NPS Morning Report - Thursday, May 23, 2002


                           NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT


To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, May 23, 2002

INCIDENTS

01-502 - Ozark NSR (MO) - Follow-up on Hate Crime

On May 22, 1999, a Hispanic family of seven who were camping at Blue Spring
Primitive Campground on the Jacks Fork River were attacked by four men. The
family was terrorized, assaulted, and threatened with death. On February
25th, three defendants entered guilty pleas for conspiracy to violate civil
rights, aiding and abetting in the willful interference of a federally
protected activity (camping on federal lands), and destruction of property
on federal lands.  D.W., 25, C.M., 22, and R.H.,
28, all of  Mountain View, Missouri, were each sentenced to
60 months in jail, three years' probation, and required to pay $7,987 in
restitution ($5,000 to the family for damage to their vehicle and the rest
for government costs to relocate the family for victim/witness protection).
D.W. was also sentenced to serve 42 months for parole violations, with the
sentences to run consecutively. C.M.'s and R.H.'s sentences were
reduced for cooperating with the government. On May 13th, 20-year-old Jimmy
J.R.D.W., also of Mountain View and a juvenile at the time of the
incident, pled guilty in court in Shannon County to two counts of first
degree assault (Class B felonies), three counts of second degree assault
(Class C felonies), and one count of first degree property damage (Class D
felony). D.W. was sentenced to five years for both of the first degree
assault counts, seven years for all counts of second degree assault, and
five years for first degree property damage, all sentences to run
concurrently for a total of five years with the Missouri Department of
Corrections. Ozark NSR special agent Dan Madrid was the primary case agent,
with significant assistance from MWRO agents Gary Pace and Guy Whitmer and
Ozark NSR rangers Jodi Towery and David Ratliff. An investigator with the
FBI also greatly contributed to the successful outcome. AUSA Paul Hahn of
the Eastern District of Missouri and Adriana Viecho from the Department of
Justice's Civil Rights Division in Washington prosecuted the case and were
presented with award plaques from the park staff. The relocation of the
family was a cooperative effort of the victim/witness program with the U.S.
Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri and the National
Park Service, and may be the first action of it's kind in DOI history.
[Larry Johnson, CR, OZAR, 5/22]

02-182 - Zion NP (UT) - Climbing Fatality

On May 21st, R.T., 35, of Bournemouth, England, fell about 180
feet to his death while attempting "The Spaceshot," a technical route on
the Leaning Wall on the east end of Zion Canyon between Big Bend and the
Temple of Sinawava. R.T. was climbing with a partner, also from England,
who was not hurt. The cause of the fall is still under investigation.
According to R.T.'s partner, the two climbers were descending from their
climbing route when the accident occurred. Ranges conducted a critical
incident stress debriefing with the partner in order to help him with
personal needs. [David Eaker, ZION, 5/22]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

National Fire Situation

Preparedness Level 2

Initial attack was moderate in the Southwest yesterday and light elsewhere.
Four new large fires were reported. Among the more significant were the
following:

Newly Reported

•     Borrego Fire, Santa Fe NF (350 acres, 0% contained, 85 FF/OH) -
Bateman's Type 1 team has been assigned. The fire is burning      in pinion
and ponderosa pine three miles east of Cundyio, New Mexico.

Previously Reported

•     Schoonover Fire, Pike-San Isabel NF (4,000 acres, 0% contained, 425
FF/OH) - A Type 1 team (Hart) is managing the fire, which   is burning
three miles southwest of Deckers, Colorado. The fire made a 2,500-acre run
yesterday afternoon, with spotting
      observed up to three-quarters of a mile ahead of the fire. The fire
has crossed a highway and burned across a major power line.
      Over 400 structures are threatened, but only one has so far been
lost.

•     Bucktail Complex, Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison NF (3,320 acres,
15% containment, 248 FF/OH ) - Sisk's Type 2 team     has been assigned to
the three fires in the complex, which is five miles northeast of Nucla. The
fires are burning in ponderosa
      and pinion pine, juniper, sagebrush and oakbrush. Inaccessibility and
extremely rugged terrain are hampering containment
      efforts.

•     Bullock Fire, Coronado NF (6,819 acres, 25% containment, 430 FF/OH) -
Kvale's Type 2 team is managing the fire, which is          burning in
grass, oak and chaparral about 15 miles northeast of Tucson. Extreme fire
behavior and rapid rates of spread were
      reported yesterday. Crews are flanking the fire with direct attack
hand lines and burnout operations. A ski area and 715
      structures are threatened. The Pima County Sheriff's Office has begun
preparation of contingency evacuation orders.

•     Cow Camp Fire, Southern Ute Agency (340 acres, 100% contained, 231
FF/OH ) - The fire, which is eight miles southeast of
      Mancos, Colorado, and not far from Mesa Verde NP, has been fully
contained.

