01-509
Servicewide News
Follow-up on September 11th
Several reports have been received from parks that conducted, supported or participated in memorial services last Wednesday in commemoration of September 11th:
- Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - A ceremony centered on the site of the World Trade Center was held on the morning of September 11. The ceremony included the playing of taps, moments of silence to mark the times when each of the towers was hit, and other memorials. While the names of victims were read, family members were permitted for the first time to enter the lowest level of the now cleared site. After they walked down a ramp flanked by members of the city's fire and police departments, an honor guard comprised of representatives from agencies participating in the search and recovery efforts encircled a round, temporary structure in which family members placed flowers and remembrances. The honor guard was present for about five hours and consisted of three groups rotating shifts of both uniformed and non-uniformed agencies. These were intermingled to represent the diversity of agencies participating in the disaster relief efforts. The NPS was represented on six different shifts by rangers in full dress uniform - three by ranger Liam Strain, who worked as a volunteer on SAR operations during the first week after the attack, and three by ranger John Hallowell, who helped at the Red Cross support camp and assisted federal investigators at Floyd Bennett Field in the months after the attack.
- Vicksburg NMP (MS) - Park staff, Eastern National employees and VIPs joined together to remember the tragic events of September 11. Approximately 3,000 flags - one for each soul who lost his/her life that day - were placed on a hillside near the park entrance. A large American flag was also raised on a pole situated on the crest of the hill above the field of flags, then lowered to half staff. Visitors then joined in a moment of silence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr. NHS (GA) - The Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta hosted a public interfaith service at Ebeneezer Baptist Church to remember the courage and unity exemplified by individuals, communities, and the nation in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11. The park was directly impacted by this event due to increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Nearly 1,000 people attended the event, including the governor of Georgia and major of Atlanta. No significant law enforcement events occurred, except for the removal of several anti-war protestors from the area. Security was provided by rangers from Martin Luther King, Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Chattahoochee, and Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta police, and Fulton County police.
Other parks with reports of similar ceremonies should send them along
for inclusion in a future edition of the Morning Report.
[Submitted by Marc Koenings, Superintendent, Gateway NRA;
Richard P. Martin, Vicksburg NMP; Clark W. Moore, Chief Ranger, Martin
Luther King, Jr. NHS]
02-464
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Second Major Drug Eradication Operation
On September 4 and 5, law enforcement rangers removed 3, 716
marijuana plants from the South Fork drainage of the Kaweah River. This
operation comes hard on the heels of a major eradication operation that
culminated on August 20 and 26 with the removal of over 20,000 plants
with a street value of $94 million. The plants removed in early
September were within weeks of being harvested and had an estimated
street value of over $14 million. The park contract helicopter
extricated 3,150 pounds of marijuana plants and another 1,200 pounds of
debris and irrigation hoses. No arrests were made, but evidence was
found, which indicated that the growers were living on site. Other items
removed included 250 pounds of unused fertilizer, a hunting knife, and
two rifle scabbards. The plants were being grown in very steep terrain,
with a slope in excess of 45 degrees. Oaks and other trees and brush
were cut to build retaining walls to hold the soil in place, causing
considerable resource damage that will need to be rehabilitated. The
marijuana garden site was within a quarter mile of the Garfield trail, a
historic and very popular trail used by backpackers and stock users
traveling to Hockett Meadows and other destinations in the park and
national forest. The Tulare County Sheriff's Office, with assistance
from officers from California's Campaign Against Marijuana Program
(CAMP), also conducted raids on the same dates in marijuana gardens in
the South Fork drainage approximately one mile outside the park
boundary. The proliferation of marijuana gardens in the park and
adjacent forested lands has been exceptionally high this year.
[Submitted by Al DeLaCruz, Special Agent, Sequoia and Kings
Canyon NPs]
02-465
Gettysburg National Military Park (PA)
Drug Seizure
While working to establish boundary lines in East Cavalry Field on
August 18, rangers discovered eight small, well-tended marijuana plants
growing within the park at the far end of a hay field and behind the
properties within an adjacent private community. Ranger Ricky Pearce
coordinating a joint investigation with the Adams County drug task
force, with the park providing intermittent surveillance of the site.
They determined that a resident of an adjacent property frequently
tended the plants in the late evening. On the evening of September
10, seasonal ranger Maria Brady saw the man enter the field
and begin tending the plants. She reported her observations to the
county task force, members of whom arrested him. He was identified as
R.E. of Gettysburg. Eight four-foot plants were seized;
additional marijuana and paraphernalia were also seized during a consent
search of R.E.'s residence. He will be prosecuted in state court.
[Submitted by Pete Walzer, Supervisory Park Ranger,
Gettysburg NMP]
02-466
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fatal Motorcycle Accident
R.P., 53, of Vinton, Virginia, was heading north on the
parkway on September 9 when his motorcycle struck a deer that had run in
front of him. R.P. was knocked off the motorcycle and hit the pavement,
skidding almost 150 feet before coming to rest. Two off-duty emergency
room nurses arrived just minutes after the accident. They determined
that he was not breathing, so opened his airway, permitting him to
breath again on his own. R.P. was taken to Twin County Hospital and
later transferred to Wake Forest University Baptist Trauma Center, where
he died the next day due to head trauma and internal bleeding.
[Submitted by Greg Johnston, Park Ranger, Blue Ridge
Parkway]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Fire Situation
The NICC Incident Management Situation Report is not available this morning.
Park Fire Situation
There are no NPS fire reports.
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.