NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Thursday, November 10, 2005

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INCIDENTS

South Florida Areas

Hurricane Wilma Recovery Update

Denny Ziemann's Pacific West IMT will transition with JD Swed's National IMT today and assume management of this incident. Swed's team filed its last report earlier this week. It follows.

The National IMT (JD Swed, IC) continues it's oversight of recovery from Hurricane Wilma in south Florida. There are now 384 people deployed throughout Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park. The three parks continue to open selected areas to the public while proceeding with the clean-up process.

Big Cypress NP

The SET continues its 24-hour security coverage to enforce preserve closures, check for damage, provide EMT support to field operations and assist other law enforcement agencies. A CISM team will be in the park for another week to support employees. Clearing and clean-up work continues on the Gator Hook Natural Trail, the Loop Road and Bear Island. A contract crew is working at Half-Way Creek to remove chickees and to repair roofs at Ochopee and the Weeks property. An electrician is installing a ventilation fan at the comfort station at Monument Lake and a temporary light in the East parking lot.

Biscayne NP

The FMSS team is now conducting damage assessments in the Stiltsville area and on the park navigational aids. The public use areas around the Education Center and comfort station on Elliot Key have been cleared of hazards and debris and mowed to keep down the mosquitoes. Clearing of the Spite Trail on Elliott Key is now the focus of the saw team and laborers assigned to Biscayne. General clean-up and housekeeping around the Convoy Point area continues. Downed trees and debris are being cleaned from Adams Key. The park's marine mechanic continues to maintain and repair park vessels.

Everglades NP

LE rangers are maintaining a 24-hour checkpoint near the park entrance and roving to enforce the park closure. Rangers are also patrolling the eastern park boundary from Pine Island to East Everglades by ATV. An LE boat patrol is being conducted from Whitewater Bay to Cape Sable. Deficiencies from field surveys are being entered into FMSS at the park. At Shark Valley, a street sweeper on loan from Big Cypress has begun to clean the loop road. Park management is hoping to open Shark Valley when power is restored to the area. The park still has no power from headquarters to Flamingo. Limited power at headquarters is supplied by generator. Interpretive staff are roving the Coe Visitor Center parking lot at Pine Island to inform the public of the park's closure and condition. At Flamingo, crews are working on the Snake Bight Trail and continue mud removal in the Loop B bathrooms. A contractor is consolidating debris piles and continues road clearing in Flamingo. The air conditioning is now operational at the Krome Centre office building in Homestead, much to the relief of park and IC staff who have been working there without HVAC since Wilma hit on October 24th.

Dry Tortugas NP

Communications issues are being addressed. Work is concentrating now on a communication tower located mid-way between Key West and Fort Jefferson on Garden Key. An eight-person labor crew continues to clean up and stockpile debris for future removal from the key. Repairs are being made to quarters at Garden Key, which are located inside the fort walls. Repairs are being done on the main docks and electrical systems throughout the park. One CISM person is providing peer support to employees.

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. Note: An important addition has been made under the heading for the National IMT. Employees at affected parks can find a comprehensive FAQ sheet there that will answer many of their questions. The specific URL to that document is HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/FAQ%20Sheet%20-%20Hurricane% 20Wilma%2010-30-05.doc" http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/FAQ%20Sheet%20-% 20Hurricane%20Wilma%2010-30-05.doc

[Shauna Dyas, IO, National IMT]

Joshua Tree NP

PVC Potato Cannons Seized from Scout Troop

On the morning of Saturday, October 29th, park employees received reports of a disturbance from visitors who were camping in the group campsites at Indian Cove Campground. Protection rangers responded. During the subsequent investigation, the rangers confiscated seven cannons constructed from PVC piping which were being used to shoot potatoes into the area of the campground through the use of a gas propellant. The cannons ranged in size from two to six feet in length and are defined as destructive devices under the California penal code. Other miscellaneous PVC piping, which was used for making the potato cannons, and three five-pound bags of potatoes were also confiscated. A local California Boy Scout troop occupied the site. The site permit holder was issued a violation notice for possession/use of weapons. The Scoutmaster and group leaders were given multiple verbal warnings for disorderly conduct, sanitation/refuse violations, food storage violations, and miscellaneous traffic offenses. [Judy Bartzatt, Chief Ranger]

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Theft of Natural Resources

On October 29th, three Cosby Area rangers arrested two men and one woman when they caught them in the act of stealing moss from the park. Rangers had been tipped off by a local police officer that a week earlier he had observed a man walk out of the park in the Pittman Center area and load several trash bags into a pickup truck that was parked along Route 321. Rangers monitored the area for several days, looking for similar activity, and on October 29th they spotted a truck parked in the same general area that matched the description provided by the police officer. Three rangers entered the area and found signs of recent moss theft. The rangers kept the area and the vehicle under surveillance, awaiting the vehicle owner's return. About two hours later, one of them saw a man come out of the park and get in the truck. The man drove the vehicle about a quarter mile down the road and pulled over along the park boundary. The ranger was unable to reach the other members of the surveillance team by radio, so he started to move toward the vehicle on foot. As he approached the truck, he saw two other people come out of the woods and start loading large garbage bags into the pickup. The ranger was able to catch the three culprits before they pulled away. Backup came when the other two rangers overheard the commotion of the contact and responded by vehicle. Eight 30-gallon trash bags of moss were confiscated. The suspects said that they'd planned on selling it to a dealer in Cocke County and that they would have received about $200 for the eight bags. The three persons were all related and were local residents from Cosby, Tennessee. They were charged with theft of natural resources. [Rick Brown, District 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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