NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, August 12, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Volunteers Help Protect Nesting Turtles

Gulf Islands National Seashore encompasses barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi and Florida that buffer the mainland from severe weather, and are home to unique flora and fauna that cling to life despite the severe effects of natural and human-influenced disasters. Four species of sea turtles live and breed in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, then come ashore to nest. To ensure that these endangered and threatened animals continue to nest and produce hatchlings that can return safely to the gulf, National Park Service staff sponsor a “Sea Turtle Patrol” program. Twenty volunteers patrol three federal beaches and one county beach located on Perdido Key or Santa Rosa Island in Florida. Each patroller spends one day per week on the beaches and there are normally three patrollers each day. They are there to detect, investigate, and protect nesting sites, mostly of the threatened loggerhead turtles. This surveillance begins May 1st and lasts well into September. Patrollers start at first light, around 5:30 a.m., and continue for approximately two hours looking for tracks where a nesting female came ashore during the night. They verify whether the site is a false crawl or a nest. Patrollers record crawl data, such as turtle species, crawl location, time, and description. When nests are located, patrollers cordon off and flag the nest that stays in situ for 50 to 60 days while the approximately 106 eggs incubate. However, some nests are moved immediately to higher ground if the nest is in an area that floods or erodes. This year, over one-third of the nests have been moved. Since the oil spill, all nests are dug up at about day 48 of incubation and moved to the east coast for hatching and release into the Atlantic Ocean. Nest statistics are low. In 1994, patrollers found 40 nests on park beaches, but in the following years the average has been 30 nests per year. It is now toward the end of the nesting season and to date, only 16 nests have been documented, with a few more expected by the end of the season. Without the Sea Turtle Patrol, the nest count could be far less.

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

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

Organ Pipe Cactus NM

Drug Smuggler Convicted And Sentenced To Federal Prison

Last December 21st, rangers detected a group of marijuana smugglers moving through the park. Despite the group's use of carpet overshoes designed to obscure their tracks, the rangers were able to track them for about five miles over rough terrain, then apprehend and arrest one member of the group. They also seized seven backpacks containing 369 pounds of processed marijuana. A special agent from the NPS Investigative Services Branch assisted with case investigation and federal prosecution. On July 28th, the man who was arrested was sentenced to three years in federal prison and three additional years' probation for violations of 21 USC 846 (possession of marijuana with intent to distribute). Upon completion of his prison term, he will be turned over to immigration officials and barred from legally re-entering the U.S. [Robert W. Mullikin, Special Agent in Charge]

Gateway NRA

Man Drowns Off Jacob Riis Park

The Park Police were notified of a possible drowning victim on a beach at Jacob Riis Park just after dawn on August 10th. Officers arriving in Bay 14 found that a 32-year-old man had been pulled from the water and that three of his friends were performing CPR on him. An FDNY ambulance arrived at the same time as officers. Medics aboard took over CPR while transporting him to Peninsula Hospital in Queens. Doctors worked on the man until he was pronounced dead. An investigation into the incident is underway. [John Harlan Warren, Public Affairs Officer]

Cape Hatteras NS

Man Caught In Rip Current Drowns

A 911 call was made to Hyde County dispatch last Saturday evening, reporting that four people, all later found to be members of a Maryland family, were caught in a rip current south of Ramp 72. Rangers, Ocracoke EMS, and an NPS lifeguard responded. When they arrived, they found that the father was being brought to shore by others who were on the beach. Ocracoke EMS and the NPS lifeguard started CPR immediately, but were unable to resuscitate him. The man's wife and juvenile son and daughter were able to make it to shore. She was taken to Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head for observation. [Paul Stevens, 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/):

Tallgrass Prairie NP - Tallgrass Prairie has been working cooperatively with The Nature Conservancy and Wind Cave National Park to reintroduce bison to the park and now has a small but growing herd - the first time that there have been bison in this region in 140 years.

Park Cultural Resources - The NPS Archeology Program has launched a new module in the NPS Archeology Guide, called "Archeology Outreach."

North Cascades NP - Now in its second year, the Cascade Climate Challenge is bringing emerging leaders from underserved communities to America's public lands and giving them the tools they need to become climate change ambassadors back in their communities. Photo.

Pacific West Region - Stephanie Burkhart has been named the associate regional director for communications for Pacific West Region, where she will coordinate public affairs, legislative affairs, and communications for the region. Photo.

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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