
major was sent a certified letter with a mandatory appearance CFR
citation. During his pre-trial meeting, he plead guilty to "engaging
in an activity subject to a permit, without a permit" and agreed to
remove the trespass content from his web site. Park staff felt this
was in the best interest of protecting the cultural resources of the
park and that this action will serve to prevent future trespasses. The
investigation was handled by White in consultation with special agents
David Sandbakken (GLCA) and Todd Swain (JOTR). [Brenton White, PR,
NAVA, 8/26]
[Additional reports pending....]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 3
No new large fires were reported yesterday, and initial attack was
light everywhere. Very high to extreme indices persist in Oregon,
California, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Montana.
NICC has not issued any watches or warnings for today.
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 9/5 9/6 9/7 9/8 9/9
Crews 510 453 277 309 317
Engines 546 466 387 363 327
Helicopters 135 142 116 86 84
Air Tankers 5 1 1 0 0
Overhead 2,647 2,676 2,287 2,029 2,279
Park Fire Situation
Glacier NP (MT) - The Moose fire (66,800 acres, approximately 17,000
within the park; 30% contained, no estimate for full containment; Type
1 team w/725 FF/OH committed - including 20 crews, nine engines, eight
helicopters) is burning both near and within the park. The reduction
in acreage from yesterday's total is due to better mapping of the
fire.
Extreme N/A
Very High Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP
High Joshua Tree NP, Grand Teton NP, Carlsbad Caverns NP,
Hawaii Volcanoes NP
[NPS Situation Summary Report, 9/8; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 9/9]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
National Park Passport Photo Contest - Each year, Eastern National
holds a contest to select ten new images for the collectible "Passport
to Your National Parks" stamp series. The contest is open to NPS
employees and VIPs. The stamps (one national and nine regional) are on
one perforated sheet and fit into the official passport book. Images
of national parks with special events or anniversary celebrations
during 2002 are encouraged. A brief statement about the event should
be enclosed with the photograph. National parks previously featured on
passport stamps will not be accepted. Submissions must be received by
Eastern National by October 31st. Photography will be accepted for all
ten of the passport regions, which are based on tourist/geographic
regions, not on NPS administrative regions. Particulars follow:
o All submissions must be reproduction-quality color originals,
as a 35mm slide, color print, or 4" x 5" transparency.
o Only National Park Service employees and VIPs are eligible.
o All submissions must be clearly labeled, stating the park name
and image location, photographer's name, photographer's status
as an NPS employee or VIP, current park assignment, category
(which region), and mailing address. This information should
be on the slide or transparency.
o Eastern National will review all submissions and make final
selections. Images will be judged on quality, interpretive
merit and appropriateness of subject matter. Lacking a
suitable entry, Eastern National reserves the right to select
a suitable photograph from other sources.
o Individual submissions are limited to ten per category.
o By submitting their work for review, photographers agree that
Eastern National may use the winning photograph for the
passport stamp and promotional purposes. Eastern National will
not be responsible for any lost or damaged photos, slides or
transparencies. All submissions will be returned to the
photographer.
o Contest winners will be announced in December. Eastern
National will pay the photographer $500 for the winning
photograph in each category. If the winning image is a
National Park Service slide or transparency, or was taken on
government time, Eastern National will donate $500 to the
photographer's park to support that park's interpretive
program.
o Send submissions to: Eastern National Passport Photography
Contest, 470 Maryland Drive, Suite 1, Fort Washington, PA
19034.
o Questions? Call Eastern National at 215-283-6900 ext. 158 for
more information.
Eastern National provides quality educational products and services to
America's national parks and other public trusts. Proceeds from the
sale of the passport book and stamp sets benefit educational programs
of the National Park Service. To order the passport book, call
toll-free 877-NAT-PARK. For questions about the passport program, call
215-283-6900. [Kristine Acevedo, Eastern National]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
National Capital Regional Office (DC) - NCRO's Ranger Services
Division is recruiting for a GS-12 protection ranger to serve as a
senior law enforcement officer/investigator. The person in the
position will oversee park law enforcement programs, coordinate
multi-park law enforcement operations with an emphasis on resources
protection, and provide investigative assistance to the parks, with an
emphasis placed on resource crimes such as ARPA violations, boundary
encroachments, water pollution and dumping, fish and wildlife
poaching, vandalism and arson, and resource damage from other illegal
activities. She/he will need to work closely with a variety of law
enforcement and resources agencies on a daily basis. (Einar Olsen,
RCR, NCRO)
FILM AT 11...
On Wednesday, September 12th, at 7:30 p.m. EDT, a live webcast will be
broadcast from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington at
www.lightingthethomasjeffersonmemorial.com. The webcast will feature
the new memorial lighting system and a celebration of the partnership
that made possible the $800,000 donation by OSRAM SYLVANIA. The new
system will consume 80% less energy than the old system (installed in
the 1960's and 70's), will illuminate approximately 30% more of the
memorial than before, will increase sustainability, is respectful of
the historic setting and cultural landscape, and will provide
additional safety in the area. The lighting design uses the latest
technologies, including light emitting diodes (LEDs), bulbs that last
up to 100,000 hours (compared with the old bulbs that lasted 2,000
hours), and a control system that monitors bulb performance and will
email a message to maintenance when a bulb is out. National Capital
Parks-Central superintendent Arnold Goldstein, director Fran Mainella,
secretary Gale Norton, and EPA administrator Christine Whitman will
join Jim Maddy, president of the National Park Foundation, and Dean
Langford, president of OSRAM SYLVANIA, as the memorial is illuminated
for the first time. The US Air Force Band will provide musical
accompaniment. The event will last approximately 40 minutes and the
webcast will be archived on the site for 30 days. The site currently
provides photos of work in progress, a description of the new system,
and information on the partnership. [Lisa Mendelson-Ielmini, NCP
Central]
* * * * *
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.
--- ### ---