NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Oil Spill Preparations Continue

The National Park Service continues to support the Department of the Interior's unprecedented response to the oil spill resulting from the sinking of the drill rig Deepwater Horizon on April 20th. The Western incident management team continues to support Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the five South Florida parks - Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas and Everglades - continue to work under a type III organization preparing for possible landfall there. Director Jarvis remains in place at the Mobile Incident Command Center as DOI incident commander. Today's update follows:

Padre Island NS - The park's baseline assessment continues.

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - The park continues to work towards its objectives by coordinating with local partners and the Western IMT at Gulf Islands.

Gulf Islands NS - No oil, tar, or oiled animals have been found in the park, with the exception of a few dime-sized pieces of burned oil that were found and removed by a SCAT team today near the pier on West Ship Island. All park sites are open and operating as usual. The most recent projections show the Mississippi islands outside the plume of surface oil until Friday morning at the earliest. However, it is possible for tar balls to travel below the water surface in advance of the surface oil plume. After yesterday's winds, boats worked on redeploying booms. Biologists in the animal group responded to calls for several dead birds, but none of them appeared to be spill-related. Safety training continued for NPS employees.

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - Final baseline conditions assessment plans for four of the five south Florida parks have been completed. Biscayne science and technical staff are nearing completion on their baseline condition assessment plan. A cultural resource assessment will also be performed at Biscayne. Pre-impact sampling of sediment and tissue began today at DeSoto and Dry Tortugas. The natural resource assessment branch is currently determining trigger points at which to execute plans for Everglades, Big Cypress, and Biscayne. Local media interest is currently low. Everglades fact sheets can be accessed at HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/ever_" http://www.nps.gov/ever. A communications center has been established with three information officers. They can be contacted at 305-224-4215, or via email at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/mailtSouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com__" SouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com.

For more information on the NPS, DOI and national oil spill responses and for a link to the BP online oil spill safety training needed by all incident staff, please see the following:

NPS Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm

DOI Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm" http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm

National Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com" http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

Oil Spill Safety Training - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957

[Rudy Evenson, Lead Information Officer, Gulf Islands National Seashore Oil Spill Response]

Mojave NP

Cross Stolen From World War I Memorial

The cross in the national World War I memorial at Sunrise Rock along Cima Road was reported missing on Monday morning by maintenance staff who went to the site to replace the wooden cover that had been removed from the cross on Saturday. Litigation surrounding the memorial has been ongoing since March, 2001, when a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, arguing that the display of a cross in the memorial violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Congress designated the site a national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring the American veterans of that war. The National Park Service was enjoined from displaying the cross. The wooden cover was reported missing from the cross by rangers on Saturday, and the uncovered cross was seen again by rangers on Sunday afternoon. When park maintenance staff arrived on Monday morning to replace the cover, they found that the entire cross had been removed. Rangers are investigating this crime and have set up a tip line (760-252-6120). The Veterans of Foreign Wars is offering a $25,000 award for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. [Kirk Gebicke, Supervisory Park Ranger]

Grand Canyon NP

Potential Armed Confrontation Resolved With Tactical Team Assistance

NPS investigators yesterday afternoon attempted to contact a man with an outstanding warrant against him who was visiting a local resident and staying in a house in the park's residential area. Because he was believed to be armed, every precaution was taken to assure the safety of their team and local residents. When repeated efforts to engage the man failed, a perimeter was established around the house while investigators tried to communicate with him and the Flagstaff Tactical Operations Team - a highly trained tactical response team made up of members of the Flagstaff Police Department and the Coconino County Sheriff's Office - was called in to provide support, assistance and a tactical response if needed. At the same time, all nearby residences were evacuated and the roads into the area were closed off. When the tactical team arrived, a joint command was established and the team's negotiator joined in the efforts to elicit a response from the man, but he did not respond. At approximately 7:30 p.m., having exhausted all other options, the tactical team entered the house and found the man dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. The body has been transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The park has extended its thanks to the team for its quick response and assistance in resolving this incident. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

Great Smokies NP

Court Sentences Reckless Biker To Substantial Jail Term

A man who drove his motorcycle at speeds well over 100 mph through the park while attempting to elude arrest has been found guilty of reckless driving and been sentenced to six months in jail. Last September, rangers attempted to stop the operator of a motorcycle who was speeding on the Foothills Parkway spur in the early hours of the morning. Instead, the driver - N.O. 21, of Clintwood, Virginia - accelerated away on his Suzuki 600 motorcycle, despite having a female passenger on the back of the bike. During the pursuit, N.O. reached speeds up to 114 mph. crossed double-yellow lines, passed on curves and nearly struck another vehicle head-on. “We have been seeing an increase in the number of individuals who are fleeing to elude arrest over the last few years,” said Bill Wright, the park's chief ranger. “This type of behavior presents enormous risks, especially in the park with its narrow, curving roads and heavy traffic. There seems to be a growing perception that fleeing into or through the national park will allow the offender to escape. However, due to the limited number of exits from the park, those individuals are nearly always caught. Their actions prior to being stopped seriously jeopardize the safety and well-being of unsuspecting visitors and fellow motorists they encounter, and place the eluder in great risk of injury or death.” [Bob Miller, Public Affairs]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Glacier NP - About 750 people turned out yesterday to help rededicate Glacier National Park, part of a yearlong Centennial Program to honor the park's 100th anniversary. Glacier became the nation's tenth national park on that same day in 1910.

San Antonio Missions NHP - On the morning of Wednesday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), the park served as the backdrop for Univisi—n's popular national morning show “Despierta América.” The national show was broadcast live from the park with Mission San José serving as a backdrop. Photo.

Cuyahoga Valley NP - A newly erected demonstration wind turbine is now operational at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center, located within the park. Cuyahoga is the first NPS site to have an operational wind turbine. Photo.

Chickasaw NRA - Ranger Luis Krug of Chickasaw National Recreation Area was honored as the Outstanding Federal Law Enforcement Employee in Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board on Monday, May 3rd. Photo.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter):

NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index

Non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify

* * * *

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---