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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, September 30, 2011 INCIDENTS New River Gorge NR ARPA Prosecution Results In Guilty Plea On Wednesday, August 24th, R.H. of Fayetteville, West Virginia, pled guilty to a single count misdemeanor violation of the Archeological Resource Protection Act before a federal magistrate. R.H.'s plea stemmed from an ARPA investigation that began in January 2010 and culminated in R.H. being caught digging in a site in April. The crime scene was processed by rangers, who documented a total of 16 dig areas, the product of two days worth of digging and sifting. Hundreds more artifacts were recovered from loose piles of disturbed soil at the sites. A damage assessment compiled by the park placed the archeological value and cost of restoration and repair at over $46,000. Sentencing is scheduled for November and R.H. is expected to receive a term of probation pursuant to a Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure rule (11(c)(1)(c)) which was agreed upon as a component of the plea agreement. This is first ARPA conviction in the history of the park and the first in the Southern District of West Virginia. Ranger Frank Sellers led the investigation. [Jeff West, Chief Ranger] Blue Ridge Parkway Two Men Plead Guilty To Ginseng Poaching In Separate Cases Rangers conducting surveillance on August 27th near an area known for ginseng poaching saw a man dressed in camouflage in the woods. The man, identified as B.W. of Fletcher, North Carolina, admitted to digging ginseng and was found to have 21 roots in his possession. A second surveillance operation at another site known for ginseng poaching, this one on September 17th, led to a contact with G.G. of Asheville, North Carolina, who had 79 ginseng roots in his possession. Both were arrested. Last week, each man appeared before a federal magistrate and entered a guilty plea. B.W. was sentenced to 11 days in jail and G.G. received 25 days in jail. The current price for ginseng in western North Carolina ranges from $410 to $425 for dry ginseng and $110 for green ginseng. Rangers also determined that B.W. had sold 16.6 pounds of dry ginseng and 3.5 pounds of green ginseng in 2008 for an estimated return, based on the market at the time, of over $10,000. [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/): Martin Van Buren NHS - This year's Harvest Day at Lindenwald brought together park staff, craftspeople, farm animals and hundreds of visitors for a day of fun and celebration of agriculture at the home of the country's eighth president, Martin Van Buren. Ocmulgee NM - The 20th annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration was held in the park in mid-September, with a record attendance of over 18,000 people. Photo. George Washington Carver NM - On Saturday, September 10th, over 2,000 visitors attended Prairie Day, an annual event that features aspects of rural life during Carver's childhood. Photo. Yosemite NP - Teresa “Teri” Austin has been chosen as the park's new chief of administration. She assumed her new duties this week. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |