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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, August 6, 2007 =============================================================================================================== NOTICE Office of the Chief Information Officer Editor Named For Morning Report And InsideNPS The Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) for the National Park Service has contracted services for an editor to continue daily preparation and publication of both InsideNPS and the Morning Report. “I'm pleased to announce that we will continue to receive the services of Bill Halainen,” said Deputy CIO Sue Hawkins. “Bill begins working for one of our contractors today and will continue overseeing both publications.” Bill will for the most part be working mornings from Monday through Friday. Although it will be easiest to reach him via email (he will still be on Lotus Notes), you can also contact him at 570-686-3828 or via cell phone (depending on the whims of reception in the Poconos) at 845-341-3119. [Sue Hawkins] INCIDENTS Mississippi NR&RA Section Of River Closed Due To Bridge Collapse Once spanning the river midway through the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, the I-35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River near Lower St. Anthony Falls on August 1st, closing the river to all commercial and recreational traffic between Lock and Dam #1 and Upper St. Anthony Falls until further notice. The U.S. Coast Guard has declared a safety zone from mile marker 847 to 854. This means that entry is prohibited to all vessels and persons unless authorized by the captain of the port of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Upper Mississippi River, St. Louis, Missouri. Mile marker 847 is just downstream from Lock and Dam #1 (Ford Dam); mile marker 854 is just above Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam. If you have business on the river and need a permit, call the Coast Guard Office at 314-269-2330. At the site of the collapse, the Mississippi is nearly 400 feet wide. Drought and near drought conditions in the north and western sections of the Mississippi River watershed have contributed to significant slowing of the water in this area. Normal flow rates for the north portion of the metropolitan average 4500 cubic feet per second. Currently flow rates are only about 1500 cubic feet per second. The park reports that no staff were personally affected by this tragedy. Check for updated information at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/miss" http://www.nps.gov/miss. [Denise Niedzolkowski] Lake Mead NRA Convictions For Theft From Houseboat In September of 2004, Cottonwood Marina personnel reported that the houseboat Jumpin' Jack Splash had been stolen from its moorings in the marina. Later in the evening, a responding ranger found the vessel abandoned and adrift in the channel. After talking to surrounding boaters, rangers were able to determine that the "pirates" were camped in the area along the shoreline with another stolen vessel. The park's special response team entered the campsite and found M.B. and T.G. sitting next to the booty that had been plundered from the houseboat. Both were arrested and charged with burglary. Another individual was arrested for possession of methamphetamine. On June 25th, M.B. and T.G. both pled guilty to 18 USC 661 for their participation in the theft of the house boat. They will pay restitution and serve their sentences concurrently with unrelated state felony convictions. [Les Seago, Special Agent]
Grand Teton NP Injured Climber Rescued From Mount Moran A.A., 53, of Laramie, Wyoming, injured both ankles and received a minor head wound after taking a 15-foot tumbling fall about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 28th. The accident occurred when A.A. and two climbing partners were descending the CMC route on Mount Moran. As they approached the notch near Drizzlepuss, A.A. — who was temporarily unroped and not wearing a helmet at the time — slipped and took a tumble. She landed on her backpack and a coil of rope, which likely protected her from further injury. A.A.'s climbing partners were able to get her roped up again, and she climbed up to the Drizzlepuss notch. The trio then descended another 100 feet before deciding to bivouac for the night. Another climbing party ascending the CMC route early Sunday morning came upon A.A. and her companions. The climbing party had a cell phone with them and made a call for assistance. Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received the call for help on Sunday morning. An interagency contract helicopter conducting an overflight for possible new fires in the area was diverted to assist with an aerial evacuation of the injured climber. Two rangers were flown from Lupine Meadows to A.A.'s location on Mount Moran and inserted by short-haul. After they provided medical care, they placed A.A. in an evacuation suit. She was then flown in tandem with an attending ranger to the Lupine Meadows rescue facility on the valley floor, transferred to a park ambulance, and taken to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson, where she was treated and released. This marks the tenth major search and rescue operation in Grand Teton National Park this year. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] Grand Teton NP Injured Climber Evacuated By Helicopter Rangers used an interagency contract helicopter to evacuate an injured climber from the Lower Saddle on Wednesday, August 1st. K.K., 50, of Detroit, Michigan, stumbled and fell several feet around 8:45 a.m. while ascending Exum Ridge on the Grand Teton with a group of climbers led by Exum Guides. Although he was roped-up and wearing a helmet, K.K. suffered lacerations to his face, bruises to his hand, and an injury to his knee during the fall. The guide leading the climbing party called the Exum offices to report the accident, and Exum contacted rangers, who began to monitor the situation. The party was able to descend to the Lower Saddle without additional assistance by about 11 a.m. A ranger who was stationed at the Lower Saddle on a routine climbing patrol met the group there, evaluated K.K.'s injuries, and provided emergency medical assistance. Rangers also conferred with a physician at St. John's Medical Center in Jackson about K.K.'s condition. Due to the nature of his injuries, the location of the accident, and the prolonged time an evacuation by foot would take, they made the decision to evacuate him by helicopter. An interagency contract helicopter flew to the Lower Saddle at 1:10 p.m. Rangers loaded K.K. inside the helicopter and flew him to Lupine Meadows, where a park ambulance was waiting to transport him to St. John's Medical Center for further treatment. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Specialist] 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: Director's Office - On August 2nd, Director Bomar testified in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on bills that would authorize National Park Service Centennial Challenge funding. Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. 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 support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828). --- ### --- |