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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, March 30, 2012 INCIDENTS Gila Cliff Dwellings NM Search In Progress For Missing Marathon Runner A search was begun on Wednesday for a missing marathon runner who failed to return home Tuesday evening after a run in the rugged Gila Wilderness surrounding the park. As of yesterday morning, no sign of him had been found even with infrared radar searches overnight and daytime aerial flights on Wednesday. NPS staff at the Gila Visitor Center, the operations center, have been providing logistical support to the effort since Grant County Search and Rescue mobilized on Wednesday afternoon. The search area now covers over 300 square miles of deep canyons and heavily timbered forest. [Steve Riley, Superintendent] Blue Ridge Parkway Two Convicted Of Galax Poaching While investigating a report of a suicidal person on March 24th, a ranger observed a driver operating a vehicle in a very suspicious manner in an area known for galax poaching. The ranger turned on the vehicle, and, as he approached, saw two men exit from it and flee into the adjacent woods, carrying duffle bags. The ranger conducted a traffic stop and subsequently arrested the driver, identified as O.R.R., of Spruce Pine, North Carolina, for illegally harvesting galax. Other rangers responded and a search of the adjacent woods yielded three duffle bags containing 15,000 galax leaves. During the investigation, one of the other subjects was identified and an arrest warrant was obtained. On March 27th, rangers and Mitchell County Sheriff's Office deputies executed the warrant and arrested F.R.F., also of Spruce Pine. Both O.R.R. and R.R.F. appeared before the U.S. magistrate, pled guilty to conspiracy to harvest galax, and were sentenced to 30 days in jail. Investigation is continuing to identify and prosecute the third conspirator. Currently, local market value for galax leaves, used in floral arrangements, is two to six cents per leaf. Galax leaves are being sold for more than a dollar a leaf in the international flora trade and is estimated that galax harvesting is a $40 million a year industry in western North Carolina. [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/): Capulin Volcano NM - Park resource management staff participated with New Mexico Department of Game and Fish personnel in a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep radio collaring project over the course of two days in early March. Biological Resource Management Division - Discover Life in America hosted the 15th Annual All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory Conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, last week. Mammoth Cave NP - Patrick Reed, a 42-year career veteran of the National Park Service, will retire on June 30th. 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 are the following - a class on instructional techniques for new instructors at Mather, separate steel and wood window preservation workshops in Kentucky, an EMT refresher at Zion, and two more Fundamentals V offerings. * * * * 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). --- ### --- |