NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Areas

Update on Hurricane Recovery Operations

Jean Lafitte NHP&P/New Orleans Jazz NHP

The Eastern IMT (Gordon Wissinger, IC) is charged with both assisting the employees of the two parks and with overseeing the overall NPS response to the hurricane.

Employee Assistance Branch - EAP staff met with Jean Lafitte superintendent Geraldine Smith to prepare for a visit to Barataria Preserve on Tuesday. EA has submitted and modified the list of employees for the first 50 trailer slots at Bayou Segnette State Park. FEMA trailers have started arriving at the park.

Resources and Facilities Branch - Actions by area:

Barataria - Crews continued to prepare for the reopening of Barataria Preserve by removing debris and clearing Old Barataria Trail and Plantation Trail.

Chalmette - The group working here is removing carpet, furniture and debris from the superintendent's lodge. The first floor of the carriage house is being cleaned. Chipping of wood debris continues at the cemetery. The division met NPS staff and Lorene Walter, facility manager, concerning cultural landscape issues in the cemetery.

New Orleans Jazz - Employees are back at work. Plywood is being moved offsite. At Louis Armstrong Park, crews have boarded the lower first four doors.

Cane River - Historic preservation work continues at Cane River. Hazard tree work continues at Magnolia Plantation. Repairs to the flashing and vent stack at Gin Barn were completed. Roof repairs were performed on the Overseers House. Repairs to the Cotton Shed were made and the roof demolition process began. Debris removal work continues to clear a walking trail eight feet wide in Old Barataria Trail and Plantation Trail.

Bayou Segnette - Workers at the site continued hazard tree assessment and removal of wood debris from campsites, trails, and roads. Rehab continued at campsites 1 through 20. FEMA trailer deliveries started. The first 40 trailers to be used for temporary housing were arriving in the park yesterday.

Law Enforcement Branch - LE rangers were deputized by the U.S. Marshal Service earlier this week. Rangers were demobilized from Lockport and have moved to the ICP in Thibodaux. Incoming LE were immunized. LE provided security at Chalmette. Mr. Joseph's personal possessions were prepared for shipment.

Gulf Islands NS

A second Eastern IMT (Rick Brown, IC) is overseeing recovery operations at Gulf Islands NS.

Hurricanes leave behind debris. To date, IMT forces cut, pushed, shoveled, scooped up, grabbed and hauled away at least 100,000 cubic yards of it. And that's just from the mainland. To provide a sense of volume, a large dump truck carries about 10 cubic yards of material.

Offshore, wreckage includes the remains of housing and other structures tumbled by the storm surge as it charged over the barrier islands. Inside Fort Massachusetts, 6 to 18 inches of muck and debris remained when waters drained from the gaping sally port. Miles of “stuff” washed up on the island shorelines.

Debris is an incredible mix of the natural and not-so-natural, so removal is not so simple. Hazardous materials and wastes need special attention. So far, about one ton of hazardous material and wastes have been removed from the mainland. A contractor arranged by the US Coast Guard hauled away household chemicals, propane and contaminated fuel tanks, and unidentified containers, among other things. The Army Corps of Engineers will take refrigerators and other white goods.

Debris - cross laid and strangely connected - creates unique challenges for safe disposition, especially downed trees mixed with man-made materials. Even open terrain presents problems. Island beaches aren't “steep and rocky,” but bright sun bounces off white sand and water, marsh-based mosquitoes enjoy fine dining on the crews and heat indices are high.

Over the long weekend, the campground on the mainland became operational thanks to IMT staff. The park authorized FEMA to use 47 of the 52 campsites at Davis Bayou for people displaced by the storm. FEMA has installed at least 40 trailers and folks have started moving in. Some Katrina survivors now have temporary homes at Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Additional Information

A web site has been established as a repository for official documents related to hurricane recovery operations: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=15&lv=1" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=15&lv=1.

