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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, January 8, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Shenandoah NP Search For Missing Hiker On January 2nd, the Fauquier County Sheriff's Department contacted the park and asked that a search be begun for a missing man. L.L., 35, had last been seen on the evening of Monday, January 1st. The vehicle he was reportedly operating had been checked by rangers earlier that morning in the Panorama parking area, and surveillance tapes showed that he entered the park around 10 p.m. on Monday evening. An initial search was conducted around the spot where his car was found with the assistance of a Park Police helicopter. A significant number of park employees and volunteers, including ground searchers and dog teams, were involved in the operation. On January 5th, L.L.'s sister, who lives in Madison, West Virginia, called the park and reported that L.L. had just arrived at her house. The search was terminated following a telephone interview. L.L. said that he'd left the vehicle and traveled at night. He walked about 30 miles to US 33, then left the park, walked to Lexington, and caught a ride to his sister's house. Chief ranger Gordon Wissinger was incident commander. Participating in the search along with NPS employees were personnel from the Virginia State Police, Albemarle County Sheriff's Department, Appalachian Search and Rescue, Top of Virginia Search and Rescue, and Rockingham/Augusta Search and Rescue. [Ed Clark, Deputy Chief Ranger] Point Reyes NS Marijuana Plantation Cleanup During two two-day periods in mid-December, rangers from Point Reyes, working with other local law enforcement agencies and supported by the National Guard, removed trash from five marijuana cultivation sites in the park and 10 other sites on surrounding lands. Over 70 cubic yards of garbage were removed, including more than 10 car batteries, six pesticide sprayers, 10 propane tanks, and over 150 pounds of fertilizer. The garbage was gathered in the sites, then removed by helicopter sling load. All of the marijuana sites discovered in the park this year have been cleaned up and rehabilitated to minimize resource damage and deter future growing operations. [Colin Smith, Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Sequoia-Kings Canyon - On December 19th, an accord was signed between Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Samlaut Protected Area which will bring the two park organizations together to learn from each other and address common issues such as illegal uses within park boundaries. Yellowstone - Colin Campbell and Christine Lehnertz have been named deputy superintendents at Yellowstone. NPS/LETC - There will be a Ranger Roundtable Telnet broadcast on Thursday, January 11th. In order to assure that all field questions are adequately addressed, participants are urged to submit questions in advance via email. Facility Management Division - Applications for the FY 2007-2008 Facility Manager Leaders Program will be accepted through January 12th to allow additional time for supervisory and superintendent approvals. Interpretation and Education Division - An advanced volunteer program management training course will be held in San Francisco at the end of February. To link to InsideNPS, click on HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ * * * * * Prepared by Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA. --- ### --- |