NPS Morning Report - Thursday, September 20, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, September 20, 2001

                            *** NOTICE ***

The September 18th Morning Report contained the text of a memorandum 
entitled "Status and Resource Reports," which was sent electronically 
on September 17th from the Type 1 incident management team in WASO to 
all regional directors. IMPORTANT REVISION: The memorandum stipulated 
that parks 1) send in information daily for a park status report and 
2) send in information for a national resource availability list. The 
LATTER requirement has been rescinded. Parks still need to provide 
updates for the daily status report, but DO NOT have to submit 
information for the national resource availability list. Parks that 
have prepared the resource information summaries already should go 
ahead and send them to Shenandoah NP (email: SHEN EICC), as they WILL 
be used. The team will be taking a different approach to gathering 
this information from areas that have not yet prepared or transmitted 
submissions. Because the incident management team is working to manage 
all National Park Service resources, parks should continue to process 
all resource requests through Shenandoah dispatch to the incident 
management team for approval. 

INCIDENTS

01-509 - Servicewide - Follow-up: Terrorist Attacks

The National Park Service continues to provide support to its parks 
and employees, gather information on the status of field areas for 
DOI, and deal with security issues throughout the country. Director 
Mainella is in New York today to meet and talk with employees and to 
visit sites affected by the attacks. The Service's Type 1 incident 
management team (Skip Brooks, IC) continues its operations from the 
South Interior Building. 

The following summarizes the current status of parks in the New York 
and Washington areas and any changes in the previously reported status 
of parks elsewhere:

New York Area

o       Federal Hall NM - The site remains closed due to asbestos 
        concerns.

o       Castle Clinton NM - Inspection reveals no interior damage; the 
        exterior looks fine, but has not been checked by an engineer.

o       Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace NHS - The site is now open.

o       St. Paul's Church NHS - The site has reopened.

o       Hamilton Grange NM - The site has reopened.

o       General Grant NM - The monument remains closed. NYPD is 
        providing security.

o       Gateway NRA - Fort Wadsworth is currently closed to the 
        general public. Portions of Floyd Bennett Field are also 
        closed, but most of the field remains open. These sites will 
        reopen as soon as safety and operational issues are resolved. 
        
o       Statue of Liberty NM/Ellis Island NM - Both areas remain 
        closed.

Washington Area

o       National Capital Parks - All monuments and memorials are open; 
        scheduled events will be held.

o       George Washington Memorial Parkway - Partial closures are in 
        effect.

o       White House - The visitor center is open, but White House 
        tours have been suspended indefinitely.

Elsewhere

o       New River NR (WV) - The World Rafting Championship, scheduled 
        for September 22nd to the 25th, will proceed as planned.

o       Chickasaw NRA (OK) - The park is maintaining a 25-meter 
        clearance zone around the dam.

[SHEN EICC, 9/20]

01-520 - C&O Canal NHP (DC/MD) - ARPA/Resource Violations

The park reports three significant ARPA/resource damage cases over the 
past month. On August 10th, ranger Jan Lemons came upon a group of 
juveniles in the park near Hancock. The kids were in the process of 
constructing a mountain bike course; they had cleared a large area of 
vegetation, constructed mounds for jumping, and disturbed known 
archeological sites. Numerous digging tools and wheelbarrows were 
confiscated. USPP detective John Critchfield is assisting Lemons in 
the investigation and numerous follow-up interviews. Charges are 
pending. On September 5th, park volunteer Tim Thomas saw two men 
digging and using metal detectors around Lockhouse 75. Ranger Buchanan 
responded and located the two men, identified as  C.G., 28, 
and T.D., 27, both of Corriganville, Maryland. Both men had 
artifacts, metal detectors, and digging instruments in their 
possession. C.G. was arrested on site on an outstanding theft 
warrant. Rangers located and documented 16 holes in the area the 
following day. Leo Karpinski, an archeologist from Valley Forge, and 
James Andra, a GPS operator from C&O Canal, were called and assisted 
in the follow-up investigation. Interviews with both subjects were 
conducted and each gave detailed accounts of their activities. Charges 
are pending. Park maintenance reported digging around lock gate 29 on 
September 5th. Ranger Dwight Dixon investigated and found that both 
lock gates - which had been previously covered and protected under 
earth - had been excavated. The lock gates seemed to still be intact 
and in good condition. An interview with local volunteers revealed 
that they had uncovered the gates in an attempt to locate a piece of 
gate hardware which they wanted to display in the newly refurbished 
and opened lock house. The gates are being examined by resource 
managers to determine what actions are required to protect the 
uncovered structures. (Dwight Dixon, DR, CHOH, 9/18)