[Betsy Haynes, Deputy IO, IMT, JELA/JAZZ; Barb Stewart, IO, IMT, GUIS]

Hopewell Furnace NHS

Flooding from Major Rainstorm

On Saturday, October 8th, more than 15 inches of rain fell on the nearby town of Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, causing extensive flooding throughout the area. The massive rainstorm flooded portions of the park maintenance shop, portions of the lower level of the visitor center, and put the Cast House and the Blacksmith Shop under about four feet of water. The unpaved roads leading into the village sustained severe washouts. A large tree fell onto the parked personal vehicle of one of the park's maintenance employees, currently on detail in New Orleans. The park closed at 10 a.m. on Saturday after employees secured historic objects in the village, but was able to reopen on Sunday with some areas cordoned off for safety until roads could be repaired. The Cast House remains closed until mud is cleaned out and the building and its reproduction furnishings are dried. It appears that damage to the visitor center and maintenance shop are minor, presuming that flooded areas can be sufficiently dried to keep mold from growing. [Bill Sanders, Superintendent]

Western Arctic National Parklands

Follow-up on Radioactive Materials Containers

Lead containers suspected of being radioactive were found in the crawl space of an NPS house in Kotzebue on September 29th. Lat week, further investigation and testing by the state of Alaska's Radiological Health Program and the NPS found that the containers were free of radiation and posed no health threat. The team assessed the containers, the house and the area around the outside of the house. During the assessment, the team found no radiation present above natural background levels. A total of 39 containers were found in the crawl space; some were labeled as having once contained radioactive isotopes. It's believed a previous resident of the house stored the containers under the house and abandoned them. The source of the containers is being investigated. For the original report, click on “More Information” below. [John Quinley, Public Affairs, Alaska Regional Office]

PEOPLE

Outer Banks Group

Passing of Jeff Cobb

Jeff Cobb, the group's management assistant, passed away on Tuesday, October 4th, in comfort and surrounded by family. Jeff had a distinguished and quite colorful career with the NPS. Starting in 1978 as an intern at Yellowstone NP, Jeff went on to became one of the Service's top concessions managers, served a major role in the drafting of the law enforcement sections of the NPS Management Policies (2001), and worked on Servicewide jet ski issues. More than that, he was a truly dedicated NPS ranger who, among the best of us, lived, breathed, and loved the NPS.

Jeff served as a LE ranger at Lowell NHP and as chief ranger at Cape Hatteras NS (Outer Banks Group). His concession positions included stints as a seasonal at Yellowstone NP, a seasonal for the Denver Service Center, a permanent at Yosemite NP, chief of concessions management for Mid-Atlantic Region, and chief of concessions management in Alaska Region. The Outer Banks Group was also fortunate to have Jeff as a management assistant for the past several years.

Jeff is survived by his wife Karen and sons Mitchell (18) and Brendan (13). Condolences can be sent to their home at 112 France Court, Manteo, NC 27954. Donations in remembrance of Jeff can be made to The Yellowstone Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190.

Memorial services will be held in Manteo at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 15th. For memorial service details, contact HYPERLINK "mailto:mary_doll@nps.gov" mary_doll@nps.gov. If you can not attend the memorial service but would like to have expressions, quotes, verses, accounts of experiences and adventures with Jeff read and remembered during the service, please email to HYPERLINK "mailto:mary_doll@nps.gov" mary_doll@nps.gov.

Jeff's wife, Karen, would like to express her gratitude to all of the NPS employees who donated over 1,000 hours of leave to Jeff. These donated hours and the emails that came to Karen and Jeff from friends and colleagues Servicewide over the past several weeks brought great comfort to this NPS family. There is no better testament to our organization than in the taking care of our NPS friends and families in times of need.

Jeff will be greatly missed.

JOBS

Delaware Water Gap NRA

GS-025-9 Park Ranger (LE)

The park is seeking applicants for a lateral transfer to a full-time GS-025-9 law enforcement ranger position. The ranger in this position will work in both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides of the park, and will be engaged in activities that include high-volume traffic enforcement, hunting and fishing regulation enforcement, natural and cultural resource protection activities, search and rescue, emergency medical services and wildland fire suppression. The park's EMS coordinator duties may be applies to this position, and more than one position may be filled by this announcement. Please submit your application by October 31st to Personnel Office, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, River Road, Bushkill, PA 18324. For additional information, contact district ranger Brad Clawson at 973-948-6500. [Phil Selleck, Chief Ranger]

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Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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