NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, August 6, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Cleanup Crew Finds Message In A Bottle

A cleanup crew that found a moving letter in a bottle on the shore at Horn Island in mid-July has sent a letter and a T-shirt with all their names on it to the author in Wales. Here are the particulars:

Gulf Islands NS - On July 15th, a bottle washed up on Horn Island, an island on the Mississippi side of Gulf Island National Seashore. An oil spill cleanup crew and National Park Service resource advisors Kelly J. Moore and Patricia Kraft found the bottle and opened it to find five letters written by the family of James Adams, a British soldier who died on September 27, 2009, while serving in Afghanistan. Kelly and her colleagues read aloud the letters addressed to James and dated May 1, 2010 from his mother Sarah, sister Emma, brother Josh, and friends Maureen and Tom. Sarah also wrote another letter to “whoever finds this bottle” urging them “to try to make a difference, and stop anymore pain.” The message made a deep impression on the cleanup crew. They signed a T-shirt and took a group photo to send to Sarah in Wales. Kelly Moore composed a letter to the family expressing the responders' sympathy for James's loss and gratitude for his service. Moore wrote, “As Sarah encourages in her letter, we all have the right and the responsibility to help make this world a better place. We have the opportunity to make a difference, however slight it may be. There are many men and women who are doing their part to clean up this disaster that has blanketed the Gulf in oil. These men and women are making a difference—one tar ball at a time. It is a slow process, but an honorable one. Finding that bottle is something we will never forget. Thank you for sharing your experiences with us all and for reminding us that everyone has the power to make a positive impact in some way.”

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, Desoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - No new developments.

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.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.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" NPS Oil Spill Response

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

HYPERLINK "http://www.restorethegulf.gov/" Restore The Gulf

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

HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/NPS%20-%20Public%20Health%20Notice%20SIGNAGE%206-26-10.pdf" Gulf Islands Public Health Precautions Notice

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/OilSpillSafety/index.htm" Public Health Service Oil Spill Safety Video

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/" Oil Spill Media Page

[Kelly Moore, Lynette Sprague-Falk and Mary McBurney, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Grand Canyon NP

Man Rescued After Falling Over Canyon Edge

Yesterday afternoon, park dispatch received a report that a man had fallen over the edge of the canyon near Mather Point on the South Rim. Arriving rangers spotted the 18-year-old French visitor about 75 feet below the rim a quarter mile east of the point. He was conscious, but in need of medical assistance. Ranger-paramedics rappelled down to his location, assessed and treated his injuries, and prepared him for evacuation. He was short-hauled to the park helibase, then taken by ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center, where he's being treated for wrist, ankle and neck injuries. According to witnesses, the man slipped and fell while taking pictures near the rim. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

Amistad NRA

Drug Smuggler Apprehended

On the morning of July 25th, rangers took a report from a 28-year-old Del Rio man who said that his truck had been stolen the night before from the Southwinds Marina. The man said that he had left the truck parked near a picnic area with the keys in the gas fill compartment and that upon returning during the night found his truck gone. He said he then left the area to continue drinking with his friends and only thought about his truck being stolen the next morning. A routine computer check on the man disclosed that he was wanted for evading detention. The ranger placed him under arrest and transported him to the local jail. Later in the morning, the Border Patrol contacted rangers to relay information on three drug smugglers who had eluded them the previous night. They reported that the load of marijuana had been transported by boat through the park and transferred to a pickup at the park's Box Canyon boat ramp. They then pursued the individuals, who crashed the truck into a rancher's high game fence and fled on foot, eluding capture. With the truck description, rangers realized that it matched the reportedly stolen vehicle. Rangers and Border Patrol and DEA agents then interviewed the man, who admitted to his involvement in smuggling the 218 pounds of marijuana through the park. [Regina Klein Dissler, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Director's Office - In this three-minute episode, Director Jarvis addresses how the NPS should be more articulate about the economic benefits of parks, especially during these tough economic times. He also reports about his recent trip to Yellowstone and Grand Canyon with Vice President Biden to highlight Recovery Act projects.

Denver Service Center - A project at Carlsbad Caverns has been selected as one of the first landscape projects to participate in a pilot program testing the nation's first rating system for sustainable landscape design, construction, and maintenance. Photo.

Upcoming Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation. Added to this week's listing is a course on interpreting archeological and cultural heritage resources at Fort Sumter this fall.

NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.

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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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