Rangers responded to three calls - two lost parties and an injured hiker - on Monday and Tuesday, with both of the former resulting from trails that were hard to follow due to deep snow. The park received a call on Tuesday night from a man and woman in their 20s who had become disoriented while hiking near Lake Haiyaha in the Bear Lake area and were unsure as to how to get back to either the Glacier Gorge or Bear Lake trailheads. Rangers went to the Glacier Gorge parking area and employed lights in an effort to help them find their way out. Around 10 p.m., the lost pair reported that they could see the lights, but that they were too far in the distance to help them figure out what direction they should take. Rangers told them to stay put, suggested techniques for staying warm throughout the night, and told them they'd be heading toward their location at 6 a.m. Temperatures during the night were relatively mild, remaining in the mid-40s. Rangers reached the lost hikers at 7 a.m. and escorted them out. At about the same time the call came in from the lost hikers on Tuesday evening, rangers were notified that an 18-year-old woman had suffered an injured ankle near Ouzel Falls in the Wild Basin area. Since this trail was snow-free, they were on scene by 9 p.m. and evacuated her by horse. On Monday evening, a call came in reporting that a 56-year-old man who'd lost his way at the base of Flattop Mountain in the Bear Lake area. Rangers contacted him and advised him to keep moving east. His cell phone battery then ran out. Other hikers reported contacting the man at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and rangers reached them about 90 minutes later. Many visitors are not expecting deep snow trail conditions on higher elevation trails in the park at this time of year. Due to snow-covered trails, good route-finding skills are important and following tracks in the snow may lead a hiker to go off route and become disoriented. It can take longer to hike in these conditions and many visitors are not prepared to stay out after dark or overnight. Visitors should come prepared with these essentials items: Water, high-energy food, layers of insulating, windproof clothing, sturdy footwear and extra socks, storm gear for rain and snow, hats and gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, first aid kit, topographic map, flashlight or headlamp, waterproof matches, pocket knife and whistle.  Cell phones are helpful but are unreliable. There are numerous trails in the park that are free of snow. Visitors are encouraged to stop at a park visitor center for current trail conditions.  Many trail conditions are posted on the park website, www.nps.gov/romo - follow the Quicklink to Trail Conditions Reports. [Submitted by Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Rangers, San Bernadino County deputies, and Union Pacific police all responded on Monday to a report of a body lying near the railroad tracks west of the Kelso Depot Visitor Center. The victim, apparently an illegal passenger, appeared to have fallen from the train while it was in motion and hit the ground with great force, causing dismemberment. The coroner was summoned and is conducting an investigation into the man's identity. There were no witnesses, but the incident appeared to have occurred sometime early that morning. [Submitted by Kelsey Cassidy, Park Ranger]

National Fire Activity - Preparedness Level 3

NIFC is at PL 3. Critical fire weather conditions are forecast for parts of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Kansas. Bandelier remains closed due to the Las Conchas Fire.

Fire Weather Forecast

Critical fire weather conditions associated with strong winds of 25 to 40 mph and low relative humidity below 12 percent will develop across much of Colorado, northern New Mexico, west Texas and southwestern Kansas. Isolated thunderstorms will form in southeastern Arizona and western New Mexico in the afternoon. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will move across the northern Rockies into the northern Plains and the western Great Lakes. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will develop across Florida and south Texas.

To see a NOAA map of today's critical fire weather areas, click on this link: http://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/fire_wx/fwdy1.html

Fire Summary (Five Day Trend)

National Resource Commitments (Five Day Trend)

NPS Fire Summaries

Park	State	Fire	Type	Acres	Percent Contain	Est. Full Contain
Big Cypress National Preserve	FL	BICY Oil Pad Fire Complex	Wildfire	North fire: 5,878 acres; 95% contained; started June 13 Oil ... See below for more...	100	Unknown
	Full Acreage Report: North fire: 5,878 acres; 95% contained; started June 13 Oil Pad fire: 3,149 acres; 95% contained; started June 13 Bundschu South fire: 1,408; 95% contained; started June 13 Kissimmee Billie fire: 22 acres; 90% contained; started June 13 Corral fire: 61 acres; 95% contained; started June 16 Green fire: 5 acres; 95% contained; started June 17 - Little Fire: 1 acre; 100 % contained; started June 19. Latest Narrative: Oil Pad Complex is 100% contained as of 6/27/11 ICS-209 Report.

