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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, September 11, 2007 =============================================================================================================== NOTICE President Bush has directed that all flags be lowered to half staff today in commemoration of Patriot's Day. For the full text of the proclamation, go to HYPERLINK "http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070904-6.html" http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070904-6. html INCIDENTS Mid-Atlantic Parks Tropical Storm Gabrielle Blows Through Tropical Storm Gabrielle, which made landfall at Cape Lookout NS, brought some wind and rain but had little impact on the region. Two parks have sent along follow-up reports: Cape Lookout - Damage was limited to minor flooding in the visitor center. The park resumed normal operations yesterday. Cape Hatteras - Damage assessments were still being conducted yesterday, both by ground and air. [Jeff Brice, NPS Assistant Coordinator, Southern Area Coordination Center; Paul Stevens, LES, Cape Hatteras; Charles Cranfield, Superintendent, Cape Lookout] Yellowstone NP Two Idaho Men Found Drowned In Shoshone Lake Two elderly Idaho residents drowned after their canoe overturned in Shoshone Lake late last week. The victims have been identified as 74-year-old F.K. and 80-year-old C.P., both of Boise, Idaho. The men had fishing permits and a backcountry permit for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights at three different campsites along the shore of Shoshone Lake, located in the backcountry southeast of Old Faithful. Just before 7 p.m. on Friday night, a group camping along the lakeshore used a cell phone to report finding an overturned red canoe, but added that they'd been unable to find the occupants. A second party retrieved the canoe and brought it to shore. Rangers from Grant, the South Entrance and Old Faithful immediately responded to the location on foot and by canoe and kayak. They had to suspend their search shortly after arriving because of nightfall. A search of the recovered canoe led to the discovery of a partial backcountry permit, which helped rangers focus their search on Saturday. The first victim was discovered in the water near the eastern shore of the lake around noon, and the second was found further out in the lake about an hour later. F.K. and C.P. were experienced canoeists and were both wearing life jackets. Windy conditions had been reported on the lake. Moving between campsites would have required the pair to make several open water crossings of the lake. Both the date and the cause of the accident remain under investigation. These are the first accidental deaths in the park this year, and the first drownings in the park since July 2005. [Public Affairs] Yellowstone NP Employee Attacked And Injured By Bear Outside Park A park employee was attacked by a bear early last Sunday morning near Gardiner, just north of the park. Ken Meyer, the park's safety manager, was hunting for black bear when he was mauled by what is believed to have been a female grizzly bear with cubs. Meyer sustained injuries to his arms, legs and chest. He subsequently underwent surgery at Livingston Memorial Hospital. Meyer was apparently walking near or along Little Trail Creek, which is north and west of Gardiner, early Sunday morning when he came upon what he said was a grizzly. The bear attacked him, retreated at some point, then attacked again. Meyer said he shot the bear with his rifle, possibly wounding it, before he walked out of the woods and called for help. Gallatin National Forest officials closed the area after the attack, fearing a wounded bear might be apt to injure others. Members of the Forest Service, Park Service and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks searched for the bear on the ground and from the air for much of Sunday. A spokeswoman for the forest said that a team of three or four people were "aggressively charged" by a grizzly during the search, but it was not believed to be the bear involved in the earlier mauling. The closure includes the area up to one mile on either side of Forest Service Road 1701 from its junction with Travertine County Road, commonly called Travertine Bench, and one mile on either side of Little Trail Creek outside the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness boundary. The area includes Maiden Basin, Little Trail Creek Trail 49 and Lower Little Trail Creek Trail 319 and the Travertine Bench. [Billing Gazette] George Washington Memorial Parkway USPP Helicopter Employed To Rescue Teenager From Potomac “Eagle,” the US Park Police helicopter, flew to Great Falls on the Potomac River last Saturday afternoon to assist with the rescue of an 18-year-old man who'd fallen into the river's swift-flowing waters. Although he managed to get to a rock in the rapids, he was unable to return to the shoreline. Fairfax County firefighters threw him a life vest and helmet, but decided that hazardous river conditions precluded a rescue by boat. The only alternative, therefore, was to extract him via a helicopter hoist. Pilot Keaton Wright brought “Eagle” to a hover 60 feet above the falls and rescue technician Chris Perkins lowered a Billy Pugh rescue device to the man. He was hoisted safely in the helicopter and brought to shore. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Information Officer] Mount Rushmore NM Arrest For Illegally Entering Closed Area A 20-year-old man illegally entered a closed area near the mountain sculpture on the morning of Tuesday, September 4th. The park's security system detected the intrusion and set off an alarm. Dispatchers watched the man on a surveillance camera as he took some photographs, then left the area. A ranger contacted him shortly thereafter while he was still inside the restricted area. When confronted, the man fled, resulting in a chase and search through rugged backcountry and along roadways for the next hour. The chase and search involved five rangers, a Pennington County deputy, and park maintenance personnel. Careful observations and investigative work quickly linked the man with an unattended pickup truck parked at Profile Viewpoint. Rangers staked out the truck and eventually contacted two 17-year-old men who'd been keeping in touch with the suspect via text messaging by cell phone and had come to drive the truck away. They eventually lead rangers to a small abandoned building just outside the park's north boundary where the man was hiding out. Rangers, accompanied by the deputy, arrested him without incident, charged him with six CFR violations, and took him to the Pennington County jail. As part of his plea agreement before the U.S. magistrate, he pled guilty to two violations - illegally hiking into the closed area and interfering with an agency function by violating a lawful order - and the four other charges were dropped. He was assessed fines totaling $1,000, plus court fees. His primary motive appears to have been obtaining unique photographs. The photographs that he took with a digital camera were seized and will not be returned. The safe and successful conclusion of this incident came about through great teamwork, the physical fitness of responding personnel, and outstanding observations and investigation in a short timeframe. [Mike Pflaum, Chief Ranger] 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 are, respectively, HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/ and ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). * Servicewide - Today, on the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, President Bush has directed that flags be flown at half staff and that the day be remembered with appropriate ceremonies and a moment of silence. We also pause to remember the National Park Service's role in responding to this tragic event. * 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. * US Park Police - Kelcy M. Stefansson is retiring from the United States Park Police after more than 23 years of distinguished service. * * * * * 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). --- ### --- |