NPS Visitor and Resource Protection
The Morning Report
Tuesday, February 22, 2005


INCIDENTS

Denali National Park & Preserve (AK)
Search Suspended on Mt. Huntington

Efforts have been suspended in the search for a lost climber on Mt. Huntington. Trapper Creek climber J.S., 26, is missing and presumed dead in an avalanche which occurred on Tuesday, February 15th. J.S. was last seen alive by his climbing partner, J.R., on Tuesday morning, as the pair approached the mountain's West Face Couloir route. After several hours of probing in avalanche debris in search of his partner, J.R. used a satellite phone to initiate search and rescue efforts. J.R., a furloughed Denali National Park mountaineering ranger, was on a personal climb at the time of the incident. Poor visibility precluded a rescue effort the evening of the avalanche. On Wednesday morning, multi-agency aerial searches were conducted by members of the Air National Guard, the Alaska State Troopers, and the National Park Service. Avalanche expert Blaine Smith of the Alaska Mountain Safety Center was also flown to the search zone to make an avalanche risk assessment. Smith's assessment concluded that the search zone was confined to an area smaller than the size of a football field, and that J.S.'s likely location was in a large crevasse at the bottom of the slide path. Smith and NPS ranger Gordy Kito determined that the area probed by J.R. immediately following the accident was the spot where J.S. most likely buried. Avalanche concerns and inadequate rotor clearance precluded a helicopter landing at the immediate site, and approaches from safer landing zones were also considered to be heavily avalanche prone. The National Park Service determined that a ground search was unsafe due to the extreme avalanche danger. An additional aerial search was conducted on the morning of Thursday, February 17th, by Alaska State Trooper pilot Mel Nading, Alaska State Trooper SAR coordinator Craig MacDonald, and Blaine Smith. The crew determined that the avalanche hazard remained too severe for a ground search, and no new evidence was observed in the search zone. Due to the extremely hazardous conditions in the vicinity, a body recovery is unfortunately not possible. Said NPS incident commander Meg Perdue: "We would like to thank everyone who assisted in this search effort. We appreciate the quick and professional response from the different agencies involved, and the many offerings of help from the local community. Our thoughts are with Johnny's family and friends."
[Submitted by Maureen McLaughlin]




Zion National Park (UT)
Man Sentenced in Connection with Poaching Incident

J.K.G., 25, of St. George, Utah, has been ordered to serve two days of a three-month suspended jail sentence and required to pay $4,000 in restitution to Utah's "Help Stop Poaching" program for his connection with an elk poaching incident in the park. J.K.G. was found in possession of the upper front teeth or "ivories" of a bull elk killed in the park in October of 2003. He has not been charged with the killing of the elk. The poaching incident is still under investigation. A federal magistrate imposed the sentence on J.K.G., who had pled guilty to possession of unlawfully taken wildlife, a violation of the federal Lacey Act. In addition to the jail time, J.K.G. was placed on a year's probation, during which time he is banned from entering Zion National Park as one of the conditions of his probation. The bull elk, whose head had been removed and body left to rot, was found east of the Kolob Terrace Road, two miles south of Blue Springs Reservoir. It's believed that the antlers were removed from the head and possibly hidden on private lands in the vicinity of Oak Valley, east of Kolob Reservoir. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the killing of the elk. If anyone has information about the antlers or the killing of the elk, please contact one of the following:

  • Zion National Park, 435-772-0178
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Cedar City Office), 435-865-0861
  • Utah Division of Wildlife Resources "Help Stop Poaching" hotline, 1-800-662-3337

[Submitted by Public Affairs]




FIRE MANAGEMENT

Fire and Aviation Management
NPS Takes Home National Fire Plan Awards

To the sound of applause in the audience on Tuesday evening, Dan Mapstone, fire management officer at Natchez Trace Parkway, accepted the National Fire Plan Award for Excellence in Community Assistance. Over 30 national awards were presented to groups and individuals from across the country who have furthered the goals and objectives of the National Fire Plan during 2004. The award winners were selected from more than 120 peer-reviewed nominations submitted from natural resource management agencies in Federal, State, and local governments, non-government organizations, and other partners. Award recipients from the National Park Service included Natchez Trace Parkway for Excellence in Community Assistance; Southeast Fire Ecology Partnership for Excellence in Collaboration (NPS Representative - Caroline Noble, Southeast Regional Fire Ecologist); Color Country Fuels and WUI Committee, Utah for Excellence in Hazardous Fuels Reduction (NPS Representative — Bruce Fields, Assistant Fire Management Officer from Bryce Canyon National Park); and the Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group for Excellence in Collaboration. Following are highlights from a two of the nominations.

Natchez Trace Parkway was selected for Excellence in Community Assistance through its participation in the various communities along the parkway. The citation read: Throughout the year, the Parkway collaborates with 52 rural fire departments along 444 miles of parkway traversing three states. Through the Rural Fire Assistance Program, the park helps provide basic wildland fire suppression materials and gear for those departments as part of the National Fire Plan. The Natchez Trace Parkway Fire Management Program demonstrates an outstanding contribution and commitment to advancing the goals of the National Fire Plan through collaboration with local agencies, enhancing the protection capabilities of rural fire departments, and helping the public in understanding wildland fire and the management challenges it presents.

