Everglades National Park (FL)
Rangers Remove Python From Visitor's Car
On Tuesday, January 15th, visitor R.D. stopped his car on the main park road in order to watch a crawling, six-foot-long, exotic Burmese python. As R.D. stepped out of his Ford Explorer, the python began crawling underneath the vehicle and into its engine compartment. R.D. attempted to grab the python with the curved end of his walking cane, but was unable to stop it. After several failed attempts to remove the snake, R.D. decided to drive 15 miles to the main entrance station for assistance. When ranger Willie Lopez, wildlife biologist Skip Snow, biologist's assistant Alex Wolf and firefighter Henry Delvalle checked the Explorer, they found its hood open, with only the tail end of the python visible — the rest of the snake was coiled around various parts of the engine and undercarriage. Several attempts were made to pull it out through the top of the engine, but failed because the snake tightened its hold on the car. The four responders then discussed their options. Snow reported that there had been several published articles about the successful use of tasers to loosen the tight grip of constricting snakes, so that was tried. Unfortunately, it resulted in the python contracting and excreting bodily fluids all over the responders. They then decided to disassemble parts of the Explorer's undercarriage in order to get to the python's head, which was then covered with duct tape. The snake's head and body were uncoiled and maneuvered through the engine compartment, then pulled out the top of the engine. Since Burmese pythons are exotic, prolific and aggressive, the snake was euthanized and taken to a lab to be studied. R.D.'s car was then put back together. [Submitted by Willie Lopez, Pine Island District Ranger]
New River Gorge National River (WV)
Man Jumps To Death From New River Gorge Bridge
On the morning of Tuesday, January 22nd, an off-duty West Virginia Division of Natural Resources officer driving south across the 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge came upon a vehicle pulled over against the guardrail on the northbound side of the bridge. As he approached it, he saw a man quickly get out, walk around to the front of the vehicle, step onto the front tire and up onto the rail, then jump without a moment's hesitation. The officer called 911 and rangers and county deputies responded. The man's body was found on the bank of the New River. Evidence at the scene and in the vehicle revealed that he was a 35-year-old man from South Charleston, West Virginia. FTEP ranger Kathy Spengler (from Katmai NP) is assisting the Fayette County Sheriff's Office with the follow-up investigation. [Submitted by Gary Hartley, Chief Ranger]
Mojave National Preserve (CA)
Suicide Victim Found In Car
Ranger Mike Ice checked on a purple two-door Mercury sedan illegally parked off the Cedar Canyon Road on the afternoon of January 14th. Ice found an unresponsive man in the driver seat. He forcibly entered the vehicle and confirmed that the man was dead. The San Bernadino County Sheriff's Office was contacted. The coroner's office identified the victim as a 26-year-old Glendale, Arizona, man, and determined that he'd died from asphyxiation. [ [Submitted by Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
73
Administrative Payment Team Nominations Being Solicited
Memorandum
To: Regional Directors
Attention: Superintendents and Center Managers
From: for Associate Director, Visitor and Resource Protection /s/ Richard Powell
Subject: Administrative Payment Team Cadre Nominations
Reply Due: February 15, 2008
Nominations are now being accepted for the Administrative Payment Team (APT) Cadre. This group is drawn upon to replace absent team members on assignments, to provide additional team members when the situation warrants, and to fill vacant team positions. The following attachments will provide information needed in the nomination process:
- General roles and responsibilities of the team members
- Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (to be addressed in a short narrative in #3 on the nomination form)
- Nomination form to be completed by the nominee and signed by the supervisor
The National Park Service (NPS) currently has three APTs that provide administrative support and on-the-spot payment capability for emergencies. Use of these teams has ensured the economic solvency of communities adjacent to public lands impacted by emergency incidents. Our credibility as an agency is partially dependent upon our ability to meet our financial obligations promptly, and the APTs have enhanced that credibility. In FY2007, these teams processed payments in excess of $20 million.
The need to continue to provide this important administrative support to areas impacted by fire and other emergencies has been proven and is a required element of our Servicewide responsibility. To ensure the viability of the program, we need more trained employees to meet future demands. All individuals nominated previously (whether selected or not), will need to reapply to ensure future consideration. Currently, there are no vacancies on the existing teams. However, this recruitment is for a cadre of qualified individuals to be considered for APT assignments when additional members are needed. This cadre list will be in effect for a period of 2 years.
APT assignments are generally no more than 14 days in duration, but can last up to 21 days on rare occasions. Work assignments involve long duty hours, usually 12 hours per day, in less than ideal working conditions, often in temporary office space. The members normally stay in hotels in towns adjacent to the incident. Individual participants may be subjected to substantial disruption of their work and personal lives due to the nature and length of the call-outs.
The supervisors of the participants must give full support for participation in these assignments because once committed, team members generally are unable to return to their home unit until released from the incident. It is important to have a firm commitment from the individuals and their supervisors on availability, particularly as incidents such as fires often occur during summer vacation and end-of-the-year closeout periods. Use of emergency suppression funds is authorized to cover the team member's base 8, travel, and overtime when deployed on wildland fire incidents.
Interested employees should complete the attached nomination form, and obtain approval from their immediate supervisor. Submit the approved form to:
Attention: Christine Peters, APT Coordinator
NPS, Fire Management Program Center
National Interagency Fire Center
3833 South Development Avenue
Boise, Idaho 83705-5354
Final APT cadre selections will be made by a panel consisting of the current Administrative Payment Team Leaders and the Coordinator from the Fire Management Program Center. We anticipate that selections will be completed by April 1, 2008.
