NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

INCIDENTS

Yellowstone NP

Teen Dies In Fall From Inspiration Point

An 18-year-old woman died last Thursday in an accidental fall near Inspiration Point in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. M.“M.”S.R. of Kaliningrad, Russia, a Yellowstone concession employee on her first day in the park, was hiking the canyon's North Rim Trail with three other acquaintances when she ventured off trail onto a loose rock promontory, which quickly gave way underneath her. Rangers responded to a 911 cell phone call received late in the afternoon reporting that a woman had fallen into the canyon. With the assistance of ground spotters and a Teton Interagency helicopter, they spotted the woman's body at a point about 400 feet down the canyon wall and concluded that she had sustained non-survivable injuries. Despite the hazardous terrain, the body was successfully recovered from the canyon via a short-haul helicopter operation at approximately noon on Friday. [Public Affairs]

Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs

Nine Park-Owned Animals Die Due To Lack Of Water

Seven mules and two horses owned by the park have died due to a failure in the water system at a remote winter pasture in the Pixley National Wildlife Refuge. The winter pasture is located approximately 35 miles south of Tulare and 45 miles north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. Two other animals, a horse and a mule, have been under the care of a veterinarian. The cause of the incident is under investigation. [Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Officer]

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/):

Big Hole NB - On June 2nd, the park formally reopened its visitor center with a ribbon cutting, exhibit blessing, and dedication. Nez Perce elders, all of whom worked with the park in the development of the new exhibits, came from three different reservations to be a part of this celebration.

National Mall and Memorial Parks - Claudia Anderson, chief of interpretation at Ford's Theatre NHS, passed away on Sunday, June 10th, from complications associated with cancer. Services will be held on Friday.

Great Smoky Mountains NP - The presence of invasive emerald ash borer beetles has been confirmed in the park. The emerald ash borer was first discovered in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002 and has steadily spread from there, damaging millions of ash trees across the country.

Fire and Aviation Management - Fire and Aviation Management has launched a newly-updated, streamlined and more readable website. A link is provided.

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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 ( Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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