NPS Visitor and Resource Protection
The Morning Report
Friday, May 18, 2007


INCIDENTS

Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Falling Fatality At Battery Crosby

On the afternoon of Tuesday, May 16th, park dispatch received a 911 transfer call from San Francisco FD reporting a falling accident. Two beach-goers came upon an unresponsive man in his 30s lying on a coastal rock outcropping in front of Battery Crosby. The man had apparently tried to hike from the battery to the beach on a steep, unstable social trail and had slipped and fallen from 15 to 20 feet. Rangers, Park Police officers, Presidio and San Francisco FD firefighters, and Golden Gate Aquatic Rescue personnel responded. Land and water rescue efforts were hampered by the terrain. A Coast Guard helicopter was accordingly summoned to retrieve the man's body. The victim was hoisted to the helicopter on a litter, then flown to a landing zone at Fort Scott. Park Police investigators and staff from the city medical examiner's officer are conducting a follow-up investigation. For additional information and a video of the recovery effort, click on the link below. [Submitted by Kim Coast, Operations Supervisor]  More Information...


OPERATIONAL NOTES

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs
Weekly Legislative Activities Report

The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. The following is the summary for the week of May 7th through May 11th.

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Floor Action

On May 7th, the House suspended the rules and passed the following bills of interest to the National Park Service:

  • H.R. 407 (Brian Baird, D-WA), To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of establishing the Columbia-Pacific National Heritage Area in the States of Washington and Oregon.  The bill was amended to include changes the Department supported in testimony before the Senate.  The Department supports the bill as passed.
  • H.R. 1080 (Barbara Cubin, R-WY), To modify the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park to include certain land within the GT Park Subdivision.  The bill would authorize the Secretary to accept by donation approximately 49 acres of land and add them to the boundary of the park.  The Department supports the bill.

Markups

No markups.

Hearings

On May 8th, the House Committee On Veterans' Affairs S/C on Disability Assistance & Memorial Affairs held a hearing on "Veterans Cemeteries: Honoring Those Who Served".  The hearing focused on the management of national cemeteries administered by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service. The DOI Witness was Fred Boyles, Superintendent, Andersonville National Historic Site and Cemetery, National Park Service.

New Bills Introduced

Introduced on May 7th:

  • H.R. 2197 (Zachary Space, D-OH) — A bill to modify the boundary of the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park in the State of Ohio.

Introduced on May 8th:

  • S. 1329 (Susan M Collins, R-ME) - A bill to extend the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission, to provide improved visitor services at the park.

Introduced on May 10th:

  • S. 1357 (Barbara Mikulski, D-MD) -  A bill to amend the Law Enforcement Pay Equity Act of 2000 to permit certain annuitants of the retirement programs of the United States Park Police and United States Secret Service Uniformed Division to receive the adjustments in pension benefits to which such annuitants would otherwise be entitled as a result of the conversion of members of the United States Park Police and United Sates Secret Service Uniformed Division to a new salary schedule under the amendments made by such Act.
  • S. 1365 (John Kerry, D-MA) - A bill to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with any of the management partners of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

Upcoming Hearings and Markups

May 15th — The Senate Energy and Natural Resources S/C on National Parks will hold a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service: 

  • S. 553, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Eightmile River in the State of Connecticut as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System;
  • S. 800, to establish the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area in the State of New York;
  • S. 916, to modify the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument, to establish the Minidoka National Historic Site, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land and improvements of the Gooding Division of the Minidoka Project, Idaho;
  • S. 1057, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the New river in the States of North Carolina and Virginia as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System;
  • S. 1209, to provide for the continued administration of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, in accordance with the laws (including regulations and policies of the National Park Service);
  • S. 1281, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain rivers and streams of the headwaters of the Snake River System as additions to the National Wild and Scenic River System;
  • H.R. 161, to adjust the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument to include the Nidoto Nai Yoni Memorial in Bainbridge Island, Washington;
  • H.R. 376, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related sites of the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil War as part of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the National Park System.

The hearing will be at 2:30pm in Room SD-366; DOI Witness: Daniel N. Wenk, Deputy Director, National Park Service.

May 15th — The House Natural Resources S/C on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (Grijalva), will hold a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service:

  • H.R. 1239, to amend the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to provide additional staff and oversight of funds to carry out the Act;
  • H.R. 1388, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the Star-Spangled Banner Trail in the States of Maryland and Virginia and the District of Columbia as a National Historic Trail;
  • H.R. 1483, to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend the authorization for certain national heritage areas, and for other purposes;
  • H.R. 1528, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the New England National Scenic Trail, and for other purposes.

The hearing will be at 10:00 am in Room 1324 Longworth; DOI Witness:  Christopher K. Jarvi, Associate Director, Partnerships and Visitor Experience, National Park Service.

May 24th — The House Natural Resources S/C on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (Grijalva), and the S/C on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans (Bordallo) will hold a Joint Subcommittee oversight hearing on "Nature Deficit: Role of the Department of the Interior in Reconnecting Kids with the Outdoors";  Time and Location TBA; DOI witness not yet determined.
[Submitted by LaTonya R. Ward, Legislative Specialist]




PARKS AND PEOPLE

Midwest Region
GS-2210-12 IT Specialist

Dates: 05/16/2007 - 05/29/2008
Midwest Region is currently announcing a GS-2210-12 information technology specialist (network/internet) position, duty locationed in Omaha, Nebraska. The announcement is open to current career and career-conditional National Park Service employees only. The announcement number is MWRO-07-MP-0039, and it closes on May 29th. Please see the link below for the complete announcement. [Submitted by Midwest Region HR Office, 402-661-1562]  More Information...


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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type;=Announcements&id;=3363

All reports should be submitted via email to Lane Baker in the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services in the Washington Office and to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with copies to your regional office.