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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Monday, May 8, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS C&O Canal NHP Commercial Fishing Violations On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 3rd, two rangers - one from C&O Canal, the other from Monocacy - came upon four people who were in the process of loading harvested river clams from the Potomac River into their vehicle at the Warmwater parking lot in the Dickerson Conservation Area near Dickerson, Maryland. The park runs through the state-owned conservation area. The rangers found from 400 to 600 pounds of clams that had been harvested from the river's bottom that day and stored in several burlap bags and articles of clothing for loading into the vehicle. The poachers were using a wheeled dolly to transport the clam-filled bags from the river's edge across federal park lands back onto state land where the vehicle was parked. The rangers summoned state DNR officers, who cited seven people for possession of illegally-harvested clams. Four of the seven were charged by the rangers for transporting illegally taken wildlife in violation of state law. Investigation revealed that the clams were being harvested for commercial gain. [Blair Williamson, Lead Dispatcher, NCR Dispatch] Harpers Ferry NHP Conviction for Illegal Taking of Wildlife Rangers received a report of illegal hunting on Loudoun Heights in the West Virginia section of the park last December 18th and found two recently-shot deer at that location. Two suspects were seen fleeing on an ATV. One of the rangers pursued them on foot up a fire road, then followed the ATV's tire tracks in the snow until catching up with the pair. The two men, who had a rifle in their possession, each admitted to shooting one of the deer. On April 11th, they both pled guilty to poaching and weapons violations in federal district court in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Each was fined $500 and required to pay the park $200 in restitution. The rifle was confiscated. [Sarah Davis-Reynolds Supervisory Ranger] Colorado NM Probable Suicide During the early evening hours of May 2nd, a ranger found the body of a 74-year-old Grand Junction man who had apparently shot himself in the abdomen with a .22 caliber handgun near the Red Canyon View overlook. The ranger was patrolling Rim Rock Drive when he came upon an unoccupied pickup truck at the overlook. He looked inside the truck and saw some funeral arrangement paperwork on the front seat, a set of keys and a wallet on the center console, and an empty gun box on the floor on the passenger side. The ranger searched the area for approximately an hour but was unable to find the driver. About two hours later, the ranger returned to the overlook and found the driver about 50 feet from his truck and about 8 feet below the overlook. Rangers, Mesa County Sheriff's Office deputies, and the local county coroner are investigating. [Phil Akers, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Links to stories for those of you who are within the NPS… Recruitment notice for DOI incident management team: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4426" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=4426 * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |