NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

INCIDENTS

Bandelier NM

Registered Sex Offender Convicted

In July 2009, park protection rangers learned that a person had reportedly stolen natural and cultural resources from various NPS areas. An investigation was begun with the assistance of agents from the Investigative Services Branch. The investigation identified several affected NPS sites. In September 2009, a search warrant was served at a man's residence in Montpelier, Virginia. His son, a registered sexual offender, was living at the residence at the time. The warrant was served by law enforcement rangers from three parks - Bandelier, Richmond and Colonial - and by ISB and US Fish and Wildlife Service special agents. During the service of the search warrant, a computer was seized and subsequently analyzed. Images and videos of child pornography were found on the computer. Investigation revealed the man's son was responsible for the child exploitation material. On February 7th, W.S.S. Jr. pled guilty to receipt of child pornography. On May 16th, he was sentenced to five years in jail followed by five years of supervised release. [Christopher Smith, ASAC, ISB]

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Three Men Sentenced For Park Violations

On April 20th, three North Carolina men were convicted and sentenced in federal court in two separate cases, one involving ginseng poaching and the other theft. B.J.H., 42, and J.N.H., 34, of Bryson City, were both found guilty and sentenced to a jail term for illegal possession of American ginseng. On the same day in court, G.C., 35, also of Bryson City, pled guilty to one count of tampering in the theft of funds from a self-pay collection box located at a trailhead. He also received jail time. In the ginseng case, each defendant pled guilty to the poaching charges. B.J.H. was sentenced to 75 days in jail and fined $5,540 in restitution to the park for possessing 554 wild ginseng roots, and J.N.H. was sentenced to 14 days in jail and fined $2,510 in restitution to the park for possessing 251 roots. He has appealed his conviction. In late October 2010, as part of an ongoing investigation, a ranger apprehended the H. brothers in the North Carolina area of the park with over 11 pounds of freshly dug roots that had been poached in one day's time. The roots were later aged by park biologists. They determined that most of the roots were at least 10 years old, but that some of the larger ones were 30 to 40 years old. Each man was charged with possession of plants/parts (harvesting ginseng). The offense carries a maximum misdemeanor penalty of up to six months in jail and/or fine of up to $5,000. “Due to the high market value of ginseng, the illegal harvest of this plant continues to be a serious problem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” said Clay Jordan, the park's chief ranger. “In the international and domestic legal trade market, wild ginseng can bring between $500 and $800 per pound of dried roots. The larger and older the root, the more profitable and valuable it is.” On the same day in court, Gregory G.C. was convicted of one count of tampering. After rangers determined that money was being stolen from a self-pay trail map collection box, an extended surveillance operation was conducted which netted G.C. as a suspect. A federal magistrate judge for the Western District of North Carolina sentenced G.C. to 57 days in jail and ordered him to pay $57 restitution to the park, the amount he had stolen. G.C. has appealed the case. Over the last several years, rangers throughout the park have observed an increase in thefts from these self-pay pamphlet collection boxes. Investigations into the thefts have resulted in convictions against numerous individuals. [Nancy Gray, 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/):

Padre Island NS - Twenty-nine Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests were found in the park on May 18th, the largest number of such nests recorded at any U.S. beach on a single day since record keeping began in the early 1980s. Nearly 100 of the highly endangered sea turtle's nests have been found in the park to date.

Minute Man NHP - The Robbins House, built in 1830 by the descendants of Caesar Robbins, a Concord slavery survivor and veteran of the American Revolution, made a two-mile trip to its new home in the park on May 21st. Photo.

NPS Alumni - Longtime Whiskeytown Superintendent Ray C. Foust, 71, died on May 28th at his home in Redding, California. 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 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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