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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, June 20, 2007 =============================================================================================================== NOTICE Transmission of this edition was delayed today by a power outage caused by a series of severe thunderstorms last night… INCIDENTS Mount Rainier NP Search In Progress For Missing Hiker A search is currently underway for J.G., 47, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was last seen hiking on the Eagle Peak trail at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 16th. J.G. is the son of R.G., now in her third summer as a volunteer interpreter at Mount Rainier. Forty people assisted in the effort on Sunday, including three teams from German Shepherd Search Dogs of Washington State, and 52 on Monday, including 15 ground teams and two teams from Northwest Bloodhounds Search and Rescue. A helicopter joined the search as weather improved late Monday morning. At the time of the report (Monday evening), teams had found few clues to help narrow the search. The Eagle Peak Trail is a strenuous day hike that climbs 3,000 feet over three-and-a-half miles, beginning at Longmire in the southwest corner of the park. The trail is currently snow-covered above 5,100 feet. The search area includes rugged, heavily forested wilderness with many cliffs and ravines. Saturday and Sunday nights were cool, with rain, fog, and low temperatures in the mid 30s. J.G. was wearing fleece and Gortex and carrying a daypack. Media interest has been high, both locally and in Minneapolis. [Kevin Bacher, Public Information Officer] Olympic NP Three Cited For Colt's Foot Poaching Park rangers recently contacted three people who were collecting unidentified plants along U.S. Highway 101 near Lake Crescent. The trio had cleared a large area of the plants, which weighed a total of approximately 117 pounds when collected and bagged by the rangers. The collectors told the rangers that they were gathering the plants - later identified as colt's foot (Petasites frigidus var. palmatus) - in order to make tea. They were cited for illegal collecting and released. Colt's foot is used medicinally by Native Americans as a tea and as a poultice, and is also used for culinary purposes (especially ash of the plant as a salt substitute). The leaves of related species are eaten, including an exotic species from Asia. While the park has experienced problems with unlawful collection of salal, moss, mushrooms, cedar bark and other natural products, the collection of colt's foot is a new phenomenon. [Barb Maynes, Public Information Officer] Grand Teton NP Motorcyclist Dies In Accident R.R., 59, of Park City, Utah, died in a motorcycle accident in the park on the morning of Saturday, June 16th. R.R. was heading north toward Yellowstone with two companions when he went off the side of the road just north of the entrance to Lizard Creek campground and went down a 15-foot embankment. R.R.'s companions reported that he slumped over on his motorcycle before veering off the road. The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received notification of the accident just before 9 a.m. and dispatched rangers to the scene. They found R.R. and his motorcycle near the base of some trees at the bottom of the embankment. They began CPR and employed other ALS measures in an effort to revive him but were unsuccessful. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories (among others) can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Hawaii Volcanoes NP - The intrusion of magma that was signaled by a swarm of earthquakes and by rift zone widening over Sunday and Monday finally made it to the surface yesterday. Concession Management - The final rule on authentic native handicrafts has been published in the Federal Register. Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - The Peace Corps has formally requested the assistance of six National Park Service SAR personnel to assist with a search for a Peace Corps volunteer who's been missing from a rural area outside the capital city of La Paz, Bolivia, since early 2001. To see the above articles, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). For NPS incident reporting standards, go to HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363 * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |