NPS Morning Report - Monday, November 12, 2001



                        NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, November 12, 2001

INCIDENTS

01-597 - Chaco Culture NHP (NM) - Significant Resource Damage

On November 9th, 25-year-old A.R. of Clarksdale, Arizona, 
drove around the closed exit gate to the park's loop road. A.R. 
and his companion, 20-year-old April Kearney, evaded rangers for 
approximately 40 minutes before they were stopped. During that time, 
A.R. drove about a quarter mile off road and over several 
archeological sites at two locations, including one with burials. His 
off-road excursion also caused significant natural resource damage. 
A.R. was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. A 
criminal complaint was filed charging him with damaging archeological 
sites (16 USC 1b 470ee(a)) and with numerous 36 CFR violations, 
including entering closed areas, destruction of natural resources and 
driving off roadways. Archeological and resource damage assessments 
are underway. Most of the damage was within an area that the park 
archeologist describes as the heart of Chaco Canyon. John Osgood is 
the investigating ranger. [Gordon Ellison, CHCU, 11/9]

01-598 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Burglaries 

On November 8th, park maintenance workers discovered that three of the 
buildings in historic Millbrook Village - Millbrook store, Millbrook 
hotel, and the Trauger house - had been broken into, and soon learned 
that the nearby Van Campen Inn had also been forcibly entered. A 
preliminary inventory of the buildings revealed that the thief or 
thieves had taken a complete set of "willow ware" dishes (also known 
as "flow blue" dishes), several silver serving pieces, two mantel 
clocks, two dolls, several unnamed framed pieces, and two metal toys. 
The value of the dolls has been placed oat over $1,000; no valuation 
has been placed on the willow ware, but it is rare and valuable. A 
full inventory is underway to determine if anything else was stolen. 
The Millbrook Village investigation is being led by ranger Mike 
Fernalld; ranger Brad Clawson is leading the Van Campen Inn 
investigation. [Karl Merchant, Acting DR, New Jersey District, DEWA, 
11/9]

01-599 - Joshua Tree NP (CA) - Stolen Government Vehicle

On the night of Wednesday, November 7th, a white 1985 Dodge cargo van 
owned by the park (Interior plate number I-152591) was stolen from the 
lot of an auto glass installer in the city of Twentynine Palms, 
California. The van was a military surplus vehicle and therefore has 
the words "US Marine Corps" on the back in raised letters. Although 
the letters have been painted over, they are still visible from 
certain angles.  Please contact the park with any information at 
760-367-5547. [Kathy Krisko, PR, JOTR, 11/9] 

01-600 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Drowning

The W. family was unloading items from its vehicle in the parking 
lot of the Callville Bay marina just before 11 p.m. on November 10th 
when a member of their group, six-year-old A.L., walked off. 
Family members and local security guards looked for her for 15 
minutes, then called dispatch and reported her missing. Rangers were 
notified and an extensive search ensued. She was found in the water a 
half hour after midnight. CPR was begun and she was taken to the 
University Medical Center in Las Vegas via Mercy Air Medivac. Doctors 
there pronounced her dead. An investigation is underway. [Cate Clary, 
Dispatch, LAME, 11/11]

HOMELAND SECURITY

Department of Interior (DC/VA/MD) - Environmental testing of all 
Department of Interior mail facilities was completed last week. 
According to the Centers for Disease Control approved lab which 
analyzed the samples taken from all Washington metropolitan area DOI 
mailroom facilities two weeks ago, all of the samples tested negative 
for the presence of anthrax. Please note, however, that the NPS 
Washington Office (except for AOC) is still not receiving any mail and 
has not since October 19th. Only FedEx mail is getting through. 
There's no estimated date yet for when regular mail service will 
resume. [Betsy Chittenden, WASO]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation - Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was heavy in the South on Saturday and light elsewhere. 
Four new large fires were reported, two each in the East and South; 
one large fire in the East was contained. Very high to extreme fire 
indices were reported in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, North 
Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Park Fire Situation

Yosemite NP (CA) - Over the course of the next several weeks, the park 
will conduct four prescribed burns to restore 100 acres of woodland 
and meadow habitat in Yosemite Valley. The first project undertaken 
was a 23-acre burn near El Capitan Meadow, which was begun last 
Friday. The low intensity fires will preserve oak woodland habitat and 
reduce the invasion of young conifers into mature ponderosa pine 
forest and grasslands near the meadow. Prescribed fires have been used 
in Yosemite since the 1960s as a tool to reduce hazardous forest fuel 
buildup, recycle nutrients into the soil, increase habitat diversity, 
and protect public safety. Through careful monitoring and management, 
naturally ignited fires are also used to improve forest health. In 
July, lightning ignited the Hoover Fire, located seven miles southeast 
of Yosemite Valley. That fire has currently burned through 9,300 acres 
and continues to smolder in the park's wilderness. The natural 
processes of rain and snow will extinguish the fire this fall. 

Fire Management Notes

No reports.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 11/11; Public Affairs, 
YOSE, 11/9]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

GIS Awards - The NPS GIS program has announced its first annual call 
for NPS GIS awards, which have been established to recognize staff or 
partners performing exemplary Geographic Information System (GIS) work 
within the NPS.  Please see the web site at
http://www.nps.gov/gis/odyssey/awards.html for all the details 
regarding these awards. Nominations are due by November 14th. [Theresa 
Ely, IMSO]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

New River Gorge NR (WV) - Assistant superintendent Henry Law will be 
retiring from the NPS on December 14th following more than 30 years of 
federal service. Henry's NPS career began in 1975 in Western Regional 
Office, where he served as historical architect. During the years from 
1977 to 1982, he worked at the Denver Service Center, also as a 
historic architect. Henry then moved to Kalaupapa NHP in 1982, and was 
appointed as the first superintendent there in 1984. In 1988, he 
became the assistant superintendent at New River Gorge NR, where he 
has observed and helped with the growth of a new park and established 
strong community relationships. A "roast and toast" is planned for 
Henry on Saturday, December 1st, at the Holiday Inn in Oak Hill, West 
Virginia. Festivities will start at 6:00 p.m. (cash bar available from 
5:30 to 8:30 p.m.) and continue until 10:00 p.m. Henry wants everyone 
to wear a Hawaiian shirt - no formal dress, please!  The cost of the 
dinner is $18. If you plan to attend, please make reservations with 
Robin Perry at 304-465-6502 by November 26th. Checks to cover dinner 
tickets and/or gift contributions should be sent to: NERI Employees' 
Association, PO Box 246, Glen Jean WV, 25846. Scrapbook submissions 
for Henry's memory book should be sent to Loretta Schmidt at the same 
address. [Gary Hartley, NERI]

Women's Rights NHP (NY) - The park is currently advertising a 
temporary promotion/detail opportunity for a GS-025-13 park manager 
(superintendent), not to exceed one year.  The reason for this 
temporary promotion/detail opportunity is that the current 
superintendent has been called to active duty for a one-year time 
period. Housing is available and relocation expenses will be paid. The 
position has been announced on USA Jobs as BOSO-01-26; it closes on 
Friday, November 30th. [Bill Oelfke, BSO]

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MEETING AND EVENTS CALENDAR

This calendar appears every other Monday as an addendum to the Morning 
Report. Please note:

o       Entries are listed no sooner than FOUR months before an event, 
        except in cases in which registration dates close much 
        earlier. 

o       Brevity in submissions is required and appreciated.

o       Please send along web sites for additional information where 
        possible.

o       Asterisks (*) indicate new or revised entries. 

**********************************************************************

* November 28 - 29: NATIONAL SUMMIT ON OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND 
RENEWABLE ENERGY ON PUBLIC LANDS, Pomona, CA. Last May, the National 
Energy Policy Development Group recommended to the President that the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy work together to 
re-evaluate access limitations to federal lands in order to increase 
renewable energy production such as biomass, wind, geothermal, and 
solar. In response to this request, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and 
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham have convened this meeting. The goal 
of this historic summit is to increase renewable energy production on 
public lands by listening, gathering ideas, and producing tangible 
solutions where possible to eliminate access limitations to federal 
lands. Leaders from the renewable energy sectors will appear and 
present their ideas and recommendations on the importance of 
increasing the use of these resources. Participants will identify 
process and access problems and impediments that relate to permitting, 
leasing, public lands access, and other regulatory delays/impediments; 
government procurement and energy purchasing; (strikethrough: and) 
transmission access and adequacy; and government utilization of 
off-grid systems. For more information on the summit and on 
registration, please go to www.eren.doe.gov/renewable_energy_summit/. 
The primary contacts are Peggy Rummel (303-275-3691) and Sandy 
Rainbolt (202-208-5716). [Steve Pittleman, WASO]

                            *  *  *  *  *

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the 
cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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