NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Elk Season Adjacent To Park Keeps Rangers Busy

The elk hunting season adjacent to Grand Teton opened on September 20th and rangers have been busy making sure hunters are not taking animals from within the park. Information was received on the morning of the 20th that a hunter had fired a shot within the park north of the Bailey Creek Road. Rangers contacted a guided hunting party that was packing out a killed elk from that area. The rangers retraced the party's path and employed tracking skills to determine that the elk was killed legally, but that the shot was taken from right on the park boundary. Around 6 p.m. that evening, dispatch received a phone call regarding a hunter removing a dead elk from the Arizona Creek trail. Investigating rangers found an Oregon man packing out the very large bull elk and determined that the animal had been taken within the park. The elk was seized and the antlers measured. They were found to be just short of qualifying for the Boone & Crockett trophy class. The man received a mandatory appearance citation. On September 29th, two rangers on a routine backcountry patrol near Mount Reid on the Arizona Creek Trail heard a gunshot just after 10 a.m. While investigating the source, they encountered a hunting guide who reported that his client had shot a bull elk in the park. The guide was on his way up a hill to place a call notifying authorities of the incident when the rangers met him. The guide then took the investigating rangers to the location of the elk kill, and rangers determined the elk had been taken 40 yards inside of the park boundary. All parties involved fully cooperated with rangers. The man who shot the elk was also issued a mandatory citation. [Patrick Hattaway, North District Ranger]

Grand Canyon NP

Accident Results in Manslaughter Conviction

In August, 2010, a vehicle with three occupants crashed into a ponderosa tree near the intersection of Center Road and Shuttle Bus Road. The driver and one passenger suffered serious injuries and were taken to the nearest trauma center; a second passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Alcohol and marijuana were found at the scene of the accident. Rangers asked a special agent to assist in the investigation. Assistance was also provided by officers from the Coconino County Sherriff's Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Crime Laboratory. On February 15th, the driver, D.S., was indicted on one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. On September 18th, D.S. pled guilty to the first charge. Pursuant to a plea agreement the remaining two charges were dismissed. Sentencing is set for November 28th. [Christopher Smith, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Investigative Services Branch- Central]

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/):

Alaska Region - The 2011 Beringia Days Conference, held in Nome in early September, brought together 250 Russian and American Native peoples, scholars, researchers, students, representatives of government and non-governmental organizations and the interested public to celebrate the shared heritage and resources of the Beringia Region.

Office of Communications - Two National Park Service partnerships were recently recognized with the Partnership in Conservation Award from the Department of the Interior.

Horseshoe Bend NMP - The park held a muster and a program on the War of 1812 on August 20th, the first known NPS War of 1812 bicentennial event. A ceremony was also held to sign an agreement establishing a park friends group. Photo.

Yosemite NP - Mike Gauthier has been named Yosemite National Park's chief of staff.

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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).

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