If further information relating to the teams or individual position assignments is needed, please contact any of the following:
Team 1: Rose Pollard, Lake Meredith NRA, 806-857-0301
Team 2: Debra Ledford, Kings Mountain NMP, 864-936-7921
Team 3: Chuck Shoemake, Fort Smith NHS, 479-783-3961
Alternate Team Leader: Connie Dworak, Alaska Regional Office, 907-644-3322
APT Coordinator: Christine Peters, Fire Management Program Center, 208-387-5211
[Submitted by Christine Peters, christine_peters@nps.gov, 208-387-5211]
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PARKS AND PEOPLE
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine (MD)
GS-0025-11 Senior Law Enforcement Officer
An announcement has been issued for a senior law enforcement officer to oversee the division of resource protection and law enforcement for Fort McHenry NM&HS and Hampton NHS. It closes on February 12th. The person selected will have division-level responsibility for the planning, direction, and execution of programs dealing with law enforcement and resource protection, emergency services and safety. She/he will directly supervises all park rangers performing protection/law enforcement. Protection operations are scheduled on a seven day a week basis. Prior law enforcement experience, as gained by substantial service in a primary law enforcement position, or equivalent experience outside the federal government, is a mandatory prerequisite for all candidates. The vacancy announcement number is GETT-08-06.
[Submitted by Joan Howard, Human Resources Specialist]
More Information...
Redwood National and State Parks (CA)
GS-0025-9 Protection Ranger (Two Positions)
Redwood National and State Parks is seeking two interested protection rangers with NPS commissions for lateral reassignments to GL-9 positions. Duties include visitor and resource protection patrols by foot and vehicle, visitor resource education, search and rescue, medical and other emergency operations within all areas of the park.
The park is co-managed as a partnership with the three concurrent units of the California Department of Parks and Recreation as Redwood National and State Parks. The park complex amounts to 156,983 acres managed from offices at Crescent City, Klamath, Orick, and Arcata, California. The duty station is Orick, California, at the NPS South Operations Center, 121200 Highway 101 South, P.O. Box 7, Orick, CA 95555. There is no government housing available for this position.
Redwood National & State Park is located on the northern California coast near the Oregon border. Orick, California, is a small community approximately 40 miles north of Arcata/Eureka area. Orick features several stores, an elementary school, several souvenir shops and two cafes. The town is located a few miles downstream from the Tall Trees Grove, site of some of the world's tallest trees. There is limited housing available in Orick for rent or purchase. Arcata is a full-service community with complete medical services, hospitals, and schooling from K-12. There is a four-year college located in Arcata and a two-year college in Eureka.
Please send a copy of your resume/application, a copy of your current law enforcement commission along with any other certifications (such as EMT, CPR, Red Card and instructor certifications), a copy of your last performance appraisal and current SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action to Redwood National and State Parks, ATTN: NPS Personnel Office, 1111 Second Street, Crescent City, CA 95531. They must be received by February 5th.
For further information about this position, please contact supervisory park ranger Corky Farley 707-465-7750.
[Submitted by Nancy Wizner, Chief Ranger]
Pinnacles National Monument (CA)
GS-0401-9 Biologist
Dates: 01/14/2008 - 02/04/2008
Pinnacles National Monument is seeking a condor project leader to manage a complex biological field program involving employee/volunteer supervision, coordination with partners, budget tracking, scheduling, and team building. Knowledge and experience working with condors or birds of prey (raptors) in field situations, monitoring animals with radio telemetry, and mapping GPS coordinates with GIS software are skills that would be helpful for applicants to this position.
Pinnacles National Monument, in California's Central Coast region, consists of approximately 26,000 acres, over 16,000 acres of which are designated wilderness. The park includes over 32 miles of trails. Nearest communities for shopping, doctors, hospitals, etc. are Hollister (40 miles, population 34,400), and King City (40 miles, population 11,000).
This position is also being advertised as a merit promotion under announcement number PWROAK-08-09-MPP.
[Submitted by Lori Frusetta, lori_frusetta@nps.gov, (831)389-4486 ext 227]
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NPS Alumni
Passing Of Gus Muehlenhaupt
Gustav W. Muehlenhaupt, 91, who served in numerous positions in the NPS during his career, died on Thursday, December 27th, in Pollock Pines, California.
"Gus", as he was known, had an eventful life, having served in 11 different capacities at six different locations in the National Park Service. His favorite position was as superintendent of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where he worked for three years.
He was a U.S. Army veteran of WW II.
He enjoyed golf and bowling and was a member of Cold Springs Golf & Country Club, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, St. Patrick's Catholic Church, and the American Legion. During retirement, he spent many hours fishing on Lake Superior. He was a charter member and first president of the Jacobsville Community Club.
One of the nicest things said about him was by his granddaughter, Erika, then five years old. She said "I like to talk. Grandpa likes to laugh."
He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Jetty Foley Muehlenhaupt and his eldest daughter, Gretchen.
Gus is survived by children, Gus, Nonnie and Barb; grandchildren, Rob, Anna, Gus and Erika; great-grandchildren, Beau and Avery; and in-laws, Kathy, Linda, Dave and Mike.
Interment will be private at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Placerville, next to Jetty. Memorial services in his honor will be held Saturday, February 16, 2008, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Cold Springs Golf & Country Club, 6500 Clubhouse Drive, Placerville, Calif.
Contributions in his remembrance may be sent to Snowline Hospice at 6520 Pleasant Valley Road, Diamond Springs, CA 95619.
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.