Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (PA)
Fire Destroys Historic House
On Monday, March 12th, a fire destroyed the James Van Campen House
(more recently known as the Miller Farmhouse) on Old Mine Road on the
New Jersey side of the park. The fire was reported to the park's 24-hour
emergency communications center at 4:38 a.m. on Monday morning by an
individual driving on River Road in Pennsylvania who could see something
burning across the river on the New Jersey side. Within five minutes, a
second phone call was made to confirm that a building was on fire.
Firefighters from the Knowlton, Blairstown and Portland fire departments
and from the National Park Service responded. By the time they arrived,
though, the house had burned completely. The building was vacant at the
time of the fire. James Van Campen built the original portion of the
two-story, frame house in 1812 on property he inherited from his father,
Abraham Van Campen. The house was typical of the early, rural farmhouses
in the area and had local, historic significance as part of the Old Mine
Road Historic District. The cause of the fire is undetermined at this
time, but is under investigation by the National Park Service. Anyone
with information that may aid with the investigation is asked to call
the park's emergency communications center at 1-800-543-4295.
[Submitted by Deb Nordeen, Public Affairs Officer]
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (AZ)
Rangers Rescue Lost Hiker
On March 3rd, a 63-year-old Alaska man who thought he was walking a
loop trail on a day hike in the Estes Canyon area ended up atop
4,808-foot Mount Ajo, the park's highest peak, and was evidently unable
to continue. Around 7:30 p.m., rangers received word from the Pima
County Sheriff's Office that the hiker was off trail and lost in the
Estes Canyon area. Rangers, Border Patrol agents, and a US Customs
Service aircraft responded. The man had called 911 on his cell phone and
reported he was unprepared to spend the night out. He told the sheriff's
911 dispatch that he had left the Estes Canyon/Bull Pasture Trail and
had climbed to the very top of Mount Ajo. The pilot of the Customs
aircraft confirmed the man's location but could not land nearby. Ranger
Mark Wozniak and a Border Patrol agent hiked to Bull Pasture, where they
found the man, who had made his way down from the mountain. He was in
fairly good condition and walked out to the trailhead with minimal
help.
[Submitted by Matt Vandzura, Chief Ranger]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
125
Climate Change Policy Memo Released
The pervasiveness of climate change requires the NPS to examine our guiding principles for park management and the way we think about our conservation mandate. While current NPS policies allow managers flexibility to respond to external stressors, including climate change, they provide little direction specific to managing climate change effects.
To supplement guidance available in Management Policies 2006, Director Jarvis recently issued a policy memorandum entitled "Applying NPS Management Policies in the Context of Climate Change."
The director's memo, available at the link below, provides broad direction for decision-making with respect to impairment and natural conditions in the context of climate change, reminding park managers that many of our traditional practices (e.g. invasive species management, ecosystem restoration, supporting biodiversity and landscape connectivity), "remain as viable management strategies that are also consistent with our need to adapt to climate change."
Though climate change may ultimately modify park ecosystems, it does not alter basic tenets of NPS policy for transparent decision making that carefully considers all pertinent factors, engages the public, and relies on best available science.
The memo also notes that while our policies do not hold managers accountable for impairment from external, global stressors such as climate change and "do not require what is impossible, economically infeasible, or likely ineffectual," park managers have an affirmative responsibility to engage neighbors and partners in seeking approaches to achieve conservation goals.
This memo begins to address climate change and policy; additional policy memos will follow.
[Submitted by Cat Hawkins Hoffman, Cat_Hawkins_Hoffman@nps.gov, 970-225-3567] More Information...
25
Weekly Legislative Activities Report
The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. This report covers the week ending March 16th.
In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the "Search Bill Text" block, being sure to also click on the "Bill Number" option below the block.
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New Public Laws
On March 14th, the President signed into law S. 1134, a bill to authorize the St. Croix River Crossing Project with appropriate mitigation measures to promote river values. It is Public Law 112-100.
Floor Action
On March 14th, the Senate passed - by a vote of 74-22 - S. 1813 (Boxer, D-CA), to reauthorize Federal-aid highway and highway safety construction programs, and for other purposes. This two-year authorization includes funding for maintenance and construction of park roads and bridges. It maintains DOI consultation requirements for Department of Transportation projects on public lands. The bill also includes two amendments specific to air tour management: one provides the NPS and FAA with needed flexibility and streamlining for air tour management planning and the other addresses air tour management at Grand Canyon National Park.
Committee Activity
Nothing to report.
New Bills Introduced
No new bills introduced.
Upcoming Committee Activity
On March 20th (rescheduled from March 8th), the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies (Simpson) will hold a hearing on the President's FY 2013 budget request for the National Park Service. The hearing is scheduled for 1:00 pm in B-308 Rayburn. The Department's witness will be Director Jon Jarvis.
On March 20th, the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands (Bishop) will hold an oversight hearing on the "Proposed Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial." The hearing is scheduled for 10:00 am in 1324 Longworth. The Department's witness will be Steve Whitesell, Regional Director, National Capital Region.
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For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/
[Submitted by Susan Martin]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area (WA)
GS-0025-11 Protection Ranger
Lake Roosevelt has issued an announcement for a GS-11 ranger to serve as the park's encroachments officer.
For more information about the position, please contact Marty Huseman, the park's chief ranger, at 509-633-9441 ext 123. Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement with full details on duties and procedures for applying.
It closes on April 3rd.
More Information...
45
Ken Phillips Named NPS Branch Chief For Search And Rescue
Ken Phillips, a 29-year veteran of the National Park Service, has been selected as the chief of the Service's Branch of Search and Rescue. He will assume his duties on March 25th.
In this position, Ken will manage the NPS SAR program and serve as the coordinator of the newly developed National SAR Academy (NSARA, a six-week long program which will provide entry-level employees with comprehensive SAR training. NSARA will be based in Northern Arizona in order to take advantage of the challenging rescue environments available throughout the region.
"Ken's knowledge and skills will become the catalyst to advance the structure and capabilities of the NPS SAR program," said Dean Ross, deputy chief of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services, who announced the Ken's new role.
"It is quite an honor to be tasked with this new role involving SAR in the National Park Service," Phillips said. "It is an opportunity to standardize training and safe work practices for NPS SAR personnel. The NPS has an excellent history of conducting life-saving SAR operations, but it is overshadowed by 31 tragic line-of-duty deaths."
Phillips now serves as the branch chief for emergency services at Grand Canyon. In this position, he has directed the EMS, structural fire, SAR and the preventative SAR programs for the park. The park EMS program, one of the busiest in the NPS, handles over 1200 incidents annually. Ken serves as a law enforcement park ranger and paramedic.
During his time at Grand Canyon, Phillips has upgraded emergency equipment, incorporated training focused on emergency responder safety, and incorporated crew resource management concepts borrowed from the aviation industry into emergency response activities.
During 2007, he co-led an NPS search team in the Zongo Valley of Bolivia to assist the Peace Corps during the search for a missing volunteer. He has served since 2000 as a United States delegate to the air rescue sub-commission of the International Commission on Alpine Rescue (IKAR) in Europe.
Phillips coordinated the National Park Service's basic technical rescue training program for twelve years at Canyonlands and wrote the NPS basic technical rescue textbook. He is currently the incident commander for the NPS ESF-9 land SAR incident management team.
Before his assignment at Grand Canyon, Phillips worked at Pinnacles as SAR coordinator, seasonal park ranger at Grand Canyon, interpreter at Lehman Caves (now Great Basin), and interpreter at Cabrillo. Prior to joining the NPS, he worked seasonally for the California State Park System.
Ken will be attached to NPS headquarters in Washington and stationed remotely in Flagstaff, where he currently resides. Phillips, who is married, has two kids in college. He and his wife Annie are both avid runners. Ken earned a bachelor of arts degree in outdoor recreation administration at San Diego State University.
[Submitted by Dean Ross, Deputy Chief]
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.