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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Monday, July 17, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Interagency Fireworks Enforcement Operation The Southern Nevada Area Partnership (SNAP) interagency law enforcement team joined officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol to conduct fireworks enforcement patrols and checkpoints on public lands in southern Nevada, including the park, from June 30th to July 4th. The purpose of the enforcement effort was to prevent fireworks use on public lands and wildfire starts from their use. As a result of the operation, no wildfire starts were reported, 20,000 pounds of fireworks were seized, numerous visitors were contacted, many citations were issued and several arrests were made. The SNAP team was created in 2002, with the first rangers/patrol officers hired in 2004. For the past two years, rangers/patrol officers have been conducting patrols and scheduled joint operations on federal lands surrounding the Las Vegas Valley, primarily focusing on unified and cost-effective approaches for the management, conservation, preservation and protection of visitors and natural and cultural resources. The Fourth of July joint operation was hosted by the Forest Service. For more information on the team or the event, please contact David Leveille, patrol captain on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, at 775-355-5399, or interagency resource protection law enforcement specialist John Tesar at 702-293-8944. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Yosemite NP Body Of Missing CCC Worker Found The search for a missing California Conservation Corps (CCC) trail crew member working in the park ended on Friday, July 14th, when his body was located half-way down the Royal Arches wall north of the Ahwahnee Hotel. M.G., 24, stationed at the CCC's San Luis Obispo Center, was reported missing by members of his CCC trail crew when he did not arrive at their new base camp last Thursday. A full-scale search was launched immediately, utilizing both National Park Service ground search crews and helicopters from the California Highway Patrol and the California Army National Guard. M.G. had been working on the trail crew in Yosemite for nearly three months as part of the CCC's elite backcountry trails program. He had been a CCC Corps member for nearly three years, having attained the rank of specialist. M.G. was known as a reliable, hardworking young man, and was widely respected by his peers. The cause of death is still under investigation. The California Conservation Corps and the park have had a collaborative partnership for over 25 years. Through the backcountry trails program, the CCC provides thousands of hours per year building and maintaining trails throughout the park. [Sheree Peshlakai, Public Affairs Office] Channel Islands NP Capsized Fishing Vessel Threatens Island On Tuesday, July 11th, a 35-foot fishing vessel, the Five Gs, capsized near Santa Cruz Island. The three crew members attempted to swim to shore, but only one made it. About 200 gallons of diesel fuel were on board at the time of the incident, as well as gillnets, engine batteries, and household hazardous waste. As of July 13th, the vessel was 40 yards from shore in Chinese Harbor on the north side of Santa Cruz Island. A dead common dolphin was sighted next to the hull of the Five Gs that may have gotten tangled in the nets and drowned. The NPS and FWS are involved in the incident response, as well as NOAA (this is a national marine sanctuary) and the Coast Guard. The incident is being managed under ICS, with a unified command in place. The park and county sheriff's office are also conducting a joint investigation into the two fatalities. Salvage operations were underway late last week and were to be completed by Friday evening. [Jack Fitgerald, Chief Ranger; Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, Department of the Interior] Great Smoky Mountains National Park On the afternoon of June 28th, an 80-year-old man from Criterville, Ohio, was hiking on the Grotto Falls trail about two-and-a-half miles from the trailhead when he slipped and fell 80 feet down a near vertical embankment, landing in the rocky creek below. According to his daughter, he'd attempted to skirt a slippery, rocky section of the trail, but the trail edge had broken away, causing him to fall. He slid feet first for about 15 feet, then flipped over and tumbled head first down a vertical section and landed on his back. Other hikers used a cell phone to call 911 and rangers were dispatched to the scene. Ranger Heath Soehn was first to arrive and found the man lying on a large rock in the creek with lacerations and abrasions on his head, face, arms, hands and legs. He also complained of a sore shoulder. After about 20 minutes of keeping the man still and quiet, he insisted on climbing back up to the trail by way of a steep social trail. Unable to keep him from attempting the climb on his own, Soehn assisted him back up the steep embankment. When they reached the trail, the man was exhausted and sore. Within a few minutes, however, other rangers and a carryout team arrived. They treated him and carried him to the trailhead on a wheeled litter. At the trailhead, he was transferred to a waiting ambulance and taken to the University of Tennessee Trauma Center in Knoxville. [Rick Brown, Assistant Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS, which can be found at this address if you're inside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) and at this address if you're outside the NPS ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://www.nps.gov/applications/digest/). Note that not all articles that appear in the former make it into the latter: WASO - Release of DO-55 on incident management program for field review. US Park Police - Washington Post article on officers focusing on National Mall and Monuments after outbreak of robberies. Canyonlands NP - Peter Fitzmaurice, chief ranger, retires in August. Mojave NP - Chief interp James Woolsey headed for France to become director of visitor services at Normandy American Cemetery. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |