NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

BLACKBERRY EDITION

Friday, September 15, 2006

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INCIDENTS

Point Reyes NS

Another Marijuana Plantation Site Eliminated

On September 10th and 11th, rangers and Marin County officers entered another marijuana plantation in the park and confiscated approximately 3,540 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $8.75 million dollars. The growing site was located on Inverness Ridge in a remote hidden drainage in the Muddy Hollow area. A contract helicopter hauled out twenty loads of marijuana plants over the course of four hours on Monday. In July, 2,500 plants were removed from a site in the Bolinas Ridge area; another 22,740 plants were removed in late August. The estimated street value of the marijuana removed to date has been estimated at over $71 million. The area under cultivation suffered extensive resource damage from the growing operations and intensive use of the area. A comprehensive resource assessment was conducted after evidence was collected at the new site. As was the case at the other sites, the area's native vegetation was damaged, water systems were constructed, and a small hidden camp was constructed. Growers are killing wildlife, diverting streams that contain threatened species of fish, using harmful pesticides, and bringing the presence of violence to these natural areas. Efforts are underway to remove all the garbage from the site and to begin restoration work. The cost of the restoration effort and other costs for all the sites damaged has been placed at about $100,000. [John A. Dell'Osso]

New River Gorge NR

Ranger Thwarts Attempted Suicide

At approximately 9:30 p.m. on September 10th, ranger Randy Fisher responded to numerous 911 calls of a man apparently intending to jump from the New River Gorge Bridge. Fisher arrived on scene within minutes along with responding Fayetteville City police officers. They found a 23-year-old man from Fayetteville in the middle of the bridge. Fisher and one of the officers began negotiating with him, but they were unable to get closer than 20 feet from the man without him attempting to mount the low guardrail at the edge of the bridge. State troopers shut down both northbound lanes of U.S. 19 crossing the bridge to make it possible for negotiations to continue unhindered by passing high speed traffic. After some time, Fisher was able to talk the man into making a phone call to talk with someone about his situation. Fisher approached to within 10 feet of the man, then placed his cell phone on the pavement and backed away. When the man went to pick up the phone, Fisher and the officer, by prearrangement, charged and tackled the man before he could return to the guardrail. He was charged with disorderly conduct, held in jail overnight on a suicide watch, and taken before a U.S. magistrate the next morning. He was remanded to jail pending a hearing to determine a course of action that would provide him with mental health assistance. Investigators learned that the man had argued with his girlfriend, flung himself from her vehicle while it was traveling down U.S. 19 at about 40 mph, then walked to the bridge to commit suicide. Calm negotiation and decisive action by Fisher and the Fayetteville City officer saved the man's life. The New River Gorge Bridge, 876 feet above the New River, has been the scene of many suicides over the years. [Duncan Hollar, Assistant Chief Ranger]

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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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