FIRE MANAGEMENT

Three national Type 1 teams are supporting FEMA operations in 
Washington and New York:

Bateman's team is supporting urban rescue efforts in New York City and 
is based at the incident command post at the Jacob Javits Convention 
Center in lower Manhattan. The team is operating a mobilization, 
receiving and distribution center in a ware house adjacent to the 
center. They are also supporting a disaster medical assistance team 
and urban SAR operations. A planning group has been assigned to NYFD's 
ICP and the communications unit leader has been assisting with radio 
support. The GIS team is providing detailed maps for SAR efforts.

Stutler's team is managing mobilization centers in Edison and at 
McGuire AFB in New Jersey. Their main objective is to assist in 
handling the movement of supplies, equipment and personnel in support 
of the disaster field office (DFO). The team has been divided into 
three task forces - one is managing the receiving and distribution 
center, the second is developing a plan for long-term offsite 
operations in support of the incident, and the third is providing 
incident information and fiscal guidance.

Gage's team is supporting Pentagon rescue operations and is based at 
the Anacostia Naval Station in Arlington, Virginia. The team has 
merged with a California interagency incident management team. They 
are supporting FEMA's urban search and rescue (USAR) task forces. The 
ICP is at the Pentagon. The plans section has facilitated development 
of a GIS group plan for FEMA, the incident support team, the FBI and 
Arlington County FD. Information displays have been developed for all 
agencies.

Park Fire Situation

Glacier NP (MT) - Activity has picked up on the Moose fire (69,365 
acres; 45% contained, no estimate for full containment) due to dry, 
windy weather. A task force has been formed to evaluate the extent of 
and possible strategies for dealing with a coal fire burning within 
the interior of the fire. Current commitment: 667 firefighters and 
overhead, including 18 crews; 25 engines and six helicopters; Type 2 
team)

Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - The park is managing three lightning-caused 
fires for resource benefit under a fire use strategy with clearly 
defined parameters. All three fires are located on the park's North 
Rim. There are still some road and backcountry closures in effect, so 
travelers to the North Rim are being encouraged to call 928-638-7819 
for updates.  Increased precipitation last week reduced fire activity 
and causing little smoke in the canyon itself.  On Tuesday, September 
18th, the Type 2 fire use team (Cook) turned the incident over to a 
Type 3 team led by a fire use manager. The three fires are being 
managed as the Swamp Ridge complex.  As of 6 p.m. on September 17th, 
the Swamp Ridge fire had burned 1,111 acres, the Tower fire had burned 
872 acres, and the Vista fire had burned 1,546 acres.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/20; Barb Stewart, GRCA, 
9/18]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Castillo de San Marcos NM/Fort Matanzas NM (FL) - Correction: The 
September 16th Morning Report contained a notice that the parks were 
seeking candidates for a lateral transfer to a permanent GS-5/7/9 law 
enforcement position. The superintendent has sent along a correction. 
The opening is for a GS-9 lateral transfer. [Gordie Wilson, FOMA]

Lassen Volcanic NP (CA) - The park has announced a vacancy for a 
GS-401-11/12 fire management officer. Lassen's complex fire program 
includes planning, prevention, pre-suppression, suppression, 
management ignited prescribed burning, prescribed natural fires, 
hazard fuels management, coordinating/applying scientific studies on 
fire-related topics and a high degree of sensitive interagency 
coordination. The person selected will manage a joint USFS/NPS fire 
station, coordinate fire planning and operations with the Forest 
Service under an interagency fire management plan, coordinate the 
park's structural fire program, and serve as the park aviation 
officer, overseeing fixed and rotary winged aircraft use in a national 
park. This is a 6(c) covered position. You can find the vacancy 
announcement on USAJobs at PGSO-01-130-MPP. Contact chief ranger John 
Roth at 530-595-4444 ext. 5150. [John Roth, LAVO]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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