Wright Brothers National Memorial (NC)
First Flight Centennial Preparations Continue
The Service's Type 2 Eastern All Risk Incident Management Team (IMT)
is on site at the park, coordinating the various activities associated
with this world-renowned event, which will be held between Friday,
December 12th, and Wednesday, December 17th.
The effort is being
lead jointly by the state of North Carolina and the National Park
Service (with shared incident command responsibilities) and in
partnership with over 40 local, state, and federal agencies and private
organizations. The event is being managed under the unified command
system, primarily to facilitate communications among the high number of
partners and event organizers and a large support staff of more than
1,000 people.
Team responsibilities include crowd management,
traffic control, law enforcement, site and VIP security, emergency
medical services, aviation traffic management, radio communications,
interpretation, emergency response and media access.
Many of the
security and safety concerns stem from the large number of people who
will be attending (170,000 plus), the large number of dignitaries who
will be present (high level federal and state officials, high ranking
military officers, and other special guests), and the intense national
and international media coverage. Around 750 media representatives are
expected to attend the event, including media from Italy, Israel,
Netherlands, Austria, United Kingdom, Japan and Latin America.
Law enforcement agencies and emergency management services
involved range from local agencies such as the Dare County Sheriff's
Office and Emergency Management Service to North Carolina Alcohol Law
Enforcement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the NPS.
Security operations involve issuing credentials to all staff
personnel, vendors, entertainers, and exhibitors, utilizing a U.S.
Secret Service credentialing system. More than 2,600 credentials are
being issued by the IMT.
Security elements include three miles
of fencing around the perimeter of the site, with public access only
through three designated access points where 42 magnetometers will be
used to screen attendees. A major responsibility for event personnel
will be moving a crowd of approximately 35,000 per day through these
three security access points.
Logistical support to accommodate
all the entities, special guests and dignitary functions and event
activities has been phenomenal. Event amenities have occupied a lot of
area inside the park — extra facilities for vendors, exhibitors,
seating, media, operations, and staging. Support work included making
arrangements for and putting in place 700 telephones with 7,000 feet of
cable, 1,500 feet of water lines, 7,728 linear feet of bike barriers,
the three miles of fencing, 14 trailer units (including the ICP), and
issuance of numerous contracts for materials, supplies, lodging and
meals.
Adding another layer of complexity is the lack of parking
at the site to accommodate such an event. An external transportation
plan has been developed by North Carolina Department of Transportation
to transport attendees to and from the site. An internal transportation
plan was also developed to shuttle event personnel.
A full day
of programs will occur each day and many exhibitors will be staged
throughout, providing informative and interesting demonstrations and
interactive displays related to aviation. Several well known performers
will be entertaining the crowd — the Beach Boys, Temptations, Lee
Greenwood and Aaron Tippin. John Travolta will be the master of
ceremonies on the 17th.
Over 225 NPS employees are assigned to
the event — 90 or so are Outer Banks Group employees.
For
more information on the event, visit www.firstflightcentennial.
com.
[Submitted by Nancy Gray, IO, Eastern Type 2 IMT]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Big Thicket National Preserve (TX)
GS-11/12 Chief of Resource Management
Big Thicket has an opening for a GS-11/12 interdisciplinary position as the chief of the Division of Resources Management. The position can either be filled by a GS-1301-11/12 physical scientist or by a GS-401-11/12 biologist. The announcement numbers are BITH 2004-01 and 2004-02 and close on December 17th. The person in this position serves as the division chief and is a critical member of the park's management team and the principal advisor to the superintendent on natural and cultural resources and related programs. He/she directs an intricate program of natural resource management activities that involve sensitive and complex issues that may impact a wide variety of park and public issues, and supervises three or more permanent and seasonal employees. Applicants with strong skills in leadership, supervision, and management are encouraged to apply. The duty station is Beaumont, Texas, where park headquarters is located. Beaumont is in southeast Texas, which has a semi-tropical climate which draws residents and visitors year-round to enjoy recreational activities, including hiking, camping, fishing, canoeing, boating, hunting, biking and a multitude of other activities. More information may be obtained by calling the park at 409-839-2690, extension 240 or 244. [Nellie Martinez]
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.