The Southeast Fire Ecology Partnership (SEFEP) received the award for Excellence in Collaboration. The citation read: Defining historic reference conditions, especially in southeastern landscapes, can be problematic. In an effort to ensure consistency, the SEFEP is taking the lead in the development and compilation of information regarding reference landscape conditions for the southeastern states.

Other nominees from the National Park Service for National Fire Plan Awards this year included:

Excellence in Community Assistance

  • Zion Fire Management, Utah
  • Natchez Trace Parkway, Alabama , Mississippi , and Tennessee
  • Ozark National Scenic Riverways , Missouri

Nominees for Excellence in Collaboration

  • Chris Revels, Kings Mountain National Military Park , South Carolina
  • Dan Hurlbert, Alan Williams, & Doug Raeburn, Shenandoah National Park , Virginia
  • Fred Bird, National Park Service Midwest Region Fire Management Program
  • Idaho State Fire Plan Working Group
  • Ozark National Scenic Riverways , Missouri
  • Robert and Wedge Post-Fire Collaborative Group, Montana
  • Shenandoah Valley Interagency Wildfire Prevention and Education Team, Virginia
  • Southeast Fire Ecology Partnership
  • Southern Mississippi Fire Planning Unit Prototype

Nominees for Excellence in Hazardous Fuels Reduction

  • Buffalo National River, Arkansas
  • Color Country Fuels and WUI Committee, Utah
  • Denali National Park and Preserve Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project Team, Alaska
  • Lassen Volcanic National Park Staff, California
  • National Park Service Southeast Region Fire Management Program

Nominees for Excellence in Firefighter Preparedness, Training, and Safety

  • Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina, Virginia

Nominees for Innovation in Biomass Utilization

  • Denali National Park & Preserve Hazardous Fuels Reduction s Project Team, Alaska

A complete list of all National Fire Plan Award nominees may be found at http://www.fireplan.gov. Congratulations to all the National Fire Plan Award recipients and nominees.
[Submitted by Tina Boehle, tina_boehle@nps.gov, 208-387-5875] More Information...




PARKS AND PEOPLE

Chaco Culture National Historical Park (NM)
GS-025-7/9 Law Enforcement Ranger

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, located in northwestern New Mexico, is seeking applicants interested in a lateral reassignment to a GS-0025-7/9 law enforcement ranger position. Chaco was established in 1907 to protect extensive and extraordinary prehistoric Native American ruins and archeological resources. In 1987 it was designated a World Heritage Site and enjoys both national and international prominence as an outstanding site to experience prehistoric architecture and native cultures. The ranger in this position will be part of the Visitor and Resource Protection Division and will perform the full range of law enforcement and emergency services. The members of the division's relatively small staff work very closely with staff in other park disciplines, particularly the Divisions of Natural and Cultural Resources. Protection rangers at Chaco are therefore provided a wide range of experiences beyond the realm of strict law enforcement and emergency services. The protection staff is actively involved with the management and protection of the parks more than 4,000 archeological sites, and opportunities exist to become involved with the NEPA and Section 106 planning process, work with the state historical preservation office, plan and manage front and back country trails, work with GIS, and participate in on-going natural resource studies, such as an elk study that includes the tracking of the resident herd, a small mammals study, and ground water studies. Occupancy of on-site NPS housing is required. For questions about the position and the park, call chief ranger B J Ratlief at 505-786-7014 x 231. If you are interested in such an assignment, please submit your application to the Office of Personnel at Aztec National Monument, Atten: Gayle Lopes, #84 County Road 2900, Aztec, NM 87410 (phone: 505-334-6174 ext. 20). In order to be considered, applications must be postmarked by March 11th. Chaco Culture NHP is located in the Four Corners area of New Mexico. The nearest towns are Bloomfield, 65 miles northwest, Farmington, 75 miles northwest, and Aztec, 70 miles northeast. The nearest grocery store is located at Crownpoint, 39 miles to the south. Schools, shopping, doctors, hospitals, etc., are located in the three nearest towns (Bloomfield, Farmington, and Aztec). The park is accessed only by dirt roads. The primary entrance off of NM 550 and County Road 7900-7950 is 16 miles of dirt road; the secondary access from the south off of NM 9 and NM 57 is 19 miles of dirt. Precipitation for the area is minimal; however, at these infrequent times of heavy rain or snow the dirt roads may become impassable. Occupancy of government housing is required. For information on the park, consult the website: http://www.nps.gov/chcu. For information on the nearby communities, consult: http://www.farmingtonnm.org, http://www.aztecnm.com, and http://www.epcog.org/nw/pdf/citbloo.pdf.




Mount Rainier National Park (WA)
GS-025-9 STF Protection Ranger

The park is seeking qualified candidates for a lateral transfer to a GS-025-9 STF commissioned law enforcement ranger position in its Ranger Division. One position will be filled. The ranger in this position will be responsible for visitor and resource protection duties in the park's East District. Major duties include law enforcement, EMS, structural fire, SAR and working cooperatively with other enforcement agencies. Law enforcement activities include a wide range of resource issues, highway interdiction, enforcement of resource protection laws, and providing for the safety of park employees and the visiting public. EMS skills will be frequently utilized. For additional information about this position, please contact district ranger Uwe Nehring at 360-825-6585 ext. 210.
[Submitted by David Ashe]




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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.