East Coast Areas
Hurricane Isabel Recovery Update
The following reports reflect the status of operations through Monday.
Type 2 Team (Sherrie Collins)
Crews are making excellent progress on continued cleanup of roads and trails in Colonial NHP, Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania NMP, Richmond NBP and Petersburg NB. It's possible that all the trails and roads in Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania will be cleaned up within the next few days, at which time personnel there will be shifted to another park. The Colonial Parkway crew has completed cleanup on one side of the road for over four of its 23 miles. An additional hazard to the ongoing recovery effort is the increasing park visitation as areas open up, especially on weekends. Curious visitors are attempting to get too close to crews, and are accessing closed roads on bicycles, foot or horseback.
The FMSS team completed its compilation of the damage assessments for the 27 parks that sustained hurricane-related damage on Sunday evening. This monetary figure was forwarded to Director Mainella's office yesterday.
Staff working in the Jamestown unit began the construction of a ventilation system for the closed visitor center yesterday. The ventilation will keep mold from growing in the building, which would pose a hazard to demolition workers.
The Central Incident Management Team (Sherrie Collins, IC) has taken over management of the incident. The National Team will be in the Washington Office today to brief the director and other members of her staff.
The National Incident Management Team wishes to express its thanks to the superintendents and staffs of the parks that it has been assisting with hurricane recovery. These people have put in hundreds of extra hours of hard work to get their areas up and running, in spite of dealing with personal hardships, and their hospitality and assistance has been very much appreciated. The IMT also wishes to extend its deepest appreciation to the superintendents and staffs of all the park units who have released personnel and other resources from their parks to assist with the hurricane recovery effort.
There are 370 personnel currently assigned to the recovery effort. The cost to date is $4,707,941.
Additional Information
- NPS Interactive Map Center — Select maps of parks affected by the hurricane: http://maps2.itc.nps.gov/nps/parkatlas/jsp/atlas.jsp
- Hurricane Photo Gallery — Photos showing impacts of hurricane on parks and recovery efforts (available only within the NPS): http://inside.nps.gov/people/hurricane/
- NEW: Public Affairs Hurricane Photo Gallery — A second gallery of shots, this one accessible by those of you reading this on the public edition of the Morning Report (the above gallery is available only within the NPS): http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/HurricaneIsabel/
- NPS IMT Web Page — Home page for NPS incident management teams: http://www.nps.gov/fire/allrisk/
Reports compiled from submission by Kris Fister, IO, Type 1 IMT.
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (SC)
Special Event: Naturalization Ceremony
On September 17th, 172 people from 62 different countries defied a
possible hurricane to become America's newest citizens in the park's
sixth annual naturalization ceremony. Charles Pinckney was a major
framer and signer of the United States Constitution, and the park is
situated on a remnant of his 715-acre plantation, Snee Farm. This
ceremony is held at the park each year on the anniversary of the signing
of the Constitution, with this year being the Constitution's 216th
birthday. According to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration
Services (formerly INS), many of the naturalization candidates who are
sworn in at the park specifically request this particular ceremony after
hearing about it. It is one of very few ceremonies that does not occur
inside of a federal courtroom. Approximately 400 people attended the
event. There were no incidents.
[Submitted by Bill Martin, Public
Information Officer]
Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area (KY,TN)
Special Event: Annual Storytelling Festival
During the week of September 15th, the park held its eleventh annual
"Haunting In The Hills" Storytelling Festival. This year's event
featured eight professional storytellers from across the country. During
the course of the week, these tellers, along with a uniformed ranger,
visited 32 schools and gave presentations to over 11,000 students and
800 teachers — almost every head start, elementary, middle school
and high school in the five counties that surround the park. The school
presentations were funded in part by donations received through the
Friends of the Big South Fork and community businesses. On Saturday, the
festival concluded with a full day of events, workshops and performances
held in the fields adjacent to the Bandy Creek Visitor Center. The
morning featured craft workshops, included basket making, flint
knapping, wood carving, quilting, and dulcimer classes. During the
afternoon; the storytellers presented family-oriented stories, followed
by presentations from students representing several of the local schools
and members of the audience, a concert by the Knoxville Area Dulcimer
Club and bluegrass music. About 2,000 people attended during the
afternoon. The festival ended with a night of ghost stories, which was
attended by over 3,000 people. The "Haunting in the Hills" continues to
be the largest free storytelling event in the Southeast.
