Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Rangers Rescue Woman Seriously Injured In Fall
A long and challenging rescue came to an end around 11:30 p.m. last Saturday when rescuers carried an injured woman out of the backcountry to a waiting ambulance. R.S., a 20-year-old student from Massachusetts who is attending the University of Colorado in Boulder, suffered a serious fall earlier that morning. She was in a party of five who left the Longs Peak Trailhead at 4 a. m. with the goal of climbing 13,191-foot Mount Meeker. Around 8 a.m., members of the party put on their crampons to start across a steep icy slope above Peacock Pool in the Chasm Lake area just east of Longs Peak. R.S. fell and slid 200 feet down the slope, incurring multiple injuries. Her party activated a SPOT satellite GPS messenger device, alerting the International Emergency Coordination Center in Texas. The park received a call from the center shortly thereafter and rangers were sent to the trailhead to hike into Chasm Lake. Around 10 a.m., they came upon two members of the party, who confirmed the location and nature of the accident. Additional personnel responded as rangers continued to the accident scene, arriving around noon. They treated R.S., who remained alert and stable throughout the rescue. Personnel from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group in Boulder and Larimer Country Search and Rescue and a paramedic from Estes Park Medical Center soon arrived to assist. Rescuers began the arduous task of raising her 200 feet and carefully moving her toward Chasm Junction, arriving there around 5:20 p.m. A total of 22 rescuers then carried R.S. roughly three miles to the Longs Peak Trailhead. R.S. was taken by ambulance to Estes Park Medical Center. [Submitted by Larry Frederick, Chief of Interpretation and Education]
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Closure Violation Leads To Significant Drug Arrest, Seizure
Ranger Justin Webster was preparing to close the Muir Beach parking lot late on the afternoon of January 13th when he noted that a vehicle was still parked in the lot. Webster hiked out to the beach and came upon a man, later identified as J.B. of Gurley, Alabama, smoking what appeared to be marijuana in a pipe. Webster called for backup and waited until ranger Ryan Wright arrived on scene. While interviewing J.B., another man, D.P. of Trussville, Alabama, came up from the beach. The two men were escorted off the beach and back to their vehicle. Wright detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from all compartments of the vehicle. A search was conducted, resulting in the seizure of 84.2 grams of hashish, 35.1 grams of marijuana, and 20 pounds of marijuana in a plastic bag. Additional items found included a vacuum sealer, food sealer bags, packaging tape, butane gas, razor blades, PVC pipe, and cellular phones. The men were arrested and taken to the Marin County jail. The Marin County Task Force and NPS special agent Matt Ehmann were notified. During the course of the investigation it was determined that both men were involved in the manufacture and sale of hashish. They were held on state charges on $500,000 bail. Federal charges are pending and the investigation continues. [Submitted by Kim Coast, Acting Chief Ranger]
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Body Recovered In The Surf At Marin Headlands
>The body of A.H.M., 39, was discovered on January 22nd in the surf near Black Sands Beach by visitors hiking in the area. Rangers and USPP officers responded. The relatives of the man had reported him missing the day before. It appears that A.H.M. had been fishing in the high surf in a remote area along the coast and may have been hit by waves that knocked him into the water. The body was removed by a California Highway Patrol helicopter. USPP detectives and the Marin County coroner are investigating. [Submitted by Kim Coast, Acting Chief Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Yosemite National Park (CA)
GL-0025-9 Protection Ranger (Lateral)
Yosemite National Park is seeking candidates interested in a permanent, less than full time wilderness patrol ranger position. This position is subject to a furlough of from one to thirteen pay periods.
This is a lateral reassignment for a Level I commissioned ranger into a 6c covered, non required occupancy position. This announcement may be used to fill other vacant GL-0025-9 permanent positions throughout the park.
Yosemite National Park is located in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, with a variety of recreational opportunities available. A market, stores, restaurants, church and elementary school are located within the district. Small towns, including Mariposa and Oakhurst, are approximately an hour's drive away and large metropolitan areas, including Fresno and Merced, are two hours away.
The Yosemite Wilderness was designated by US Congress in 1984 and encompasses over 700,000 acres (over 1,000 square miles) of land ranging in elevation from 2,900 to 13,114 feet in the central Sierra Nevada. There are over 350 lakes, two major watersheds (the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, both designated Wild and Scenic Rivers), high mountain peaks, more than 750 miles of trails, over 70 trailheads, five concession-run High Sierra Camps, and eight administrative patrol cabins within the wilderness ranger's patrol area. The park's wilderness averages over 100,000 visitor nights each year.
For more information regarding this position, please contact wilderness patrol supervisor Dan Abbe at (209)372-0549 or wilderness manager Ed Dunlavey at (209) 372-0243
Please submit the following documents to Donna Dean in the Yosemite Human Resources Office by the close of business on Friday, February 11th:
- A resume/application
- A one-page letter of interest
- An SF-50B, Personnel Action
- An email message or approval from supervisor
Resumes may be mailed, faxed or emailed directly to Donna Dean's attention. Donna may be reached at (209) 379-1814. If documents are mailed to this address the documents must be received in the Human Resources Office by the close of business on Friday, February 11th: Yosemite Human Resources Office, P.O. Box 700-HR - Attn: Donna Dean, El Portal, CA 95318.
Congaree National Park (SC)
GS-0025-11 Supervisory Interpretive Ranger (Lateral)
Congaree National Park is looking to fill a permanent, full-time supervisory interpretive ranger position. Applications are being accepted until February 10th.
