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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, February 20, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Yellowstone NP Sentencing On Elk Poaching Conviction On January 30th, two men were sentenced in federal court in Yellowstone after entering guilty pleas to charges of illegally taking an elk in the park last year. On November 11, 2006, V.R. and T.J. were arrested by rangers and special agents for shooting a bull elk in the Stephens Creek area. Based on a plea agreement with the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Wyoming, the two men entered guilty pleas to charges of transporting and possessing illegally taken wildlife (16 USC 3372(a)(1) and (3)(a)), possessing and carrying a firearm in the park (36 CFR 2.2(a)(1)), and illegally killing and taking a bull elk (36 CFR 2.2(a)(1)). V.R. also pled guilty to possession of marijuana (21 USC 844(a)). V.R. was sentenced to 30 days in jail (with credit for five days already served), placed on supervised probation for a year and unsupervised probation for three more years, and assessed a total of $8,560 in restitution, fines and special assessments. T.J. was sentenced to five days in jail (with credit for five days served), placed on unsupervised probation for three years, and assessed a total of $8,035 in restitution, fines and special assessments. Both men were also banned from entering Yellowstone for the next four years, banned from hunting anywhere for four years, and ordered to forfeit the firearms and ammunition which were used during the commission of the crime. [Brian Smith, Special Agent in Charge] OTHER NEWS Other news from today's edition of InsideNPS, the National Park Service's home page: Fort Stanwix NM - Regular snowstorms, lake effect snowstorms, the Valentine's Day nor'easter - Fort Stanwix has been on the receiving end of them all this month. Everglades NP - Miami Herald news article: The park has raised concerns about mercury emissions from a proposed huge coal-burning power plant that Florida Power & Light wants to build on the western side of Lake Okeechobee. Intermountain Region - Kenneth A. Castro, deputy fire management officer for Intermountain Region, passed away on February 14th after a courageous battle with cancer. Ken is survived by his wife Linda and sons Daniel, age 20, and Ian, age 17. National Mall and Memorial Parks - Kenneth A. Castro, deputy fire management officer for Intermountain Region, passed away on February 14th after a courageous battle with cancer. Ken is survived by his wife Linda and sons Daniel, age 20, and Ian, age 17. Sitka NHP - The park is announcing the opportunity for a lateral reassignment to the position of GS-341-11 chief of administration, duty-stationed in Sitka, Alaska. National Partnership Office - The official date for this year's "March For Parks" is April 28th. A registration form is included. 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. --- ### --- |