Servicewide News
NPS Gears Up for Operation Liberty Shield
The National Park Service, working in concert with federal, state and local governments, has mobilized incident management and SET teams and personnel to increase security throughout the agency. Skip Brooks' national Type 1 incident management team is operating under a delegation of authority from the Directorate. Among other tasks, the delegation specifies that the team:
- Provide for the safety and welfare of incident and agency personnel as a first priority.
- Provide for the safety of the public.
- Work closely with park, regional and WASO staff to organize agency homeland security resources to protect agency managed parks and resources in accordance with agency and Department priorities, making sure that the National Park Service meets its obligations as outlined in the National Emergency Response Plan, subsequent related memoranda from the Director and the Department of Homeland Security Advisory System document (February, 2003).
- Evaluate the situation on a timely basis and develop and implement contingency plans as needed, including the pre-positioning of resources based upon current critical intelligence.
- Plan and begin the implementation of a program to provide personal protective equipment and training for potential weapons of mass destruction events to National Park Service law enforcement personnel who are assigned or available for homeland security details.
- Be prepared to assist the Department with homeland security needs.
- Work with the Multi-Region Coordinating Group to improve the agency homeland security coordination system.
- Work closely with the National Park Service Public Affairs Office to identify operational changes occurring in parks because of this incident and assist them in making that information available to the media and public.
Meanwhile, regions and parks across the system are taking necessary measures to protect resources and assure public and staff safety. A substantial number of rangers and agents have been committed so far on tasks pertaining to these objectives:
- Security has been enhanced and additional law enforcement staff are on site at Mount Rushmore NM, Jefferson NEM, Golden Gate NRA, Independence NHP, Boston NHP, the National Mall and other parks.
- Rangers have dealt with demonstrations or the collateral impacts of demonstrations at Independence NHP, Golden Gate NRA and other parks.
- SET teams have been assigned to the National Mall in Washington and to parks in other areas.
Detailed reports on incidents occurring at two of these parks have also been submitted through the normal incident reporting system:
- Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway NRA — Around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, March 21st, ranger Tony Salvemini came upon a group of four Middle Eastern men who were standing together near the C Lot concession plaza. Ranger Sean Miller joined Salvemini in contacting the men, who were illegally inside the park during closed hours. The men were arrested and taken to the unit's holding facility. Three of the men were identified as college students and residents of Jersey City; the fourth was a Pakistani national in the United States on a valid student visa. Their vehicle contained a good deal of anti-Israeli literature and Muslim student literature and an assortment of traffic engineering documents. Agents from the FBI's joint terrorism task force and from NYPD's counter-terrorism bureau assisted with the interviews and investigation. None of the four men were wanted. They were released after receiving tickets for violating park closure regulations. They had come to the park to engage in early morning Friday prayers on the beach.
- Independence NHP — On March 19th, the park learned that a protest involving civil disobedience would be taking place early the next day at the Federal Building/United States Courthouse. The demonstrators' main objective was to shutdown operations at the building, which was accomplished. Rangers assisted with processing the more than 100 demonstrators who were taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct. Three separate anti-war factions marched from city hall to the federal building during the day.
[Submitted by Bob Love, Plans Chief, Type 1 IMT; Brenda Ritchie, Eastern Interagency Coordination Center, Shenandoah NP; Tom Lobkowicz, Special Agent, Gatewary NRA; Katherine Kort, LES, Independence NHP]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Multiple Arrests of Snowmobilers for Entering Closed Areas
Over the past three weeks, rangers in the Gallatin Subdistrict have
arrested a dozen people for riding snowmobiles inside closed and
roadless areas of the park. They were booked at the West Yellowstone PD
jail, then released on bond set by the federal magistrate pending
mandatory court appearances. One group of these snowmobilers was found
more than five miles inside the park. During the same three-week period,
nine other people were issued mandatory appearance citations for
snowmobile use in undesignated areas after being discovered just within
the park in areas where the boundary may be less clearly marked.
Follow-up investigation revealed resource damage in the park caused by
some of the operators running their snowmobiles over the tops of trees
and new vegetation; additional charges are pending in some of these
cases. Increased patrols were begun along the park's western boundary
after rangers noticed increased illegal snowmobile use in that area over
the past several years. Last year, a dozen people were cited for illegal
use of snowmobiles in that segment of the park. Gallatin Subdistrict
rangers have logged 4,000 patrol miles along the western boundary since
January 1st in a specific effort to target illegal snowmobile use in
Yellowstone's backcountry. Aircraft are also being used to help rangers
on the ground combat this increasing problem.
[Submitted by Public
Affairs, Yellowstone NP]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Friday, March 21, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
Only 18 new fires were reported on Thursday. Only one of them escaped initial attack.
Resource commitments to the Columbia Response and Newcastle Incidents remain the same as previously reported.
