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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, September 18, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS National Mall and Memorial Parks Park Police Officers Deal With Major Demonstrations Protestors flocked to Washington on Saturday, September 15th, for a large demonstration protesting the war in Iraq. Some of the demonstrators began their rally in Lafayette Park, others at Freedom Plaza and in Pershing Park. They then joined forces to march down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol. Two large groups of counter-demonstrators also rallied at the United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue and on the Mall at 7th Street. As the demonstrators marched to the Capitol, the counter-demonstrators lined Pennsylvania Avenue. Park Police and Metropolitan Police officers helped keep the march moving and prevented any major incidents between the opposing groups. The demonstrators eventually gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol. Once there, they began to engage in civil disobedience. The United States Capitol Police requested assistance from the Park Police, and officers were sent to help hold a police line. Capitol Police subsequently arrested more than 100 demonstrators who crossed that line. [Robert LaChance, Public Affairs Officer] Yosemite NP Update: Searchers Find Missing Hiker R.H., 58, of Corcoran, California, was found by ground searchers around 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning near Glacier Point. He was mildly dehydrated but otherwise okay. R.H. was reported missing to park officials on Saturday afternoon when he did not return from a day hike. His truck was subsequently located at the Sentinel Dome/Taft Point trailhead off the Glacier Point Road. A search was begun and continued through Saturday night. On Sunday, it was expanded into a much more significant effort. Approximately 70 searchers from counties throughout California and from Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks and DNC Parks and Resorts in Yosemite participated in the operation. Dog teams and helicopters were used as well. Participating were SAR teams from Fresno, Madera, Marin, Ventura, Tulare, Mono, Los Angeles, Mariposa, and San Bernadino Counties, along with China Lake SAR and Sierra Madre SAR. Yosemite National Park wishes to thank these cooperating search teams for their quick response and continued effort. [Adrienne Freeman, Public Affairs Officer] Lake Mead NRA Rangers Deal With Numerous Labor Day Weekend Incidents Over the Labor Day weekend, Lake Mead rangers provided professional service to nearly 120,000 visitors who entered the park. Incidents over the course of the weekend included 17 arrests, five search and rescue incidents, 22 medical responses and the issuance of 126 citations. Significant incidents included a call for medical assistance for a man who sustained third degree burns to his face when his personal watercraft blew up and a SAR operation in which rangers were required to make repeated approaches to a cliff face to rescue stranded boaters whose vessel sank after taking on water due to high winds and waves. Lake Mead's implementation of the Coast Guard's Operational Risk Management (ORM) model continues to play a significant role in park operations. Unfortunately, the high activity and extreme conditions over the weekend took its toll on the staff and was identified as a contributing factor in a near catastrophic event in which a park ranger fell asleep at the wheel and slid his patrol car off the road into a ditch. An after-action review revealed that the ranger had worked back-to-back shifts in excess of 12 hours with minimal rest. In response to the review, the park's Ranger Activities Division has implemented mandatory shift requirements for all emergency service employees. This is one of many changes that has occurred within the division as a result of ORM, including the creation of a duty officer position and the realignment of division personnel. For more information on ORM, please feel free to contact deputy chief ranger Dave Horne at 702-293-8764. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Lake Mead NRA Nine Arrested At DUI Checkpoint On August 26th, rangers conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Lakeshore Drive. Within three hours, they contacted about 300 drivers and arrested nine of them for driving under the influence. This was one of a series of six coordinated checkpoints conducted in the park in an effort to reduce alcohol-related incidents. The park averages ten fatalities and 190 motor vehicle and boat accidents each year, many of them directly associated with alcohol. The checkpoints are conducted in coordination with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Department of Wildlife, and Arizona Game and Fish. [Mary Hinson, Chief Ranger] Glen Canyon NRA One Swimmer Rescued, Second Succumbs On September 12th, J.L., 64, was swimming with friends from a houseboat to a small island about 75 yards away when he began showing signs of distress. He slid underwater, but was immediately retrieved by two of his friends. They took him to the island, where CPR was begun. Another man in the group - D.M., 50 - also had difficulties while swimming. He was rescued by nearby boaters after sinking below the surface of the lake. He was breathing but unresponsive at first, then regained consciousness after being brought aboard the houseboat. Rangers Steve Luckesen, Bryan Yetter, Scott Ryan and Gordon Olson soon arrived on scene with a Kane County deputy, a Utah state park ranger, and a Classic Lifeguard helicopter. Rangers were assisted by an Air Force doctor who was in the area with his family. Resuscitation efforts on J.L. were unsuccessful after an hour's effort and he was declared dead at the scene. D.M. was flown to a hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado. J.L. was with a group of friends who were vacationing at Lake Powell to celebrate the life of a friend who had just passed away from cancer. The fatality is under joint investigation by the National Park Service and Kane County Sheriff's Office. The lead investigator fro the park is ranger Scott Ryan. [Lindy Mihata, Acting 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/). * Alaska Region - The region has developed a unique program to diversify its workforce. For nine years, it has worked with partners in California to recruit disabled persons. A recruitment effort that began with one school-to-work transition program has now expanded to recruiting with transition programs in Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside Counties. * * * * * 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). --- ### --- |