00-216
Rock Creek Park (DC)
Follow-up on Hazmat Spill
00-216 - Rock Creek Park (DC) - Follow-up: Hazmat Spill
On November 4, Pied Piper Pest Control and its employees were
sentenced in U.S. District Court to fines and restitution totaling
$50,000 for violating the Clean Water Act and Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. On May 18, 2000, company employee Charles
Thomas washed the pesticide Prevail, which contains cypermethrin, into a
Pied Piper facility storm drain which drains into Rock Creek in an
industrial area of Silver Spring, Maryland. The highly toxic pesticide
killed fish and invertebrates in the stream, including a six-mile
section in Rock Creek Park. In addition to the fines and restitution,
the judge also suspended the company's license for a total of 18 weeks
over the next three years. Each suspension comes at the height of the
termite season. C.T. was also sentenced to two years probation
and six months of home confinement. The investigation was led by EPA
special agents. USPP/NCRO Ranger Services detective Jon Crichfield
represented the NPS.
[Submitted by Einar Olsen, Regional Chief
Ranger, NCRO]
02-581
Gauley River National Recreation Area (WV)
Stranded Kayakers Rescued
On the evening of November 3, rangers received a call reporting that
two kayakers had failed to arrive at their designated take-out point on
the Gauley River. The Gauley had been running in excess of 4,000 cfs
(cubic feet per second), nearly twice that of the normal fall commercial
"Gauley Season" levels. Rangers interviewed the caller and learned that
S.R., 28 and R.R. 26, both of Pittsburgh, had not arrived
as scheduled at the public river access known as Bucklick. A hasty
search of the other nearby public and private access points turned up no
signs of the two men. At approximately 9:45 p.m., rangers working along
the old railroad grade near the Gauley heard whistle blasts coming from
across the river, upstream of Sweets Falls. Two other rangers drove to
the Sweets Falls access and scrambled and bushwhacked about a half-mile
upstream to the point where the kayakers were stranded. The two men were
in early stages of hypothermia and displayed signs of mental confusion.
Rangers had them eat some energy bars and then began the trip back to
the access road. Obstacles including high cliff bands, rain-swollen
creeks, waterfalls and extremely dense laurel thickets; these
impediments, together with the cold, wet and exhausted state of the
boaters, made the going very slow. All four emerged back at the Sweets
Falls access safely about four hours later. Temperatures had dropped
into the lower to mid-30s during the SAR and it is likely that the two
would not have survived the night without the rangers'
intervention.
[Submitted by Chuck Noll, Park Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
Fire and Aviation Management
Snowfall assists in burning of slash piles at Rocky Mountain National Park
Progress continues on wildland urban interface projects at Rocky Mountain National Park.
Rocky Mountain National Park fire crews are taking advantage of recent snowfall to burn piles of slash materials generated from hazard fuel reduction projects along the wildland urban interface. Due to drought conditions and fire restrictions during this past year, very little burning had been conducted on these projects.
A module from the Fire Use Training Academy (FUTA) in Albuquerque has been assisting park fire crews with the burning projects while completing some required training assignments. The inter-agency FUTA module supplemented available park resources and allowed burning to be conducted simultaneously on both sides of the park. The projects were conducted near Grand Lake on the west side and near private cabins in Moraine Park on the east side. Last week crews burned 234 slash piles and 1 large maintenance pile, the maximum number allowed under state air quality regulations. This week crews are planning to burn an additional 591 to 1065 piles, as weather and smoke conditions permit.
Although it doesn't mean the drought is over, snowpack in many of the major Colorado river basins was at or near 100% of normal for this time of year. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
[Submitted by Scott Sticha, scott_sticha@nps.gov, 970-586-1264] More Information...
Fire and Aviation Management
Hole Prescribed Fire Completed at Lassen Volcanic National Park
The Hole Prescribed Fire, a complex burn, took place at Lassen Volcanic National Park in California from November 1 to November 6, 2002.
Fire management staff completed ground and aerial ignitions this past Friday (11/1/2002) through Sunday (11/3/2002) on the Hole Prescribed Fire, a 560-acre Condition Class 3 mixed conifer unit located in the northwest area of the park. Initial assessments indicate that a mixed severity burn was accomplished that met the project's resource management objectives. This was a complex burn requiring crews to conduct night operations during a significant phase of the ignition operations. Approximately 75 fire management personnel from the NPS, BLM, BIA and USFS contributed to make this a successful project. Snow and rain is expected on the burn unit Thursday through Sunday. 
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
GS-0401-13/14 Supervisory NRM Specialist
The parks are currently seeking applicants for a permanent GS-0401-13/14 supervisory natural resource management specialist. She/he will serve as chief of natural resources and as a member of the superintendent's senior staff, and will actively participate in park planning, including the general management plan, wilderness management plan, and resources management plan. He/she will provide short and long range planning and overall fiscal and personnel management for the Division of Resources Management. The position is based at Ash Mountain headquarters, 15 minutes beyond beautiful Three Rivers, California. See www.usajobs.opm.gov for more details.
[Submitted by Emily Edgar]
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.