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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, January 4, 2011 INCIDENTS Biscayne NP Rangers Make Significant Oyster Poaching Bust On the afternoon of January 1st, rangers Scott Johnson and John Herrod - the former a field training ranger, the latter a trainee currently assigned to the park - were conducting surveillance on Mowry Canal, an area subject to frequent poaching, when they saw a man wheeling a wheelbarrow out of the area. The man admitted to having two plastic grocery bags full of oysters. The rangers found 477 oysters inside the bags, with 474 of them under the legal size limit. Officers from the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission responded and the man was charged with violations of both federal and state regulations. The case was forwarded to the prosecutor as a mandatory appearance since the total fines, if collateral fines had been written, would have been close to $24,000. Protecting oysters is essential because changes in freshwater flow in South Florida have reduced or eliminated many oyster reef areas that provide essential habitat for other estuarine inhabitants. [Didier Carod, 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/): Gettysburg NMP - On January 25th, a special ceremony will be held at the park's visitor center to celebrate the release of the new Gettysburg quarter - the sixth in a series currently being minted under the America the Beautiful Quarter program to pay homage to the nation's national parks. Death Valley NP - Although snow did not fall on the valley floor, Death Valley was surrounded by snow-covered mountains on January 3rd. The snow level was at 2,000 feet in the hottest, driest, and lowest region in the Western Hemisphere. Photo. Intermountain Region - The submission deadline for FY 2011 Park NAGPRA intern project proposals has been extended from December 17th to January 15th. Climate Change Response Program - Proposals for the 2011 George Melendez Wright Climate Change Internship Program are due by Friday. All parks and central offices are encouraged to submit project proposals. Office of Communications - Director Jarvis has issued a statement on the death of retiree Robert S. (Bob) Chandler, a 38-year veteran of the NPS who continued to serve the agency after his retirement. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |