NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

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INCIDENTS

Glacier NP

Drowning in Upper McDonald Creek

Late on the afternoon of November 21st, the park received a 911 call reporting that a man had fallen into Upper McDonald Creek and had not resurfaced. Responding rangers found that the incident had occurred at Platform Pullout, a popular pullout on Going to the Sun Road about 14 miles from the west entrance with an observation platform that overlooks a series of waterfalls along Upper McDonald Creek. The victims fiancé and sister reported that he had crawled over the railing of the overlook and was standing by the creek at the head of the falls when he slipped on a wet rock and fell into the creek. They saw him clinging to a fallen log at the bottom of the falls for a few moments, then he disappeared. Rangers conducted a hasty search of the immediate area and the creek below the falls. The park fire brigade also responded, along with Columbia Falls Ambulance, the Flathead County dive team, and a Flathead County search dog and handler. Park staff secured the foot of the falls, provided technical rope rigging to support the dive team, and lighting from a structural fire engine. Divers located the mans body in a large pool under 21 feet of water at the bottom of the falls, approximately three hours after he was last seen. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Approximately 27 rescuers from three agencies participated in the incident.

[Patrick Suddath, West Lakes District Ranger]

Yosemite NP

Vehicular Suicide

About dawn on Thursday, November 10th, a 47-year-old man from Northridge, California, was killed in an unwitnessed high speed motor vehicle accident at the Discovery View overlook on the Wawona Road at the north end of the Wawona Tunnel. The victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was found inside his vehicle about 300 feet down a steep embankment. The vehicle had come out of the Wawona Tunnel at an extremely high rate of speed, crashed through a sign post and a rock wall, then launched into the air. It flew 132 feet before hitting the ground and then cartwheeled roughly 150 feet futher before coming to rest on its side. Based on physical evidence at the scene, interviews, and a six-page note to his wife left in his home, rangers determined that the driver intentionally caused the accident that took his life. Park firefighters had to use power hydraulic cutting and spreading tools to remove the body from the vehicle. [Leslie Reynolds, Valley Shift Supervisor]

New River Gorge NR

Successful Search For Missing Hunter

Around 10 p.m. on November 23rd, rangers were notified by a local 911 center that a 50-year-old hunter was missing and had last been seen in the Mann's Creek area of the park. He'd gone out hunting and was reported missing when he failed to return home after dark. Park personnel, members of volunteer fire departments, dog teams and sheriff's officers searched the area until morning. The man was found at 9 a.m. at the top of the Mann's Creek drainage. He was wet and cold but otherwise unharmed. He reported that he had been dragging out a six-point buck but abandoned it when it started to get dark. He then continued down the rugged drainage until he became concerned for his safety. Without a flashlight or means to make a fire, he sat huddled under a rock ledge until daylight. [Chief Ranger's Office]

PARKS AND PEOPLE

Assateague Island NS

Mike Hill Retires

Superintendent Michael O. Hill is retiring. His last day with the NPS will be Friday, December 2nd. He is leaving Assateague to become a regional director with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, where he will be responsible for state parks in western Texas.

As superintendent of the national seashore, Mike contributed significantly to protecting threatened resources and improved the parks visitor services infrastructure. He initiated and oversaw the multi-million dollar north end sand restoration project that helped mitigate erosion effects on Assateague caused by Ocean City jetties. He also set in motion plans that will improve visitor facilities in Maryland.

Mike Hill served for 33 years with the NPS, holding ten separate posts. Formerly a ranch hand, he started his Park Service career in 1973 at Sequoia National Park.

"I was a cowboy looking for a summer job,” he said. “They were looking for a horse ranger. It was so much fun, I have been rangering ever since."

Hill took his next seasonal assignment at Channel Islands National Park. His first permanent job was as the horse patrol ranger at Petrified Forest National Park. Other posts included Shenandoah National Park, Biscayne National Park, and Timpanogos Cave National Monument. In 1990, he was selected for the prestigious Bevinetto Congressional Fellowship, a two-year development program on Capitol Hill that gave him opportunities to draft legislation and become involved in legislative affairs. In 1993, he became superintendent of Petersburg National Historical Park, and in 2000 was selected as superintendent at Assateague.

As a U.S. Marine, Mike was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat in Vietnam. He subsequently received his B.S. degree in natural resources from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California. He is married to Janice Carpenter Hill and has two daughters, Morgan and Jamie.

Fort McHenry NM&HS

GS-025-11/12 Chief Ranger

Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, is advertising for a GS-025-11/12 supervisory park ranger. The person in this position serves as the chief of the Visitor Services Division (chief ranger) and reports directly to the superintendent. She/he has division-level responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of programs dealing with law enforcement, interpretation and visitor services, concessions, protection, safety, and resource management. The person selected will be required to maintain a federal law enforcement commission. Prior law enforcement experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary law enforcement position or equivalent experience outside the federal government, is a mandatory prerequisite for all candidates for this position. The vacancy announcement number is GETT-05-15. The closing date is December 12th. [Brion Fitzgerald, Chief Ranger, Gettysburg NMP]

Canyonlands NP

GS-025-5/7/9 Park Ranger (Protection)

The park is advertising a permanent, career-seasonal law enforcement position that is open to both status and non-status applicants at a small district within Canyonlands National Park on the Colorado Plateau. The Maze District, 140 miles west of Moab, Utah (all amenities available), contains some of the most significant rock art in North America. This remote area sits at 6600 feet above sea level. Electricity is provided by a solar photovoltaic system; water and propane are trucked in. This is a required occupancy position; government housing is available. For all the details, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.usajobs.com" www.usajobs.com and go to SEUG-DEU-05-26 or SEUG-MP-05-21, both of which close on December 16th. Also see OPM announcement CK521607PB, which closes on December 9th. This position includes a variety of duties - patrols on foot and by 4X4 vehicle, visitor contacts, information center operations, and emergency responses. Nearby recreational opportunities abound. This position is subject to periods of non-work/non-pay, but the person selected is guaranteed a minimum of six months employment each year. Contact Donna Grah for further information at 435-719-2113. [Donna Grah]

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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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