•     Blackjack Bay Complex, Okefenokee NWR (95,741, 0% containment, 181
FF/OH) - A fire use management team (Adams) is
      operating under a unified command with Georgia and Florida forestry.
No significant activity.

•     Tram Fire, Coconino NF (190 acres, 90% contained, 219 FF/OH ) - A
Type 2 team (Waldrip) is assigned. The fire is burning in
      pine and mixed conifer forest six miles west of Clint Wells, Arizona.
Crews are patrolling and mopping up.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Colorado,
Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.

National Resource Commitments

                  Thu   Fri   Sat   Sun   Mon   Tue   Wed
Date              5/16  5/17  5/18  5/19  5/20  5/21  5/22

Crews             45    41    31    13    14    53    83
Engines           131   124   94    13    23    107   107
Helicopters       14    13    12    5     7     24    25
Air Tankers       2     2     0     2     4     4     1
Overhead          347   379   345   89    82    444   459
Type 1 IMT        1     1     --    --    --    1     2
Type 2 IMT        --    --    --    1     2     4     3
Fire Use IMT            1     1     1     1     1     1     1

Fire Warnings and Watches

NICC has issued two FIRE WEATHER WATCHES - the first is for gusty southwest
winds, very low relative humidity and extreme fire danger for southern and
eastern New Mexico, the second is for low relative humidity, northeast
winds and high dispersion indices for Florida.

Park Fire Situation

Everglades NP (FL) - The park continued a prescribed burn in the East
Everglades on Tuesday, burning about 30 acres between 237th Avenue and a
mowed line constructed in sawgrass. The main objective of the burn was to
create a buffer that will limit wildland fire spread into the park and
protect the habitat of the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

Park Fire Danger

Extreme - Grand Canyon NP
Very High - N/A
High - N/A

[NPS Situation Summary Report, 5/22; NICC Incident Management Situation
Report, 5/23]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month - The President's Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports has announced a new program entitled "Get Fit
FAST" in commemoration of the month, a program endorsed by Director
Mainella. FAST is an acronym that stands for:

•     FACILITATING the public's awareness and understanding of the
importance of movement for health and increasing opportunities    for
regular physical activity.
•     ACTIVATING Americans by helping them to include all forms of movement
in their daily lives.
•     SUPPORTING people in their efforts to be physically active by working
with organizations to create opportunities and accessible   facilities for
daily physical activity.
•     TRANSFORMING our nation from a sedentary population prone to health
problems resulting from physical inactivity into a nation   of active,
healthy people.

The director has asked that employees work to support the program's six
goals:

1.    Increasing awareness of the health benefits of daily physical
   activity.
2.    Increasing the number of Americans of middle school age and above who
   engage in 30 minutes of daily physical activity,
      including seniors, people with disabilities, and people with chronic
   diseases and health conditions.
3.    Increasing the number of children who are active 60 minutes a day.
4.    Increasing opportunities for Americans to be physically active in
   school, in the workplace, and during their leisure time by
      developing and supporting public and private sector initiatives that
   include quality programs and resources for physical activity.
5.    Promoting leisure time physical activity by increasing the
   availability of and access to community facilities (e.g., school gyms
      and tracks before and after hours; walking, hiking and bicycle
   trails; parks and recreation areas) and providing adequate
      safety/security measures in parks and recreation areas.
6.    Encouraging sports participation and promoting the values of good
   sportsmanship among youth, parents, coaches and teams.

For more information on National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
(referred to as "May Month") , go to
http://www.fitness.gov/may_month_observances.html .

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Alaska Support Office (AK) - The Engineering, Planning, and Design Team in
the Alaska Support Office is hiring a permanent GS-023-11/12 outdoor
recreation planner. The primary duty of the person in this position is to
coordinate and manage the development and completion of a number of major
park planning projects, including planning for line item funded
construction projects and for the long-term management of the Alaska
Region's parks. The announcement is open until June 7th and can be found on
USA Jobs. [Heather Rice, ASO]

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP (CO) - Bob Cornelius, district ranger at
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, is retiring after 35 years of
government service.  Prior to his 25 years at Black Canyon and Curecanti
NRA, Bob worked at Glen Canyon NRA, Rainbow Bridge NM, Dinosaur NM, and
Grand Canyon NP. His retirement party will be held on June 29th at the Elk
Ridge restaurant in Montrose, Colorado. A buffet dinner is planned at a
cost of $20 per person. For additional information, please contact Debi
Cory at 970-641-2337 x 200. If you're interested in attending, please RSVP
and send your payment to Debi by June 21st.  Photos, stories, or farewell
wishes are welcome and can be sent to Debi at:  Curecanti NRA, 102 Elk
Creek, Gunnison, CO  81230. [Linda Alick, CR, CURE/BLCA]

                               *  *  *  *  *

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

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