|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Tuesday, April 4, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Canyonlands NP Serious Mountain Biking Accident On the afternoon of March 27th, rangers responded to a report of a serious mountain bike injury on the White Rim Trail. The patient, a 60-year-old retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, was on his fourth day of cycling and was just north of Musselman Arch when the accident occurred on a slightly downhill section of the road. His companions reported that he went into a ditch, which folded the front wheel of the bicycle and sent him headfirst into the ground. He was wearing a helmet, which was heavily damaged in the crash, but sustained serious injuries to his neck and spine and reported no sensation or movement in his lower extremities. A member of his party drove to the top of the Shafer Trail and contacted the Island in the Sky entrance station. Rangers, Grand County emergency medical service personnel, and a St. Mary's Life Flight helicopter responded. The man was assessed, treated, packaged and flown to St. Mary's hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. His condition is not presently known. [Peter C. Fitzmaurice, Chief Ranger] Fort Donelson NB Severe Storm Hits Park The park sustained moderate storm damage as the result of the severe weather and storms that passed through the area on the evening of April 2nd. Reports confirm that all staff are safe and accounted for. An initial survey found no severe or substantial structural damage to buildings or facilities, but significant damage was inflicted on trees along the earthworks, tour roads and trails. Of high concern is the damage resulting from trees uprooted and blown over along and on top of earthworks. Park staff are currently working to reopen a section of the tour road closed as a result of downed trees and debris. [Judy Forte, Regional Chief Ranger] OPERATIONAL NOTES Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs New Book On Ranger Randy Morgenson's Disappearance A new book on the disappearance and death of ranger Randy Morgenson, entitled The Last Season, will appear on bookstands today. The following is excerpted from a summary of the book transmitted by the publisher: “On July 21, 1996, James Randall Morgenson - one of the National Park Service's most celebrated characters - grabbed his radio and his backpack and walked out into the wilderness on patrol. He never returned. In The Last Season, Eric Blehm takes us inside the mind of Randy Morgenson and meticulously recounts one of the most intensive search-and-rescue operations in NPS history…Blehm goes deep into the heart of the High Sierra to chase the ghost of Randy Morgenson, weaving haunting details about the ranger's life with the story of those risking their own lives to search for a missing friend. What emerges is a portrait of a complicated, thoroughly original, and wholly fascinating man, and a look at what can happen when one lives a life without compromise…Eric Blehm is the former editor of TransWorld SNOWboarding, the author of Agents of Change, and co-author of P3: Pipes, Parks, and Powder. He is also a freelance journalist who frequently writes about snowboard mountaineering and adventure travel. Blehm lives in Southern California with his wife and son.” [Submitted by Debbie Bird, Superintendent, Lake Roosevelt NRA] * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |