NPS Morning Report - Friday, March 29, 2002

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, March 29, 2001

INCIDENTS

02-075 - Buffalo NR (AR) - Drownings

Around midnight on March 25th, three visitors - D.G., 21, M.M.,
19, and Mi.M., age unknown - were exploring Indian
Rockhouse, a large bluff shelter whose normally dry creek bed was flowing
with about eight feet of water. The trio attempted to swim across this
creek; D.G. and M.M. were swept away, but Mi.M. was able to make
it back to shore and ran for help to the Buffalo Point ranger station. He
used the pay phone there to call the county sheriff's office, which in turn
notified the park. Ranger Jeff West was dispatched and became IC for the
incident. Additional resources were called in and a hasty search was
conducted in the area around the shelter and along the creek leading from
the shelter to the Buffalo River, about a mile and a half away. County
divers found the bodies of the two men in a pool of water inside the
shelter the next morning. Participating agencies included the Marion County
Sheriff's Department, Marion County SAR, Ralph Caney Volunteer Fire
Department, Arkansas Game and Fish, and the NPS. A number of volunteers
also participated in the operation. The Buffalo River had risen six feet in
two hours earlier on the 25th; the sudden increase in river flow caught
many boaters off-guard, necessitating the rescue of 15 stranded canoeists
from various locations along the river. [Bob Howard, LES, BUFF, 3/28]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P (AK) - Ranger and pilot Jim Hannah is retiring
after 30 years of service with the NPS. Jim is a recipient of the Harry
Yount Award and has been the backbone of the park's ranger operation. The
staff at Wrangell-St. Elias is planning an appropriate send-off for Mary
11th. Festivities will be held at the Ellis air taxi hanger at Gulkana and
will start at 6:30 p.m. The cost will be $20 per person. If you're planning
on attending, please send an RSVP to Thelma Schrank via email no later than
May 1st. If you can't attend but would like to share photos, stories or
memories or would like to donate to his gift, please send your item/check
to Thelma by May 1st via email or by snail mail to Slana Ranger Station, PO
Box 885, Slana, AK 99586. [Jane Tranel, AKSO]

Capitol Reef NP (UT) - The park is soliciting applications from permanent
NPS employees interested in a lateral reassignment into a GS-025-9 ranger
position in the Visitor and Resource Protection Division. The PFT position
requires a commission and has 6(c) primary designation. Duties include both
frontcountry and backcountry LE patrol, EMS, SAR, and structural and
wildland fire. This is a required occupancy position. Capitol Reef, a
378-square-mile park, is known for its extensive backcountry and the
spectacular slot canyons of the Waterpocket Fold. If interested and
eligible for a lateral reassignment, mail your application to: Personnel,
Capitol Reef NP, HC 70 Box 15, Torrey, UT, 84775. Please indicate "GS-9
Lateral" on the application. Applications must be received by April 15th.
For additional information, contact Tom Cox at 435-425-3791 ext. 130. [Tom
Cox, CARE]

UPCOMING IN CONGRESS

The following activities will be taking place in Congress during coming
weeks on matters pertaining to the National Park Service or kindred
agencies.

For inquiries regarding legislation pertaining to the NPS, please contact
the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs at 202-208-5883/5656
and ask to be forwarded to the appropriate legislative specialist. For
additional information on specific bills (full text, status, etc.), please
check Congress's web site at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

Legislation Introduced

The following bills either directly or indirectly pertaining to the NPS
have been introduced since the last Morning Report listing of new
legislation:

•     H.R. 4004 (Kennedy, RI), a bill to authorize appropriations for the
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
      Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and for other purposes.

•     S. 2033 (Chafee, RI), a bill to authorize appropriations for the John
H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
      Corridor in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and for other purposes.

•     H.R. 4072 (Slaughter, NY), a bill to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to establish a commemorative trail in connection
      with Women's Rights NHP to link properties that are historically and
thematically associated with the struggle for women's
      suffrage, and for other purposes.

Hearings/Mark-Ups

Wednesday, April 10

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies (Skeen):
Hearing on the FY 2003 budget request for the National Park Service.
Witness: Director Fran Mainella. The hearing will be in B-308 Rayburn, time
TBA.

House Resources Subcommittee on Forest Health (McInnis): Hearing on:

•     H.R. 3808 (McInnis, CO), a bill to provide consistent enforcement
authority to the BLM, NPS and USFS to respond to violations
      of regulations regarding the management, use and protection of public
lands, NPS lands, USFS lands, to clarify the purpose for
      which collected fines may be used. Time, location and witness TBA.

April 11

House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands
(Radanovich): A hearing on:

•     H.R. 3307 (Thompson, MS), a bill to acquire the property known as
Pemberton's Headquarters and to modify the boundary of
      Vicksburg NMP.

•     H.R. 3718 (Bono, CA), a bill to authorize a right-of-way through
Joshua Tree NP.

The hearing will be at 2 p.m. in 1334 Longworth. Witness TBA.

April 25

Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior (Byrd): Hearing on the FY
2003 budget request for the Department of the Interior. Time and location
TBA; the witness will be Secretary Gale Norton.

Floor Action

On March 19th, the House passed the following two bills under suspension:

•     H.R. 1712 (Faleomavaega, AS), a bill to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to make minor adjustments to the boundary of
      the National Park of American Samoa to include certain portions of
the islands of Ofu and Olosega within the park, and for
      other purposes: The bill authorizes a boundary adjustment in order to
include additional lands within the park. DOI does not
      oppose the bill. The title of the bill was amended in the House by a
two-thirds majority to read as follows: "A bill to authorize the  Secretary
of the Interior to make adjustments to the boundary of the National Park of
American Samoa to include certain
      portions of the islands of Ofu and Olosega within the park, and for
other purposes."

•     H.R. 3928 (Hansen, UT), a bill to assist in the preservation of
archeological, paleontological, zoological, geological and botanical
      artifacts through construction of a new facility for the University
of Utah Museum of Natural History in Salt Lake City: This
      bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to award a grant to the
Utah Museum of Natural History which would have the
      effect of requiring the federal government to pay 25% of the cost of
construction of the new facility. A total of $15 million is
      authorized. No hearing has been held on the bill. Although DOI has
not taken a position, the bill is identical to H.R. 1491,
      which DOI opposed in a hearing last June because the use of limited
NPS appropriations to fund non-NPS projects reduces the
      availability of a limited amount of discretionary funds to address
the need of our national parks and other important priorities.

New Laws

The following bills have passed Congress and been signed into law by the
President: No new laws.

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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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