[Submitted
by Steven Seven, Chief of Interpretation]
Sitka National Historical Park (AK)
Conviction and Sentencing in Assault on Ranger
On July 11, 2003, chief ranger Clair Roberts stopped P.D. for riding his bicycle in the park in violation of a 36 CFR 1.5 closure. P.D. gave false information, tried to leave, then assaulted Roberts. Shortly thereafter, Sitka police apprehended P.D. as he was leaving the park. P.D. was charged with assault on a federal officer (18 USC 111(a)(1)) in U.S. District Court in Juneau. On August 21st, P.D. pled guilty to assaulting a federal officer, a Class A misdemeanor, and to the bicycle closure violation, a Class B misdemeanor. Sentencing occurred on September 30th. Prior to sentencing, P.D. publicly expressed remorse and apologized for his actions to the court, his family and the community and submitted a written letter of apology to Roberts and Sitka NHP. The judge expressed his concerns about the seriousness of the offense of assaulting any law enforcement officer and indicated he was strongly influenced by Alaska state law and protocol, which dictates mandatory jail time for such offenses. The judge also said that he felt jail time was appropriate in this case, and that a strong educational message needed to be sent to the community at large that park rangers have the legal authority and obligation to enforce regulations in Sitka NHP. P.D. accordingly received the following sentence:
- ten days incarceration, with credit for time served
- a $500 fine plus $35 in court fees
- a year's supervised release, with standard conditions of probation
- restitution to OWCP to cover expenses for Roberts' medical treatments
- banishment from the park and from contact with Roberts for a year
- a minimum of three drug tests, dates to be determined by the probation office
- a mental health assessment for anger management counseling
- a warrantless search order of person and residence for suspected violations.
[Submitted by Clair Roberts, Chief Ranger]
Crater Lake National Park (OR)
Assist with Illegal Mushroom Harvesting, Drug Violations
Ranger Ken Hay assisted Winema National Forest special agents and
officers in the investigation of illegal matsutake mushroom harvesting
just outside the east park boundary on September 22nd. Four people were
contacted at their campsite, which was camouflaged by brushing out
vehicle tracks and using tree branches to conceal tents and vehicles.
The investigation led to the discovery of approximately 100 pounds of
matsutake mushrooms, methamphetamine, and numerous syringes. Forest
Service agents arrested Noel Harshman, 47, for possession of
methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and commercial
mushroom harvesting in a closed area. Also cited for commercial
harvesting were D.S., 63, and S.E., 43. Evidence was
also found of recent mushroom harvesting within the park, but it was
insufficient to charge the suspects with violations of NPS regulations.
Winema National Forest lands that are immediately east of the park
boundary are closed to commercial harvesting of mushrooms, but areas
just north of the park allow harvesting under a commercial permit
system. Although the matsutake crop has been abundant and of high
quality this fall, the market value is much lower than in past years,
with pickers receiving only about $4 per pound for prime mushrooms.
Mushrooms are purchased by roadside buyers and shipped to Japan, where
they are a delicacy that sells for up to several hundred dollars per
pound. Evidence of widespread illegal matsutake harvesting has been
found within the park this fall following weather conditions which were
favorable to their growth. An interagency investigation continues,
involving the park, Winema National Forest and Oregon State Police.
[Submitted by David Brennan, Chief Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park (AL)
GS-11 Chief Ranger
The park is recruiting for an experienced person to take over an active program of visitor and resource protection, resource management, emergency services, and wildland/prescribed fire. This job presents a great opportunity to prepare for a chief ranger position in a medium-sized park. The position has been approved for secondary (6c) coverage. He/she will supervise a GS-9 ranger (6c) and a seasonal bio-tech. The chief ranger is responsible for developing park policies, the park compendium, general agreements, needs assessments, PMIS requests, and other administrative duties. She/he also manages the natural resources program for the park, including wildland fire, IPM, invasive plant/animal control, NEPA, etc. If you would like more information or a copy of the announcement (SESO-03-125), contact the park at 256-234-7111 or see the announcement at www.usajobs.opm.gov. The announcement closes on October 22nd. [Mark Lewis, Superintendent]
[Submitted by Mark Lewis, Superintendent]
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.