NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, October 21, 2010

INCIDENTS

Olympic NP

Investigation Continues Into Fatal Goring Of Hiker

The park is continuing foot patrols on and near Klahhane Ridge following Saturday's incident in which a 63-year-old hiker died after sustaining injuries from a mountain goat. Rangers and wildlife biologists will be walking the Switchback Trail and Klahhane Ridge area daily through the fall, closely observing other goats for any signs of aggression towards people. Throughout the summer, rangers patrolled the Klahhane Ridge area four to five times each week. During these patrols, they monitored goat behavior and talked with hikers about their observations of goat behavior. Klahhane Ridge is about 17 miles south of Port Angeles and is a popular hiking destination. It is also home to approximately eight mountain goats, some of which are quite accustomed to seeing people. “We want to be sure that no other goat is behaving aggressively towards people,” said Superintendent Karen Gustin. “Saturday's tragic event was extremely unusual and we are doing everything we can to learn as much as possible about it and to make sure we're doing everything we can to prevent something like this from happening again.” The goat that fatally gored R.B. was killed shortly after the incident, following positive identification by the rangers on scene. A necropsy of the goat was conducted Sunday evening by a veterinary pathologist and tissue samples were collected for full analysis. A preliminary report is expected within about a week. The incident remains under investigation. [Barb Maynes, Public Affairs Officer]

Glen Canyon NRA

Firefighters Knock Down Houseboat Blaze

A private 54-foot houseboat at Wahweap Marina caught fire early on the morning of October 20th. Park maintenance worker Scott Dolinar discovered and reported the fire just before 6 a.m. Chad Hunter was the first NPS responder to arrive and served as the incident commander. NPS firefighters responded with the park's fireboat and were joined by units from the Page Fire Department. The fire was declared out about 90 minutes later. The houseboat was unoccupied and no injuries were reported. The quick response time to the fire prevented damage to the dock and other boats in the marina. Park concessioner Aramark is assisting with cleanup. The cause of the fire is under investigation. [Michelle Fidler, Acting Management Assistant]

Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs

Search In Progress For Three Overdue Hikers

The park and Inyo County are conducting a joint search in and around Mount Whitney for three men who hiked to the mountain late on Monday but have not returned as planned. About 45 people are currently assigned to the operation, which is being hampered by snowstorms that have dropped between one and three feet of new snow on the region. Additional searchers and a helicopter are scheduled to join the operation today. [Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Officer]

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/):

Office of Public Affairs - Academy Award winner Meryl Streep and Pulitzer Prize winner N. Scott Momaday have contributed their considerable talents to Sky Island, a new film on Bandelier National Monument and the Jemez Mountains.

Golden Gate NRA - Secretary Salazar visited the park on Thursday, October 14th, as part of a nationwide “Let's Move Outside” campaign to urge parents to take their children out to parks for exercise and outdoor recreation. Photo.

National Parks of New York Harbor - On October 12th, Bob Hope's family and other celebrities gathered at Ellis Island for the formal dedication of the newly refurbished Bob Hope Memorial Library. Photo.

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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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