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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, February 8, 2012 INCIDENTS Big Bend NP Park Participates In Successful SAR On February 1st, dispatch received a call from an area resident requesting assistance in locating her husband, who was overdue from an overnight hike in and near the park. The location of the search was right on the park's boundary. Dispatch immediately brought in the Brewster County Sheriff's Office and the Border Patrol. Early the next morning, the search operation increased to include Terlingua Fire and EMS, Texas Game Wardens, and Texas Department of Public Safety. Supervisory park ranger Joe Roberts shared incident command with the chief of Terlingua Fire and EMS. The lost man was quickly and efficiently found due to the varied skills offered by all the agencies involved. [Jeanie Greene, Supervisory Telecommunications Specialist] Joshua Tree NP More Flood Damaged Areas Repaired And Reopened Cottonwood Spring Oasis, closed since it was damaged during last September's flash flooding, has reopened for public use. In addition to Cottonwood Oasis, the park also reopened the road from Cottonwood Visitor Center to Cottonwood Spring, the Cotton Spring parking area, trails to Cottonwood Spring, Lost Palms Oasis, and the Mastodon Mine Loop Trail. Still closed to public use are Cottonwood Campground, the self-guided nature trail from Cottonwood Campground to Cottonwood Spring, and the canyon wash immediately below Cottonwood Spring. On September 13, 2011, a monsoon-like thunderstorm dumped more than three inches of rain on the Cottonwood area, causing extensive damage. The road through the Pinto Basin and Cottonwood Canyon was reopened in late October and the Cottonwood Visitor Center opened on November 3rd. Park crews are presently working in Cottonwood Campground to repair flood damage to picnic tables, grills, and eroded campsites. [Joe Zarki, Public Affairs Specialist] 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/): Intermountain Region - Grand Canyon National Park will eliminate the in-park sale of water packaged in individual disposable containers within 30 days under a plan approved by Intermountain Region. Chickasaw NRA - On January 20th, wildland firefighters from the park represented the Service in the annual Atoka Fire Truck Parade - this year including an effort to establish a Guinness World Record for the number of fire trucks in a parade. Office of Communications - Alexa Viets has been selected to head a new office dedicated to preparing for the Service's centennial in 2016. Office of Communications - Joel Lynch has been selected to head the State and Local Assistance Programs Division in the Washington Office, and Bob Ratcliffe has been chosen to manage the Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Program. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |