NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Wrangell-St. Elias NP&P
Three Sentenced For Poaching Moose In Park
Three men pled guilty and were sentenced for possession of unlawfully taken moose in federal district court in Anchorage on December 15th. The case began in October 2007 when the NPS received an anonymous tip that three men had sport-hunted in the park and had killed two bull moose. Investigators learned that the three hunters met in Yakutat to go moose hunting and hired a local air taxi pilot to fly them to one of two locations. The first was Icy Bay, which is outside and west of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve; the second location was about half way to Icy Bay, which is within the national park. The men obtained their hunting permits, but were unable to get maps of their hunting area. They did not contact the NPS prior to the hunt regarding hunt locations. As they flew towards Icy Bay, the winds “got squirrely” and they observed several moose on the ground and decided to hunt there. They did not know the moose were inside the national park, which is closed to sport hunting. Wrangell-St. Elias National Preserve, where it would have been legal for them to hunt moose during that time, was one and two miles from each of the kill sites on the other side of a prominent stream. The three hunters, one from Washington state and two from the Anchorage area, were each sentenced to pay a $500 to $1,000 fine and $1,000 in restitution to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park for wildlife protection and ordered to forfeit the meat and antlers. Those involved in solving the crime were special agents from Alaska and Olympic National Park along with park rangers from Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Glacier Bay National Park. [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer]
Harpers Ferry NHP
Body Of Missing Visitor Found In Shenandoah River
Local police came upon a Buick LeSabre in the park's river access parking lot on December 18th - a lot that is posted closed at dark. Over the next few days, rangers periodically checked the vehicle, finally impounding it on December 21st for violation of the closure restriction. An inventory was performed on the Buick and several items were discovered in the trunk that lead the rangers to believe the owner of the vehicle - M.W., 76, of Silver Springs, Maryland - might still be in the area. As temperatures had been well below freezing for several days, the rangers performed a quick hasty search of the riverbank. The following morning, rangers, together with NPS special agent Tim Alley, began an investigation into M.W.'s disappearance. An expanded search of the area, including river banks along the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and hiking trails and shelters along the Appalachian Trail, was undertaken with the help of a number of park maintenance employees, C&O Canal rangers, and Maryland DNR officers. At approximately 11:40 a.m., ranger Eric Sheetz discovered a body in the water on the east bank of the Shenandoah River, approximately 100 yards north of the Shenandoah River Bridge. The body was positively identified as M.W.'s. The cause of death is currently undetermined. The investigation has been turned over to Harpers Ferry Police Department, as the body was found outside of the park's jurisdiction. [Sarah Davis-Reynolds, Deputy Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
WASO Office of the Chief Information Officer - The NPS Radio Program Office, working in conjunction with the Department and other agencies, has completed a major effort to provide secure radio interoperability among enforcement agencies working along the Southwest border.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7221" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7221
Intermountain Region - Kim E. Sikoryak, branch chief for the Office of Interpretation and Education in Intermountain Region, will retire on January 3rd after 30 years of federal service.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7213" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7213
Redwood National and State Parks - Ranger Doug Corrigan will retire on January 3rd after almost 30 years of federal service, including over 20 years of service as a federal law enforcement ranger.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2183" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2183
Natchez Trace Parkway - Barbara Mauller, the district ranger for the park's Kosciusko District, will retire on December 31st.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2184" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2184
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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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