NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, October 17, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, October 17, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-561 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Search and Rescue

On Monday, October 15th, the park received a report that two 
backpackers were overdue from a hike in the Conway River area. 
R.M., 50, and his son, B., 11, left for an overnight 
backpacking trip on Saturday, but failed to return. Rangers found 
R.M.'s vehicle at an Appalachian Trail trailhead. A high-urgency, 
multi-agency search was launched, prompted in part by R.M.'s medical 
history. A ground search team found R.M. and his son near the park's 
boundary yesterday afternoon. Both were in good condition. About 115 
people were searching for the pair at the time they were found. 
[Clayton Jordan, DR, Central District, SHEN, 10/16]

01-562 - Sequoia and Kings Canyon NP's (CA) - Marijuana Eradication

Between October 4th and October 11th, rangers and the park's special 
agent found and eradicated 1,100 marijuana plants within the park. The 
marijuana was found at two different plantations, one of which was 
being harvested when discovered. Three more sites were found which had 
already been harvested; together, they contained about 8,900 plants. 
Rangers and firefighters removed about two-and-a-half miles of 
irrigation hose and 800 pounds of debris left behind by the growers. 
Evidence found at the scene revealed that all three were maintained 
and harvested by the same growers and were occupied by Mexican 
nationals. Three primary camp sites were found with food caches and 
bedding areas. One site, furthest from the main camp, was at 5,800 
feet and was being irrigated by an automatic watering system powered 
by nine-volt batteries. No arrests were made, but some good leads were 
found at the sites. The investigation continues. [Al DeLaCruz, SA, 
SEKI, 10/16]

01-563 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Drug Interdiction

On September 7th, rangers received information about a vessel heading 
from the Bahamas to the park which would likely be carrying narcotics. 
Rangers David Carter and David Pharo and a Customs officer eventually 
spotted the boat and followed it up a canal to a point where it moored 
at a residence. The building was quickly surrounded by federal, state 
and county officers. Lookouts posted in the building alerted the 
smugglers, who tried to flee. Three people were quickly apprehended. 
Fresh sealant was found to be holding down a portion of the boat's 
deck, possibly indicating a hidden compartment. The vessel was taken 
to a nearby Customs facility, where a drug detecting dog alerted to 
the presence of narcotics. Investigators found 350 kilos of cocaine 
with an estimated street value of $7 million under the boat's deck. 
The ensuing investigation led to the seizure of a residence, three 
vehicles and a 29-foot Mako boat with twin 250-hp outboard engines. 
Last year, about $23 million worth of illegal drugs were seized while 
transiting through the park. [David Pharo, LES, BISC, 10/12]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Two Type 1 teams are assigned to FEMA to support operations in New 
York City. 

Initial attack was light nationwide on Monday. Very high to extreme 
fire indices were reported in California, Utah, Colorado, and Texas.

Park Fire Situation

Redwood NP (CA) - The park has completed a successful prescribed fire 
of 258 acres (Schoolhouse Lookout burn). Park staff from all divisions 
participated, as did a crew from Lake Mead.

Grand Teton NP (WY) - The 120-acre Teton Science School Rx burn has 
been successfully completed. 

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 10/16; NPS Situation 
Summary Report, 10/17]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor (IL) - An 
advertisement is now out for a GS-301-7/9 program manager/management 
assistant. If you're interested, you can obtain a copy at 
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov or by calling Violet Hampton at 
217-492-4241 ext 226. The position is open to all qualified 
applicants. The vacancy announcements will close on October 31st. The 
announcement numbers are CK123724 (GS-7/9) and CK123740 (GS-9). 
[Barbara Fearon, LIHO]

                            *  *  *  *  *

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 
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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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