NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Director Visits Gulf Islands With BP Executive

The men and women of the National Park Service - both current employees and numerous retired employees - continue to be an integral part of the national federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. All NPS units along the Gulf remain open and are conducting regular park operations.

Gulf Islands NS - Director Jon Jarvis toured Gulf Islands National Seashore yesterday with BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles and Sam Champion from ABC News. Other local affiliates in attendance included local Fox 10, WSTV Atlanta, local ABC 3 and local NBC 15. Director Jarvis placed strong focus on the nature of sensitive lands cleanup and was also briefly joined by Resource Advisor Greg Schroeder, on detail to the incident from Badlands National Park. For more information on oil impacts and conditions (including swimming and fishing information), visit the Deepwater Horizon response website (below).

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, Desoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - A media event was held at Everglades National Park's Key Largo Ranger Station to showcase different marine and coastal habitats that may be affected by the spill and also measures that will be taken to mitigate these effects. Five NPS boats were utilized for the field portion of the event. Approximately 15 media outlets participated.

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - No new developments.

Padre Island NS - No new developments.

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 sites:

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

HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/" Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

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

HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/" National Oil Spill Response

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

HYPERLINK "http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/" GeoPlatform

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1006&id=9336" NPS ICS 209 Incident Status Summaries

[Lynne Murdock, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Presidio Of San Francisco

Traffic Stop Leads To Weapons Arrest, Significant Investigation

Late on the evening of June 13th, USPP officer Michael Mertz stopped a vehicle for speeding on Lincoln Boulevard within the Presidio. A computer check on the driver revealed that he had an extensive criminal history and that a court-ordered warrantless search condition was on file against him. When Mertz and assisting officer Michael Cameron searched him, they found that he was wearing an empty gun holster inside his pants waistband. He and his female passenger were detained while the interior of the vehicle was searched. During the search, Cameron heard a rattling in the dashboard that was inconsistent with a normal engine sound and saw a portion of an ammunition magazine through a space in the area where the passenger's air bag would normally be located above the glove box. Further investigation revealed that this hidden compartment was designed to be accessed covertly by the vehicle operator by depressing the car brake pedal and simultaneously pressing a switch located under the driver's dashboard. The hidden compartment contained a loaded Glock 26 semi-automatic 9mm handgun and a fully loaded 30 round high-capacity magazine. This gun came back as stolen in San Francisco. The vehicle was impounded and the operator was placed in custody and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, among other federal charges. A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle. During this second and more aggressive search, a second handgun was discovered hidden behind the door panel in the driver's side door. This 40 caliber semi-automatic was also loaded. The subsequent investigation has spread to include local law enforcement agencies, and it's been determined that the man is a ‘person of interest' in two Bay Area homicides, has gang affiliations, and has an extensive criminal history. The case is currently pending adjudication in federal court. USPP detective Larry Morales is the lead investigator in this case. [Lt. Thomas Hart, San Francisco Field Office]

Lake Mead NRA

Search Underway For Presumed Drowning Victim

A search is underway for an 18-year-old Nevada man who disappeared Monday afternoon while swimming in the Colorado River. He is presumed to have drowned. The man was swimming in the river with two friends when they decided that the current was too strong and started swimming back to shore. His friends made it, but he began struggling and went underwater. The river current through Black Canyon averages from three to six miles per hour. The three men had hiked down to the river through Gold Strike Canyon following a popular route from Highway 93 between the Hacienda Hotel and the eastbound Hoover Dam security checkpoint. His friends called for help just before 4 p.m. after hiking two miles from the riverbank to the trailhead in order get cell phone reception. Las Vegas Metro Police Search and Rescue searched the area by air and park rangers by water, but there was no sign of him. Efforts at locating him continue. [Andrew S. Muñoz, Public Affairs Officer]

Obed W&SR

Auto Burglar Sentenced In Court

During the spring of 2009, a number of vehicle larcenies occurred in the park. Visitors who'd left their vehicles at various trailheads and overlooks returned to find the windows smashed out and their belongings stolen. Protection ranger Matt Hudson, with the assistance of local law enforcement officers, soon identified two suspects, C.D.G. and B.L.B. Hudson also enlisted the assistance of Investigative Services Branch special agents in the investigation. During the course of the investigation, B.L.B. died. Drug use was a contributing factor in his death. On October 20, 2009, C.D.G. was indicted on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts relating to her involvement in the vehicle larcenies. This May, C.D.G. changed her earlier plea of not guilty to guilty. On June 15th, she was sentenced. She pled to four counts of the indictment and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation and ordered to repay $4,989 in restitution to her victims. Hudson was involved in all aspects of the investigation and subsequent prosecution and did an outstanding job. [Jeff Carlisle, Special Agent]

OTHER NEWS

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

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs - On Saturday, June 12th, the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks' helitack crew hosted an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the parks helitack program. Photo.

Virgin Islands NS - Spectacular views of the Caribbean Sea from Virgin Islands National Park will remain unspoiled thanks to the generous donation of a 2.2-acre oceanfront parcel to The Trust for Public Land, which then donated it to the park. Photo.

Grand Canyon NP - Grand Canyon National Park recently hosted its fourth official visit by a delegation from its sister park, Yuntaishan World Geopark, located in Henan Province in China. Photo.

George Washington Birthplace NM - For the first time in the 25 year history of the Virginia Law Enforcement Torch Run, the Flame of Hope passed through the neighboring town of Colonial Beach on its journey to Richmond, Virginia. The run was organized by law enforcement staff from George Washington Birthplace and local departments. Photo.

Nez Perce NHS - Superintendent Gary Somers will retired on October 1st after 36 years with the National Park Service. 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

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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).

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