NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
BLACKBERRY EDITION
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
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NOTICE
Per proclamation by President Bush, the U.S. flag will be flown at half-staff in memory of Rosa Parks today. Flags are to be flown at half-staff until sunset, then returned to full staff tomorrow. [NCR Dispatch]
INCIDENTS
South Florida Areas
Hurricane Wilma Recovery Update
The National IMT (JD Swed, IC) attended an all-employee meeting held at a chickee near Everglades park headquarters on Tuesday to discuss employee assistance, incident logistics and incident finance with a good portion of the park staff. The team continues to assist Big Cypress, Biscayne and Everglades with condition assessments and recovery operations.
Big Cypress NP
Pre-treatment of exotic hazard trees has begun in anticipation of removing them using chainsaws to resolve access issues. Tree removal will begin tomorrow. Hazard trees are also being removed from the housing area, and debris cleanup continues in both the housing area and around headquarters. Power was again lost at park headquarters on Tuesday. Both power and phone service continue to fluctuate. The park remains under a “boil water” advisory. Three major areas of Big Cypress are currently closed to hunting due to high water. The staff will review the water situation in those areas to determine if the closure should remain in effect or not. As of Tuesday morning, 16 miles of ORV trails had been opened to allow camp owners access without resource damage. Park staff called between 50 and 60 camp owners by phone to notify them that they will be contacted once the primary trail to their camps is cleared. Preparations have begun to open the Oasis Visitor Center today, if possible. Yesterday's work on the VC included general housekeeping and repair. Big Cypress plans to open its environmental education center for programs on Thursday. Efforts are underway to open four or five backcountry trails for landowner access by Saturday. The employee assistance crew spent Tuesday adjusting and checking blue tarps on the roofs of staff homes in anticipation of predicted rain in the south Florida area. The FMSS team has begun its assessment of Big Cypress and will continue their work at Biscayne and Everglades.
Biscayne NP
Damage assessment on sites on the Keys has begun in earnest with the assistance of the maintenance crew that is now working in the park. As of yesterday, only a mile or two the seven miles of trails on Elliott Key were determined to be passable. Roofing and screening needs will be assessed and repairs begun on Convoy Point and on the islands. Tree removal started yesterday. A saw crew borrowed from Everglades will be cleaning and clearing the park road and parking areas at Convoy Point. A large dumpster has been ordered to collect the debris at Convoy Point for removal. A local 8(a) roofing contractor in the area has been contacted and will be surveying park structures in order to submit an estimate. Electricity is up at headquarters, but telephone, internet and cell capabilities continue to be spotty. Fuel was delivered to the park early this week and the park tank is now full. Logistical issues with lodging and feeding work crews either on the mainland or Elliot Key are being ironed out by the NIMT and the park.
Everglades NP/Dry Tortugas NP
Significant progress is being made at Everglades, with the current focus on opening Everglades City and Shark Valley. The 24 downed power poles along the main park entrance road are being replaced and the cables restrung. With luck, power will soon be restored to the park. Phone service remains up and down (mostly down). At the Krome Center, a leased park office building located in Homestead, phone, internet and lights are all operational. Working conditions are challenging, though, because temperatures and humidity are rising and the air conditioning still does not work. Assessments are being made of NPS boundary markers off the Gulf Coast shoreline to determine the degree of storm damage suffered. Staff will attempt to contact any owners of derelict vessels found. Crews continue with tree and brush removal at Shark Valley. An estimate is expected soon from an NPS approved contractor who is preparing to bid on tree and debris removal and hauling along the rest of Shark Valley Road. Debris removal continues at Royal Palm and will move to Hidden Lake. A squad of eight crew members and a chipper on loan from Gulf Islands NS will work to clear roadside debris from the entrance station south on the main park road. At Flamingo, workers are removing mud and debris from roads and facilities using pressure washers and a water tender. Backcountry chickees and NPS and USCG markers in the Flamingo district are being assessed for damage. Park protection rangers continue to patrol the closed park to prevent/detect illegal dumping and other inappropriate behavior.
