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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT BLACKBERRY EDITION Friday, August 11, 2006 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS South Dakota Parks Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Midwest Region and parks in South Dakota - Mount Rushmore, Jewel Cave, Wind Cave and Badlands - are gearing up for impacts from the 66th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which takes place this week in Sturgis, South Dakota. Concerns have already been raised about potential violence. On the afternoon of August 8th, a drive-by shooting occurred in Custer State Park, which is located within a few miles of both Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave. About a dozen members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and their associates were in a parking lot at the Legion Lake Resort when two men in a pickup truck drove by and began firing a weapon. Five shooting victims and another victim with a separate injury were transported to area hospitals - three of them remain hospitalized. All victims were affiliated with the Outlaws. The two shooting suspects, one of whom was associated with the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club, were apprehended without incident later that evening. During the rally, motorcyclists, including various motorcycle gangs, converge on the Black Hills of South Dakota and frequent area parks. In anticipation of potential violence, the Midwest Region special event team, a special agent, and other personnel were positioned in advance at Mount Rushmore and other NPS areas. They remain on high alert and will maintain high visibility to discourage further violence and to increase public safety at NPS sites for the remainder of rally week. [Jackie Henman, Regional Law Enforcement Specialist] Grand Teton NP Two Injured Horseback Riders Rescued Rangers evacuated two injured horseback riders from Granite Canyon on the afternoon of Monday, August 7th. R.A. and S.H., both 75 and from Wilson, Wyoming, were out for a horseback ride when they were bucked off their horses about noon on Monday. The two had decided to eat lunch on their horses, which were standing next to each other; when R.A. spilled water on her horse, though, both horses spooked and bucked the two riders off. R.A. and S.H. each sustained injuries that prevented them from proceeding further, but S.H. was able to place a 911 cell phone call and summon help. Since S.H. was unable to identify their precise location, rangers utilized an interagency contract helicopter to conduct an aerial reconnaissance. Rescue teams also began hiking to the accident scene. Spotters in the helicopter located the injured parties at about 1:15 p.m. near the junction of the Granite Canyon and Valley trails, about a mile-and-a-half from the Granite Canyon trailhead. The helicopter landed in a nearby meadow and dropped off two rangers, who ran to the accident site. The ship then flew to the Teton interagency helibase at the Jackson Hole Airport to stage for a possible helicopter evacuation. The rangers found that S.H. was experiencing serious respiratory difficulties, and that his condition was deteriorating quickly. R.A. had sustained multiple abrasions and was suffering from back pain. Due to S.H.'s life-threatening injuries and the need to keep both patients immobile during transport, rangers opted to use the helicopter to short-haul them rather than conduct a wheeled litter evacuation. The short-haul technique - a method by which rangers fly, individually or in pairs, suspended from the helicopter on a double-rope system - allows the helicopter to insert rangers into, or extricate patients from, terrain where a helicopter cannot land. In this case, the need for the patients to be recumbent and the presence of intermittent storm cells in the area contributed to the decision to use this efficient method of evacuation. Rangers at the scene stabilized the pair for transport and loaded each into a rescue litter. The helicopter then short-hauled S.H. and R.A., one at a time, to the helibase. A ranger hung below the helicopter, attached to the litter and attending to each patient during the flights. From the helibase, park ambulances transported R.A. and S.H. to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Blue Ridge Parkway Marijuana Plantation Found, Plants Seized A marijuana patch was found near the French Broad River on July 5th. Surveillance of the area was begun, with cameras installed to photograph the grower or growers. Rangers found a well-traveled trail from the patch to a nearby residence. On August 2nd, rangers took position around the patch and subsequently arrested an Asheville man as he tended the plants. The man confessed to planting the marijuana and was cooperative during the execution of a search warrant at his residence and in the interview that followed. Ranger seized 47 plants, ranging from four-inch seedlings to four-foot plants. They also confiscated packaging materials, scales, grow lights, potting materials and informational guides. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District Ranger] Glen Canyon NRA Two-Year-Old Boy Drowns In Lake A two-year-old boy from Logan, Utah, drowned on Wednesday in Lake Powell. The boy and his family were camped with their houseboat in Warm Creek Bay. They had come aboard the houseboat to dry off after getting wet from rainstorms and to eat lunch. They boy had been wearing a life jacket earlier, but it was taken off so he could change into dry clothes. In the ensuing moments, the boy disappeared. The family immediately began searching the area and contacted the park, using their marine band radio to request assistance. A Classic Lifeguard helicopter was dispatched to the scene and rangers responded by boat. Other boaters in the area heard the call and also came to the family's aid. About two hours after he disappeared, the boy surfaced and rangers and Classic Lifeguard paramedics began CPR. The boy was flown to Page Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. [Mark Law, Law Enforcement Specialist] Blue Ridge Parkway Suicide From Roanoke River Bridge A Roanoke County officer was flagged down on the afternoon of August 1st by a citizen who had seen a man jump from the parkway bridge over the Roanoke River. At the same time, a fisherman in the river who'd seen the man enter the shallow water swam to him and rendered assistance. The county officer and fire and rescue units from Roanoke and Vinton conducted rescue operations. The man later died from injuries sustained in the 160-foot fall. District ranger Jon Murphy and county police conducted the follow-up investigation. [John Garrison, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news of interest from today's edition of InsideNPS, which can be found at this address if your 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: Glacier Bay - Glacial lake outburst flood drains Dixon Lake and another may drain Abyss Lake. African Burial Ground - Tara Morrison has been named super of the newest unit in the NPS. Lake Meredith - The park has an opening for a GS-9 protection ranger. * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |