Eastern Areas
Initial Hurricane Damage Reports Received
The National Park Service incident management team overseeing the response to Hurricane Sandy yesterday completed its second day of operation from its command center operation at Fort Wadsworth, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. Specialized support crews are continuing their work supporting employee emergency needs, conducting damage assessments, and removing debris in the affected areas. At present, 253 National Park Service employees from 38 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia are working with the team, with more staff continuing to arrive.
National park sites assigned to this team are widespread and include all of the national parks in the New York Harbor area – the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Governors Island, African Burial Ground, