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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, September 21, 2011 INCIDENTS New River Gorge NR Man Cited For Plant Poaching While patrolling the Claypool Road area in early September, ranger Sandy Shuck encountered and spoke with a man walking along the road. Based on her conversation with him, she became concerned that he might be digging ginseng or other valuable roots in the park. In the days after the contact, Shuck developed information that the man was known for digging and selling roots and had been coming into the park frequently in recent weeks. On September 5th, Shuck met the man at his residence and talked to him about his root digging activities. During this conversation, the man confessed to having dug and collected roots from the park. Shuck was given a box containing nearly ten pounds of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_cohosh" black cohosh roots and three pounds of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldenseal" goldenseal roots that he said had come from the park. The man also gave her his digging tools. Black cohosh ranges in price from $2.50 to $5.00 per pound; dried goldenseal roots range in price from $15.00 to $25.00 per pound, but can go as much as $40.00 per pound. No ginseng was found. The suspect was issued citations for violations of 36 CFR. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger] Blue Ridge Parkway Three Arrested For Galax Poaching An operation to interdict HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galax" galax poaching was conducted near the Mt. Mitchell area of the parkway over a two-day period last week. The operation involved two teams conducting surveillance at two access points where violators were either accessing and/or being dropped off to harvest the plants. The first day was unsuccessful, but three individuals were arrested on the second day. The three were in possession of more than 30,000 galax leaves. On Thursday, September 15th, the three appeared before a U.S. magistrate and pled guilty to illegally harvesting galax and commercial operations, with two receiving 30 days in jail and the third receiving 90 days (second offense). This area has historically seen a high amount of such activity and is closely monitored by both rangers and members of the Appalachians Highlands Inventory and Monitoring Network. This particular type of galax has a very large leaf and is a target for poachers because it can bring five cents a leaf for floral arrangements. It only grows in areas along the parkway. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District 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/): National Parks of New York Harbor - On September 17th, the National Park Service reopened Hamilton Grange National Memorial, the home of founding father Alexander Hamilton, following a five-year closure to move and restore it to its original appearance. Yellowstone NP - A report by an interagency investigation team into a July fatal bear attack in Yellowstone has been released. Links are provided to several documents. Grand Teton NP - Twenty-eight park employees, together with two ambulances and a structure fire engine from Grand Teton, participated in a successful large scale mass casualty training exercise along with several other agencies on September 13th. Photo. Canyonlands NP - Laura Lusk's 16-year career will come to an end on October 22nd. Photo. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced with the support of the Office of the Assistant Director for Information Resources and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |