NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Seriously Injured Hiker Extricated From Canyon In Night Rescue

Rangers were notified of a climbing accident on the Stoned Oven route (rated 5.11+, between difficult and very difficult) around mid-afternoon on Monday, October 20th. M.W., 30, who was roped and wearing a climbing helmet, had fallen 30 to 40 feet while leading the fourth pitch of the route several hours earlier, sustaining life-threatening injuries. M.W. was lowered to the base of the climb by his partners, who then ascended 1,700 feet to the rim of the canyon via Cruise Gully to seek assistance. A hasty team responded immediately, descending down the gully, which has sections of technical terrain and requires about 250 feet of rappelling. Although their response time was slowed slightly by rain, they reached M.W. just after 5 p.m. Due to the nature of M.W.'s injuries, the park SAR team, assisted by members of Western State SAR, began a rescue operation despite the approaching darkness. A park SAR team member was lowered from the rim to the canyon floor in the area of the Hallucinogen Wall route (rated 5.10, A3+). A litter carry was made from the base of the Stoned Oven route to the haul lines, and M.W. and a rescuer were then hauled 1,500 vertical feet to the canyon rim, arriving there around 11 p.m.. M.W. was then flown to a hospital via air ambulance. The entire rescue operation took less than nine hours from the time of first notification to its conclusion. The ability of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP to conduct complex rescue operations with this degree of efficiency and professionalism is largely due to a dedicated group of SAR volunteers who donate hundreds of man/hours training at the park each season. [Steve Winslow, District Ranger]

Baltimore Washington Parkway

Driver Wounded In Parkway Shooting

Park Police officers responded to a report of a shooting on the parkway just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 26th. Initial investigation revealed that two vehicles were heading north on the highway when one or more occupants of one vehicle fired on those in the other. The driver of the second vehicle - J.N., 35, of Laurel, Maryland - was struck, but his daughter and niece, who were traveling with him, were uninjured. J.N. was able to pull off the parkway and call police. He was taken to the hospital and his passengers were released to relatives. The northbound lanes of the parkway were closed and all traffic diverted onto Powder Mill Road until about 9 a.m. while an investigation was conducted. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

Among the stories in today's edition are the following:

Yosemite NP - The newly-renovated Tunnel View overlook, a signature Centennial Initiative project, was dedicated in an event attended by 300 people last Friday.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7027" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7027

Casa Grande Ruins NM - Last week, the park welcomed three Afghan Provincial Directors of Monuments, who participated with park staff in an exchange of cultural resource management information.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7028" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7028

Biscayne NP - Biscayne National Park celebrated the park's past, present and future the weekend before last as it marked its 40th anniversary.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7033" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7033

Katmai NP&P - On Saturday September 27th, a joint emergency response training session was held between Katmai National Park and the Bristol Bay Borough Fire Department - the first cooperatively planned training in a number of years.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7032" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7032

Intermountain Region - Dr. Judith Bischoff has joined the National Park Service's Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CP-CESU) as its new research coordinator.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2116" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2116

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

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).

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