Fire Danger
| State |
3/17 |
3/18 |
3/19 |
3/20 |
| None |
X |
X |
||
| Arizona |
VH |
|||
| California |
VH |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/12 |
3/13 |
3/16 |
3/17 |
3/18 |
3/19 |
3/20 |
| Crews |
181 |
181 |
161 |
176 |
166 |
148 |
155 |
| Engines |
50 |
52 |
9 |
24 |
25 |
11 |
10 |
| Helicopters |
5 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,747 |
2,728 |
2,605 |
2,665 |
2,425 |
2,817 |
2,407 |
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Lohrey |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T1 |
Anderson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
McCombs |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Ferguson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Hildreth |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| NV |
T1 |
Corley |
Newcastle Incident |
" |
" |
" |
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Servicewide Training
Weekly Listing of Operations Training Opportunities
This calendar appears every Monday as an addendum to the Morning Report and a separate entry for InsideNPS. It is not meant to be replace the Learning Place; rather it is a quick summary of available training with links (as available) to relevant Learning Place pages. Please note:
- New entries are in bold face.
- Submissions for other training courses should conform to the style used here.
- Please include the URL to the web sites where readers can obtain the requisite forms and/or find out additional information about the training course. If a URL is not specifically listed, the announcement can likely be found on the Learning Place, the NPS training page found at http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc.
- Closing dates for applications are underscored.
- Contact names are listed at the end of each entry with parentheses and are given as email addresses.
**********************************************************************************************
March
March 31 — April 4: Fundamentals of Special Park Uses, Atlanta, GA. This course provides comprehensive guidance on all aspects of special park uses, including the permitting process, compliance issues, filming and photography and First Amendment activities. [UPDATE: Although nominations were due in WASO by February 28th, there are still spots available in this course — one of only two scheduled for this fiscal year (the other will be in Albuquerque in August). If you're interested, fax a one-page nomination to Heidi Kunkel at 404-562-3266. For more information, contact Lee Dickinson at 202-513-7092 or Sandy Taylor at 404-562-3158. [Lee_Dickinson@nps.gov]
April
April 28 - May 9: Technical Investigative Equipment Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on March 24. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
April 29 - May 1: Basic EMT Refresher, Zion NP, UT. Taught by Tod Levesh, a former parkmedic and current paramedic and FEM/A urban SAR team member. Tuition: $75. Lodging is at the Driftwood Lodge, 435-772-3262. For more information, contact Cody Cole, EMS coordinator, Zion NP, at 435-772-0163. [Randy-Coffman@nps.gov]
May
May 5 - May 9: High Angle Rope Rescue Training, New River Gorge, WV. The course will focus on basic to advanced high angle rope rescue techniques. All participants must be in good physical condition and be able to spend extended periods of time on fixed ropes. Climbing ability is not necessary. For more information, contact ranger Rob Turan at 304-763-3145 ext. 14. [Rob_Turan@nps.gov]
May 5 - May 16: Physical Fitness Instructor, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Training for physical fitness and wellness coordinators. Graduates will be able to give the PEB and additional assessments. Closes April 1. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
May 12: Park Medic Refresher, University Medical Center, Fresno, CA. Twelve hours of advanced life support continuing education. The course will cover a large portion of the NREMT mandatory core refresher requirements for EMT intermediates. To register, contact Donna Armijo at UMC (559-459-5105); for general information, call Debbie Brenchely at Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP (559-565-4334). [Randy-Coffman@nps.gov]
May 12 - May 16: National Wildfire Investigation Training (XP-NWITP-303), Prescott, AZ. Topics include determining fire causes and origins, processing crime scenes, arson laws, and investigative techniques. Closes on April 3. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
May 12 - May 23: Physical Security, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Physical security systems and procedures, physical security surveys. Closes on April 10. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
May 12 - May 23: Firearms Instructor Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 2. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
May 15 - August 25: Basic Law Enforcement Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 2. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
May 27 - May 30: Instructor Training for Non-Lethal Training Ammunition, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 22. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June
June 2 - June 13: Technical Investigative Equipment Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 29. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June 9 — June 10: Root Cause Analysis for Incident Investigation, Phoenix, AZ. Root cause analysis is a critical element of the incident investigation and reporting management system. This course, presented by Apollo Associated Services, Inc, is designed to establish a cadre of practitioners within each region. Participants will learn to understand, and apply the problem solving and decision making process of root cause analysis to their "real world" problems by developing clear and quantified problem definitions, establishing the cause and effect relationships for the problem, and, most importantly, developing creative solutions that attack and eliminate the causes of the problems. Closes on May 9th. For further information and a nomination form, contact Shirley Rowley via email or at 303-969-2536. [Shirley Rowley, Risk Management, WASO]
June 11 — June 12: Root Cause Analysis for Incident Investigation, Phoenix, AZ. Same as above.
June 9 - June 20: Firearms Instructor Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 29. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June 10 — June 19: Basic Law Enforcement for Supervisors, FLETC, Glynco, GA. This program provides trainees with the opportunity to develop and refined their supervisory abilities. The instructors are all current or former supervisory law enforcement professionals. Closes on April 29. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
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.