Further details on these NPS fires are available through the specified links:

• Bandelier NM, Las Conchas Fire - InciWeb site, New Mexico Fire Information site, Twitter updates
• Coronado NM, Monument Fire - InsideNPS news story, InciWeb site
• Yosemite NP, Bald Fire - InciWeb site

Additional Information Links

• Archived fire news - http://www.nps.gov/fire/public/pub_firenews.cfm?archive=true
• Map of fire locations - http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
• Details on all current major fires - http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
• Fire news and fire year in perspective - http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm
• InsideNPS Fire and Aviation - http://inside.nps.gov/fire
• InsideNPS Structural Fire - http://inside.nps.gov/fire/structuralfire
• NPS Fire and Aviation - http://www.nps.gov/fire

Alden Miller, a 17-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been named superintendent of Navajo National Monument in Arizona, which cares for three of the largest and best-preserved cliff dwellings of the Southwest's ancestral Puebloan people.

The appointment of Miller, now superintendent of Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in Colorado, was announced by Tom O. Clark, superintendent of Canyon de Chelly National Monument and head of NPS's Southern Four Corners Group of parks, which includes Navajo.

"Alden will work earnestly with the park staff, agencies of the Navajo Nation, local Navajo chapter governments, other tribes and stakeholders in this unique national monument," said John Wessels, regional director for the eight-state Intermountain Region of NPS, which includes Arizona. "Alden's years of work at Sand Creek with tribal governments and his experience at other parks with Native American partners and themes are important assets for his future work and collaboration at Navajo National Monument."

"I am humbled and excited to begin the process of listening and learning, towards hoping to honor the profound spirit of this park, the people and the partners of Navajo National Monument," said Miller.

Miller was superintendent for four years at Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, one of the newest of the 394 national parks, monuments and other units of the National Park System. During that time he and the park staff brought the new unit into full-time operation and worked closely with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes as well as other partners and the state and local governments. Miller also served at the Oklahoma City National Memorial and at Washita Battlefield National Historic Site, both in Oklahoma. At Washita, he was the park's liaison to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes and other partners.

Miller joined NPS in 1994 as a law enforcement ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park in Massachusetts. He later served ranger duty at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in Texas, where he also worked as a crew leader in preservation trades. At Sitka National Park in Alaska, Miller served as chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services.

While at Sand Creek Massacre, he also served a detail as acting superintendent of Capulin Volcano National Monument in New Mexico. He completed management training assignments at NPS's Alaska Regional Office (Anchorage) and Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota. A graduate of the NPS Superintendents Academy, he received the academy's Path to Mastery Award.

Miller is a former chairman of technical and executive committees for the Southern Plains Network, an 11-park alliance for resource inventory and monitoring programs.

Before joining the NPS, Miller worked in law enforcement, the human rights and civil liberties fields, and apprenticed in a variety of artisan trades. He was honorably discharged from service in the U.S. military reserves. Miller is an honors graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with a Bachelor of Science degree in human relations and justice studies.

Miller's wife, Betsy, is a weaver and former museum store manager. They have two daughters.

[Submitted by Patrick O'Driscoll, patrick_o'driscoll@nps.gov, 303-969-2839]

Rock Creek Park has an opening for a GS-0025-12/13 program manager. This is a temporary promotion to a not-to-exceed one year vacancy. It is open to the local commuting area, but NPS wide. No travel expenses or per diem will be paid. This position could also be a detail NTE 1 year. This position is only for merit promotion, status candidates.

The person selected will serve as park manager for Fort Circle Parks, a system of Civil War forts traversing 890 acres of lands through three national parks in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. She/he will provide leadership for the parks, establishing them as a park entity and destination for visitors, serve as the focal point for this park grouping, and be responsible for coordinating the administration, operation and development of the parks. The person selected will also serve as the liaison between three high-level managers in National Capital Region -- the superintendents of National Capital Parks-East, Rock Creek Park and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

Please describe the following "compentencies" in a brief narrative:

(1) Management (park management, policy, practices, procedures, standards, rules, public laws and executive orders, etc)
(2) Cultural and natural resources protection, planning principles, and land use of a national park
(3) Skill in negotiating with varying organizations to accept and/or implement recommendations concerning cultural and natural resources,  and
(4) Skill in public speaking, media relations and community relations.

For the GS-13 level, applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and the is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Applicants must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Applicants may mail, email, hand deliver or fax application material. Applications may be emailed to ncr_jobs@nps.gov and must be received in the National Capital Region Human Resources Office by the closing date of July 11th. It is the responsibility of the applicant to submit any additional required documentation.

Mail applications to Department of Interior, National Park Service, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW, Room 244, Human Resources, Washington, DC 20242 Attn: Charles Richardson

Please do not submit your application package in a notebook or binder with extraneous information. Applications should provide sufficient information to enable Human Resources to properly evaluate your applicaiton against the Qualification Standards. Status Candidates must submit proof of status (SF-50 showing current grade & tenure and an SF-50 showing highest (permanent) grade ever held, if different).  

The closing date is July 11th.

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.