NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, March 20, 2002



                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, March 20, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-062 - San Francisco Maritime NHP (CA) - Follow-up: Major Structural Fire

Plans to transform the historic Haslett Warehouse into a 252-room hotel
remain on track despite the five-alarm fire that engulfed the building on
Sunday. Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group, which is leasing the building
from the park, expects that the hotel's opening, scheduled for November,
will be delayed from six to nine months. Despite the spectacular nature of
the fire, only the roof and part of the fourth floor were damaged. The
building, designated a San Francisco historic landmark, is owned by the
National Park Service and has been vacant since 1987. Kimpton, which will
pay the NPS a base rent of $1 million a year, has a 57-year lease on the
property. When it signed the lease in October, 2000, the hotel group said
it would spend $37 million on the renovation. A new museum and visitor
center run by the park will occupy the hotel's ground floor. The hotel's
decor will resemble a ship, with wooden plank floors and portholes in the
lobby. The cause of the fire remains unknown. [Carolyn Said, Staff Writer,
San Francisco Chronicle, 3/19]

02-064 - Big Bend NP (TX) - Border Incidents

Over the past four months, rangers have been involved in a number of
significant border incidents involving smuggling, illegal border crossings
and related violations:

•     On December 21st, a visitor contacted rangers about an out of
bounds campsite near Rio Grande Village. The site was located and a
backpack and bedroll were found there. During the inventory of the
backpack, the rangers found two scales and a waterproof bag that had a
strong odor of marijuana. All of the items were returned and a
surveillance operation was begun. The next day, the backpack's owner was
stopped as he was leaving the park. Rangers conducted a consent search
of his belongings and found both the above items and $4,000 in cash on
his person. The man admitted that he'd arranged to purchase ten
kilograms of marijuana in Mexico, which he was then going to bring back
to Louisiana and sell. He didn't go through with the deal, though,
because he was afraid of being caught. He was issued mandatory citations
for possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug
paraphernalia, off-road travel, and out-of-bounds camping.

•     Santa Elena ranger Jason Smith saw a suspicious person headed
towards Mexico on January 3rd and contacted him about 20 minutes later
as he returned from Mexico. Smith and a  Border Patrol agent found
marijuana and cocaine on his person and arrested him. He was identified
as an employee of Forever Resorts, the park concession. Smith and ranger
Matt Stoffolano conducted follow-up investigations the next day. The
found more drugs and drug paraphernalia at two concession residences.
The employees residing there provided additional information about drug
sales in the housing area that was used to obtain a search warrant for a
concession trailer. The investigation team found more drugs, drug
paraphernalia and a firearm in the trailer. The occupant has been
indicted for felony importation of drugs; additional charges are
pending. Since the residence is located within 500 feet of a school
zone, penalty enhancement provisions will apply.

•     On January 18th, Stoffolano apprehended a fugitive on a
felony warrant originating from a series of undercover drug purchases
made along the U.S./Mexico border. In October of 2000, Stoffolano
purchased approximately 682 grams of peyote from Thomas Ureste. Ureste,
a U.S. citizen living in Boquillas, Mexico, had been a fugitive from
justice since the joint NPS/DEA operation took place. The park law
enforcement specialist learned that he was in Fort Stockton, Texas.
Rangers traveled there and arrested him in a grocery store.

•     Park dispatch received a report of two undocumented aliens in
the Dugout Wells area around 9 a.m. on February 7th. Rangers and Border
Patrol agents found and followed their tracks for about a half mile down
a wash, where they found four illegal aliens       asleep around a small
campfire. The foursome, who were lost and out of food, were turned over
to the Border Patrol.

•     On March 2nd, ranger David Yim stopped a pickup for speeding
near Panther Junction. During the course of the stop, Yim found two
unopened bottles of liquor in the vehicle. All the occupants were under
age and admitted that they'd just returned from Mexico. Yim searched the
pickup and found a plastic bag bearing Mexican logos and containing
several fresh peyote cacti in the truck's bed. Yim subsequently
determined that one of the vehicle's occupants had purchased 263 grams
of peyote while in Mexico. He was charged with possession of a
controlled substance. Five days later, ranger Cary Brown stopped a
vehicle for speeding and discovered a plastic bag containing several
peyote cacti. The total weight was 159 grams. The occupants of the
vehicle said that they'd found it lying next to a backcountry road in
the park near the Mexican border. One of them was charged with
possession of a controlled substance and driving with an expired
license. Intelligence reports indicate that Mexican drug dealers in the
small border towns adjacent to the park stockpiled peyote, which is
harvested in the mountains further south of the border, in anticipation
of the rush of spring break visitors to the park.

[Todd Brindle, BIBE, 3/18]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - The park's Sandy Hook Unit is recruiting for a
GS-0025-11 supervisory park ranger (protection). The person selected will
report to the chief ranger and serve as one of two first level supervisors
performing and supervising resource protection, law enforcement, and
emergency services programs. Sandy Hook, a seven-mile-long barrier beach
peninsula located in Monmouth County, New Jersey, receives over two million
visitors annually and serves the NY/NJ metropolitan area. A historic
leasing program will add new protection needs to the existing diversity of
land and water protection functions. Monmouth County has a mix of both
suburban and rural areas, with a full compliment of services including
schools, shopping areas, hospitals and mass transit to New York City within
minutes of the park. Water-based recreational opportunities abound. The
position requires a level I law enforcement commission, is 6c covered, and
receives a New York area locality pay. Housing may be available within the
park. The incumbent must live within a 30-minute commute. The announcement
is open until March 29th and is available on USA Jobs or by contacting the
personnel office at 718-338-3454. [Russ Wilson, SHU/GATE]

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

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