The person selected will be responsible for the daily operations of the interpretation program through the supervision of two permanent GS-9 interpretive rangers, three seasonal interpretive rangers, YCC and Teacher-Ranger-Teacher staff, and about 20 park volunteers. Along with regular interpretive and educational programs, he/she will be involved in the park's canoe tour program, which requires the ability to paddle a kayak/canoe while giving a public tour and swim well enough to self rescue.
Congaree National Park is situated along the Congaree River in central South Carolina. The park is home to state and national champion trees, primeval forest landscapes, and diverse plant and animal life. This 26,000-acre park contains a designated wilderness area and protects the largest contiguous tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. The park's floodplain forest includes one of the highest canopies in the world and some of the tallest trees in the eastern United States.
Park amenities include the Harry Hampton Visitor Center, two primitive campgrounds, over 20 miles of hiking trails (one a 2.4-mile-long elevated boardwalk), and the Cedar Creek Canoe Trail. Other visitor activities include day hiking, backpacking, canoeing and kayaking, bird watching, and fishing. The park receives approximately 150,000 visitors annually.
Government housing is not available, but the cost of living is reasonable and a variety of homes are available for rent or purchase in the local community. Columbia, which is the capitol city of South Carolina, is approximately 15 miles northwest of the park and offers all the services and amenities one would expect to find in a moderate sized city. Several colleges are available in the local area, including the University of South Carolina.
Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will be paid in accordance with federal travel regulations. Relocation costs including the services of a relocation contractor, but guaranteed home sale and home marketing incentive will NOT be paid or reimbursed by the government.
If interested, please submit the following items:
- OF-612 Optional Application for Federal Employment; resume; or SF-171 Application for Federal Employment. Please include all experience, training, and/or education related to the position duties.
- Copy of your latest SF-50 that indicates your current title, series, grade, and step.
- Copy of your latest performance appraisal
Applications must be received by February 10th. Send them to the attention of: Chief Ranger, Congaree National Park, 100 National Park Road, Hopkins, SC 29061. If you have any questions, please contact Chief Ranger Duane Michael at (803) 647-3967.
Northeast Region
GS-1102-12 Contract Specialist
Dates: 01/31/2011 - 02/04/2011
Northeast Region has issued an announcement for a contract specialist for its Contracting Services Division. The person selected will serve as a senior contract specialist, working on a wide variety of contracting projects in support of the mission of the National Park Service.
This is a term position not to exceed 13 months, but the appointment may be extended annually, not-to-exceed four years total and subject to funding availability and/or other requirements.
National Capital Region
Tara Morrison To Manage Rock Creek Park
Tara D. Morrison has been selected as the new superintendent of Rock Creek Park in the District of Columbia. She begins her new assignment on March 31st.
"It is my pleasure to announce Tara Morrison's appointment as the new superintendent of Rock Creek Park," said Regional Director Peggy O'Dell. "Tara's more than a dozen years experience in the NPS in a variety of different urban settings makes her an excellent choice to lead this park. She has a proven ability to work with partner organizations and community groups in previous assignments and I believe Tara will do the same for Rock Creek Park."
Morrison comes to Rock Creek Park from the position of superintendent of African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan, a 6.6 acre site where free and enslaved Africans and African Americans were buried. Morrison, who held that position from August 2006 until the present, provided leadership for the development of interpretive media for the first African Burial Ground Visitor Center and managed a $2 million budget and a $5.2 million project-funded visitor center. She is credited with strategically working with staff and the public during the development of the park's first general management plan to ensure public understanding of and public engagement in the process.
Prior to her position as superintendent, Morrison served for about two-and-a-half years as management assistant in Northeast Regional Office, leading the African Burial Ground assistance project, coordinating communication with various NPS offices, the General Services Administration and the public regarding the development of a memorial and interpretive center at the monument, including construction and curation of project collections.
Before the African Burial Ground National Monument positions, Morrison served as acting assistant superintendent at Gateway National Recreation Area in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, where she reviewed and assisted in developing park-specific project requests, budget prioritization, and recommendations for revision.
Adding prior Washington experience to her resume, Morrison served as special assistant to the deputy director in 2005, where she tracked and coordinated information requests from Congress, the Interior Department, the NPS Office of Management and Budget examiner, and other NPS Washington staff.
Morrison began her NPS career in 1998 as a park ranger at Boston African American National Historic Site. She joined the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program as the Northeast Region coordinator, providing advice, subject matter expertise, and technical matter support toward the implementation of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act.
"I am honored to be given the opportunity to serve in this position," Morrison said. "Rock Creek Park provides visitors of all ages with a wide array of recreation as well as cultural and natural resources in a setting of natural beauty directly in the middle of a major urban area. I look forward to working with Rock Creek Park's dedicated staff, volunteers and partners who are committed to serving our visitors, who are invested in the stewardship of our natural and cultural resources, and who are engaged in providing meaningful and memorable experiences to those who visit a truly scenic national park located within short distances of the White House and Capitol Hill."
Morrison holds a BA in African American studies from Northeastern University in Boston, graduating in 1994. She earned a graduate certificate in museum management in 1997 and completed all coursework required for an MS in anthropology, both from the University of South Carolina.
As superintendent of Rock Creek Park, Morrison will oversee an FY 2011 budget of approximately $10.2 million and will manage approximately 72 permanent and seasonal and summer employees.
NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site:
http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id;=8728&lv;=2&pgid;=3504
All reports should now be submitted via this automated system.