NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, September 20, 2010
INCIDENTS
Point Reyes NS
Marijuana Plantations Eradicated
A local resident recently advised the park of a marijuana plantation near his property. Rangers joined Marin County Sheriff's Office deputies in searching for the site, and found about 225 plants in a patch within the park. They destroyed the plants and removed evidence from the site. To date, NPS law enforcement personnel (rangers, special agents and Park Police officers), DEA agents, county deputies and officers from a number of other agencies have cooperated to remove 5,500 plants worth about $19 million from three sites within the park and another 7,800 plants from a site on adjacent Marin Municipal Water District lands. Evidence of both firearms and ties to Mexican drug trafficking organizations have been found at all the sites. Significant resource damage has included the diversion of water, the clearing of vegetation, and the application of fertilizer and pesticides at the sites. [Chief Ranger's Office]
Redwood N&SP
Trailer Truck Hits And Kills Elderly Pedestrian
An 83-year-old woman was struck and killed by a tractor trailer truck on U.S. Route 199 near the Simpson Reed grove on the afternoon of September 14th. The woman was evidently walking west across the roadway in the southbound lane when she was hit. The driver of the truck applied his brakes and jackknifed the trailer into a car parked on the side of the road, but was unable to stop before hitting her. Personnel from Crescent City Fire, Smith River Fire and Del Norte Ambulance responded to the scene. The woman was flown to Providence Hospital in Medford, Oregon, by Cal-Ore Life Flight, where she succumbed to her injuries. This incident is currently under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. [Marshall Neeck, Chief Ranger]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Motorcyclist Thrown From Bike And Killed
On the evening of Monday, September 13th, M.B., 49, of Kennesaw, Georgia, was heading south on the parkway near milepost 370 when he went off the road onto the shoulder, crashed, and was thrown from his motorcycle. His travelling companions and other motorists tried to revive him but were unsuccessful. The cause of the wreck is still under investigation. A prior medical condition may have been a contributing factor. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District 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/):
Bryce Canyon NP - Bryce Canyon was one of two national parks selected by the National Park Foundation to host a live one-hour electronic field trip broadcast this year. Schools from 46 states and several countries signed up to participate in the event. The estimated viewing audience was over 7.5 million people.
Alaska Region - Five high school students from villages in northwest Alaska had a rare opportunity to learn firsthand about the ancient people of Bering Land Bridge National Preserve this past July when they participated in an excavation of three ancient house pits. Photo.
Historic Preservation Training Center - A pilot workshop on care and repair of park photovoltaic systems was recently held at Albright Training Center during which participants helped Grand Canyon install three such systems. Photo.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.
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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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