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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, October 2, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Katmai NP Four Dead In Plane Accident Four people died on the afternoon of Sunday, September 30th, when their aircraft crashed near Nonvianuk Lake. The pilot, a guide and two passengers from Royal Wolf Lodge were returning to the lodge from a fishing trip when the accident occurred. The pilot had contacted the lodge and advised them that he expected to be back at about 4 p.m. When the plane had not landed 45 minutes later, aircraft from the lodge were sent to search for it and the wreckage was found near the lodge. Lodge employees went by boat and hiked to the crash site and confirmed there were no survivors. The plane was a Helio Courier on floats. The bodies of the four crash victims remained at the site yesterday morning. Rangers and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were on scene. Official notification to the families of the victims was still pending at the time of the report. The cause of the crash is not known. Nonvianuk Lake is in the northern portion of the Katmai National Park and Preserve, about 50 miles northwest of King Salmon. The lodge is on private property within the preserve. [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Region] Glen Canyon NRA One Killed, One Missing After Rock Slab Falls On Boat A visitor was killed on Friday, September 28th, when a rock slab fell on a boat at Lake Powell; another person is missing and presumed drowned. Park dispatch was contacted by visitors who reported finding a capsized vessel under a small sandstone alcove within Lake Canyon. They had reportedly passed the vessel in the same location approximately 20 minutes earlier and had waved to the two passengers on board. Rangers quickly arrived on the scene and soon recovered the body of a woman. The alcove under which the boat was located is approximately 20 feet wide by 20 feet high. It appears that the rock slab, approximately 250 square feet in size, fractured from the alcove wall and fell on the bow of the boat, causing it to capsize. The accident is still under investigation and the park's underwater recovery team is assisting in the search for the missing person. Water depths at the accident site are approximately 150 feet. Rangers are still working to identify the victims and to provide notification to next of kin. The IC is Greg Kouns. [Marianne Karraker] Big Thicket NP Three Lost Men Rescued In Nighttime SAR Three men who got lost in the woods when attempting to walk out after their boat broke down on the Neches River on the evening of September 26th were rescued after a nighttime search. The three local residents - J.C., R.G. and D.H. - attempted to walk out through the dense woods instead of waiting by their boat for rescue. Hall, who only has very limited peripheral vision and is legally blind, became separated from the other two men. Ranger Mike Hughes was assisted in the search by Texas Parks & Wildlife game warden Bill Zappe. They were able to make contact with Hall, who had his cell phone with him, around 11 p.m. In a later conversation, an anxious Hall told them that he had fallen down an embankment and was clinging to a tree. After searching for him for five hours, Hughes and Zappe finally heard him shouting for help, but it still took them another 40 minutes to travel the quarter mile by boat to his location due to thick fog and numerous snags in the river. They found Hall clinging to a downed tree hanging over a swift and deep part of the river. Because of his blindness, Hall was unaware that the tree he was clinging to actually hung out over the river. The rescuers skillfully maneuvered their boat under the tree and carefully brought Hall aboard around 4:30 a.m. Shortly after rescuing Hall, the other two lost men were also rescued. Without the timely intervention of Hughes and Zappe, it seems likely that Hall would have eventually fallen into the river and drowned. None of the victims required medical treatment. [Keith Flanery, District Ranger] Santa Monica Mountains NRA Marijuana Garden Found And Eradicated On Thursday, August 16th, a marijuana garden was spotted from a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office helicopter in the upper Trancas Canyon watershed. The Zuma-Trancas Canyons section is north of the city of Malibu and is managed by the National Park Service. After several weeks of surveillance, a tactical team comprised of protection rangers from both the National Park Service and from the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA, a state partner) entered the location as planned on September 19th. Over 3,900 marijuana plants with a street value in excess of $10 million were found at the site along with large amounts of plastic PVC irrigation hose and empty pesticide and insecticide containers. Staff from the park and MRCA, supported by additional staff from Channel Islands and Sequoia/Kings Canyon, cut and piled the plants and loaded both plants and garbage into large sling bags for removal by air. The plants were then taken to the county landfill - under armed escort - for destruction. Safety concerns in this remote area were numerous, including the possibility of armed growers still in the vicinity and/or their booby traps. Resource impacts are significant, including the destruction of native vegetation in this rather pristine area, soil disturbance that promotes invasive weeds, residual effects from the chemicals and fertilizers used, and the establishment of pits for trash and human waste. Funding came from both ONPS and PWR regional drug eradication accounts. [Evan W. Jones-Toscano, 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 - The fall issue of NPCA's magazine, National Parks, has a lead story asking how the national parks will respond to global warming. * Office of the Comptroller - The latest version of the PMIS Newsflash (V5N2) is now online. This edition describes enhancements to the 9.0 version of the Project Management Information System (PMIS). These changes are scheduled to take place on October 1st. * Natural Resource Program Center - The NPS's Planning, Environment and Public Comment System (PEPC) has launched a newsletter, called PEPC411 to inform users of new features, provide tips on how to accomplish different functions, and keep users up-to-date on issues relating to the PEPC system * Intermountain Region - Mary Kralovec has been named superintendent of Palo Alto Battlefield. Kralovec, who has been with the NPS for 14 years, assumed her new responsibilities on September 30th. * * * * * 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). --- ### --- |