NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, March 23, 2012

INCIDENTS

Buffalo National River

Leader Of Bigfoot Expedition Cited For Permit Violation

On February 24th, rangers received information from a concessionaire who reported that there were visitors in the park who were on a “ HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bigfoot" Bigfoot hunting expedition.” Rangers Billy Bell and Ben Henthorne proceeded to the Steel Creek Campground to investigate. After questioning numerous people associated with the group, they discovered that approximately 30 people had paid M.P., who is affiliated with HYPERLINK "http://www.bfro.net/" The Bigfoot Field Researcher's Organization, to lead them on a hunt for the creature. Several participants said that they had paid $300 to $500 each to be lead on a three- day expedition. M.P. was cited for a violation of the regulation on engaging in a business without a permit or written agreement (36 CFR 5.3). Paid activities that do not have commercial use authorizations or special use permits appear to be on the increase on a nationwide basis and need to be on the radar of all park staff to insure that only sanctioned and permitted activities are conducted in the parks. [Karen L Bradford, Chief Ranger]

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Two Searches Still Underway In Park

Two major searches are continuing in the park - one for D.L., missing since March 15th, and the other for M.C., whose abandoned car was found on Tuesday:

D.L. Search - The park had approximately 60 people and three dog teams assigned to the search yesterday. They were organized into 14 search teams and combed areas off of trails that surround the Newfound Gap Parking Area where Lueking's car was found on Saturday, March 17th. Trail search teams explored all areas along the trail where it would appear relatively easy to get off the trail and into the woods. Once off-trail, the teams look for tracks or clues that anybody had passed that way, then continue into the woods until they reach a point where it is either unsafe to continue or they reach a barrier, such as a rhododendron thicket, where D.L. could not have gone without leaving evidence of his passage. Other teams followed up on a possible sighting report along Newfound Gap Road, where D.L. may have entered the woods.

M.C. Search - A total of 14 Tennessee Department of Corrections officers joined rangers in searching the east bank of the Little Pigeon River on the far side of the creek from Newfound Gap Road. On Wednesday, officers and rangers covered the west bank of the river and the strip of forest between the river and the Newfound Gap Road which runs parallel to the river.

So far, no sign of either man has been found. [Bob Miller, Public Affairs Officer]

Little River Canyon

Man Drowns Near Martha's Falls

On Sunday, March 18th, a 24-year-old Rome, Georgia, man went swimming in the Martha's Falls area. He and his friends attempted to swim across the Little River, but he didn't make it - his friends saw him go under and fail to resurface. Rangers were notified at approximately 2:20 p.m. Members of Fisher Rescue Squad, Adamsburg Fire Department and Cherokee County Rescue conducted a coordinated recovery effort. Divers from Fisher Rescue recovered his body just before 5 p.m. The incident is under investigation by the National Park Service. [Troy Mueller, Chief 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/):

Grand Teton NP - A group of diverse students from across the country converged on Grand Teton National Park during the first week of March for the second year of the NPS Academy, an innovative program designed to introduce college students to career opportunities with the National Park Service.

Risk Management - NPS Operational Leadership (OL) hit a major milestone in March, having trained more than 10,000 participants. This marks a 14% increase over original estimates for FY 2012.

Servicewide Training and Conference Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation, plus online training.  Added to this week's calendar is the first session of the new NPS search and rescue academy, which will be held in California this fall.

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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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