NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, May 9, 2011

INCIDENTS

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Trail Damage Determined To Have Been Caused By Tornado

The park and National Weather Service have determined that a severe EF 4 tornado swept across the northwestern corner of the park on April 27th, causing extensive damage to park trails. The popular Abrams Falls Trail remains impassable due to numerous blow downs and over 40 areas where root balls were ripped out of the trail surface, leaving hot-tub-sized craters. The park hopes to reopen the trail by Memorial Day. After an inspection of other trails in the affected area, the park has announced the full closure of all or parts of seven trails totaling 27 miles. A survey by trail workers shows a total of more than 4,500 trees down on the closed sections, with stretches as long as a mile covered with tree trunks piled up like jackstraws. Over a thousand spots have been identified where trees were blown down and their roots tore gaps in the trail. In addition to all of the Abrams Falls Trail, the following trails are now officially closed to both hikers and equestrians until further notice:

Rabbit Creek Trail from its trailhead at Abrams Creek Ranger Station to the Hannah Mountain Trail junction (campsite 16 remains open)

Hannah Mountain Trail from Rabbit Creek Trail to Abrams Creek

All of Hatcher Mountain Trail

All of Beard Cane Trail (backcountry campsites 3 and 11 are also closed)

All of Ace Gap Trail

Little Bottoms Trail from campsite 17 to the Hatcher Mountain Trail junction (campsite 17 is open)

Rabbit Creek Trail between its trailhead at Cades Cove and the junction with Hannah Mountain Trail (campsite 15 is closed)

No park roads have been affected by the storm damage and the remainder of the park's 800 miles of trails remain open. Visitors can stop at any park visitor center for advice or check the park's website (below) for more information. [Bob Miller, Management Assistant]

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm" http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm

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/):

Big South Fork NR&RA - Big South Fork continued the traditions of spring planting on the Cumberland Plateau through its Spring Planting Day festival on the 1900s-era Lora Blevins farm on the last Saturday in April.

Workplace Enrichment - The Office of Personnel Management is now in the process of sending the Employee Viewpoint Survey to a random selection of NPS employees. Participation by those contacted is vital.

Great Smoky Mountains NP - Kevin FitzGerald, the park's deputy superintendent, recently was presented with the Department of the Interior's meritorious service award, DOI's second highest honor. Photo.

Office of Communications - Former Assistant Director for Business Services Katherine Stevenson and former Midwest Regional Director Ernest Quintana are winners of the 2010 Presidential Distinguished Rank Award.

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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of Communications and 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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