NPS Morning Report - Thursday, March 28, 2002

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, March 28, 2002

INCIDENTS

02-074 - Lake Mead (AZ/NV) - Bomb Threat

On March 25th, a Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) employee at Davis Dam at Lake
Mojave was contacted by R.L., 65, of Huntington Beach, California.
R.L. inquired about a tour of the dam. The employee told R.L. that BOR
did not offer such tours and gave him a brochure. R.L. said that he was
looking for a good place for a bomb; he briefly looked around the area
where the power generators are located, then left. The BOR employee was
able to provide R.L.'s vehicle license number and his description to
investigating NPS special agents, who identified R.L. and learned that he
was staying at a casino in nearby Laughlin, Nevada. R.L. checked out,
though, before the agents could contact him. Assistance was solicited from
the FBI office in Los Angeles. FBI agents talked to R.L., who admitted to
his comments about a bomb but denied that he had any plans to do harm. He
said that he was instead "trying to be funny." This incident is one of many
that NPS agents and rangers have investigated regarding potential threats
to the park and Hoover and Davis Dams since September 11th. [Scott Hinson,
LAME, 3/27]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 1

Initial attack was light across the county on Tuesday. Two new large fires
were reported in the South; three more were contained. Prescribed burning
projects continued in the Northwest, Southwest, East and South.

A Type 1 team is working the 985-acre Kokopelli Fire in New Mexico, now
fully contained. A Type 2 team is assigned to the Number 5 #2 Fire on the
Mescalero Agency; it has burned 16,422 acres and is also fully contained.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, New Mexico,
Oklahoma and Texas.

Park Fires

Bent's Old Fort NHS (CO) - A wildland fire began on private property about
four miles west of the park around 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 26th. Fueled
by extremely dry conditions and winds approaching 40 mph, the fire quickly
moved east to park property on both the north and south sides of the
Arkansas River. The fort was evacuated at 1:45 p.m. and the La Junta Rural
Fire Department set a backfire on the north side of the Arkansas River to
protect the fort and other park structures. No one was injured. Park
resources lost or damaged were mostly south of the Arkansas River,
including boundary fences and gates, a domestic water supply, a corral, and
stands of mature cottonwood trees. The fire moved so quickly that some
wildlife was caught in the fire's path. The fire also impacted four
archaeological sites; assessment and stabilization activities will begin
shortly. Some re-vegetation will be required as assessments of the damage
are made. The fire also burned approximately 250 cut piles of tamarisk and
the remaining 50 acres of standing tamarisk within the park. Some of the
tamarisk piles had been scheduled for prescribed burning in April. Over 60
firefighters from 15 mutual aid fire departments from southeastern Colorado
were on the scene for over 16 hours. The La Junta Rural Fire Department
estimates that a total of at least 1500 acres burned along the Arkansas
River. Park staff estimates that the fire impacted 500 of the park's 800
acres.

National Resource Status

Date              3/25  3/26

Crews             32    18
Engines           67    30
Helicopters       9     11
Air Tankers       0     0
Overhead          190   186

[NICC Incident Summary Report, 3/27; Nancy Russell, Curator, BEOL, 3/27]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Great Sand Dunes NM&P (CO) - The park is seeking to fill a seasonal or term
law enforcement ranger position at either the GS-5 or GS-7 level. Duties
include conducting frontcountry and backcountry patrols by four-wheel-drive
vehicle, on foot, and on horseback. At a minimum, applicants must have
completed an approved seasonal ranger academy and be able to qualify for a
Type II law enforcement commission. The park is located in the San Luis
Valley of south-central Colorado and encompass the hemisphere's tallest
dunes plus spectacular mountain peaks over 13,500 feet tall. The park is
quite busy during the spring, summer, and fall months;  hunting is allowed
in the preserve. The position is required occupancy. The city of Alamosa
(population 8,000) is 35 miles away and offers a full range of shopping,
medical, and other amenities. For more information, call chief ranger Jim
Bowman at 719-378-2312 ext. 207. A vacancy announcement will be forthcoming
on USA Jobs. [Jim Bowman, GRSA]

Roosevelt/Vanderbilt NHS (NY) - The park has an immediate opening for a
lateral direct reassignment protection ranger, GS-025-9. The position is
subject-to-furlough with a two month furlough projected for the months of
January and February. The park expanded to include a fourth site last year
- Top Cottage - and is beginning construction of a major new visitor center
this summer. Park housing may be available and many opportunities exist to
live in the local community within a 30 minute response zone. Cost of
living is relatively high; salary is based on the New York City LE salary
table. For further information, call chief ranger Bruce Edmonston at
845-229-6214 or personnel specialist Dede Kette at 845-229-9115.  Submit
applications directly to Roosevelt/Vanderbilt NHS, 4097 Albany Post Rd.,
Hyde Park, NY, 12538. [CRO, ROVA]

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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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