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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Thursday, February 15, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Mesa Verde NP Sentencing For Operating Illegal Business In Park On February 6th, N.R., owner and operator of Imagine Tours out of Davis, California, pled guilty in federal court to illegally engaging in business in the park and to entering a designated fee area without paying the required fees or possessing applicable permits. Last August, N.R., whose online company touts affordable outdoor adventures, was found to be operating a for-profit bicycle touring business in the park without a permit. She'd also failed to pay the established commercial tour fee required for such a venture. The rangers who came upon the activity conducted an investigation. They found that Imagine Tours has been in business for 18 years and that N.R. has organized and lead tours to local, state, federal and overseas locations for more than 27 years. During her initial appearance, N.R. pled guilty to both charges and was sentenced to pay a fine of $3,000 on the first count and a fine of $5,000 suspended for one year on the second count. She was also placed under unsupervised probation for that period of time. Organized bicycle groups are prohibited on all park roads in Mesa Verde National Park due to the narrow nature of the road, lack of road shoulders, poor condition of the pavement, and heavy vehicular traffic. [Jessie Farias Jr., Chief Ranger] Golden Gate NRA Arrest For Sexual Assault US Park Police dispatch received a 911 call from a woman around 1:15 a.m. on February 13th in which she reported that she'd been forced to have oral sex with a man on the Presidio. He then fled the area. An hour later, a Park Police officer on patrol stopped a vehicle near Ocean Beach matching the suspect vehicle's description. The victim positively identified the man, who is being held without bail on federal felony sex charges. He'd told the victim that he was a police officer, but that proved to be untrue. The man's description and his method of operation in this case matched a similar sexual assault that occurred on the Presidio last September. The investigation is continuing. [Detective/Sergeant Robert Jansing, San Francisco Field Office] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Southeast Region - In January, National Park Service firefighters met in Alabama at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park to implement a prescribed burn in rare mountain long leaf pine habitat. Grand Canyon NP - The National Park Service has selected sixteen companies to provide guided river running services at Grand Canyon National Park under new concessions contracts. The contracts began on January 1st and will have ten-year terms. Lake Mead NRA - Christina “Chris” Anderson, a dedicated National Park Service volunteer, committed group lead phlebotomist with Quest Diagnostics, and loving wife of Lake Mead ranger and law enforcement specialist Glen Anderson, died on February 6th after a brief illness. 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. --- ### --- |