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.
[Shauna Dyas, IO, National IMT]
National Mall and Memorial Parks
Support Provided for Viewing of Rosa Parks in Capitol
At least 30 park rangers, maintenance staff and management personnel from the National Mall & Memorial Parks (NAMA), along with members of the U.S. Park Police, worked tirelessly and for long hours to welcome and to accommodate tens of thousands of visitors who waited patiently in line to view the coffin of Rosa Parks, the women credited with helping to spark the civil rights movement in the United States. Despite the fact that Parks' body - the first women to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda - was displayed on property not under National Park Service purview, NAMA and Park Police staff worked quickly following Congressional action on October 28th to organize for the overflow crowds who began assembling on the east end of the National Mall on October 30the before being allowed entrance into the Capitol. Virtually every person filing past Parks' remains had to first stand in line - some for up to five hours - on NPS-managed property. NAMA and Park Police staff worked closely in cooperation with U.S. Capitol Police and staff from the Architect of the Capitol to establish queuing areas that allowed the crowds to assemble near the screening locations that all visitors had to clear before entering the Capitol. NAMA staff fenced off large sections of the Capitol reflecting pool grounds and reacted immediately with improvised barriers installed on the Mall to manage the growing crowd and permit orderly, quick and efficient visitor passage into the screening areas and then into the Capitol. NAMA rangers and management staff working into the early morning hours, answered literally thousands of questions for information and guidance regarding accessing the Capitol and helped make quick arrangements for portable restroom facilities to be brought on-site. Guest Services, Inc., the park concessionaire, responded to the call for warm beverages as the reviewing hours were extended past midnight. The NCR Communications Office worked with over a dozen different television news organizations to provide prime satellite truck parking, to help provide quick and efficient access to the crowds and location shots of the U.S. Capitol. [Bill Line, Communications Officer, NCRO]
Buffalo NR
Rescue of Injured Horseback Rider
Late on the afternoon of October 22nd, rangers receive a report of a horseback rider who'd been thrown off his horse and injured on the Buffalo River trail near Richland Valley south of the Woolum River access. Two other riders who were accompanying the injured man rode out of the remote area, called for help, and eventually guided rangers and EMT's to his location. The victim, a heavy-set, 57-yer-old man from Quitman, Arkansas, sustained numerous injures from the fall, including head trauma, three broken ribs, and a broken clavicle, and was showing signs of shock. Due the rugged, heavily-wooded terrain, helicopter evacuation was not possible. He was accordingly placed on a wheeled litter, carried out two miles along a steep, rocky trail to a waiting ambulance, transferred to a medevac helicopter that landed on a temporarily closed highway, and flown to a hospital. [Robert McGuire, Chief Ranger]
TRAINING AND EVENTS
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Two Wilderness First Responder Courses
The Great Smoky Mountains Institute in Townsend, Tennessee, will offer both the basic wilderness first responder and a refresher course for same this winter.
Wilderness First Responder, January 22 - 29 - This is an excellent 76-hour WFR course hosted by the GSM Institute and taught by Roane State Community College. Classes run from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The curriculum meets Tennessee, DOT, and NREMT standards, with emphasis on the wilderness setting. The course is highly recommended by the park. The cost is $601 for NPS personnel ($875 for others) and includes meals and lodging; books are extra. For further information, contact the Institute at 865-448-6709 or check the website at HYPERLINK "http://www.gsmit.org/Programs/schedule.html" http://www.gsmit.org/Programs/schedule.html .
Wilderness Fires Responder Refresher, February 24 - 26 - This is an excellent 20-hour WFR refresher hosted by the GSM Institute and taught by Roane State Community College. The curriculum meets Tennessee, DOT, and NREMT refresher requirements with emphasis on the wilderness setting. The cost is $280 for NPS personnel ($350 for others) and includes meals and lodging. For further information, contact the Institute at 865-448-6709 or check the website at HYPERLINK "http://www.gsmit.org/Programs/schedule.html" http://www.gsmit.org/Programs/schedule.html .
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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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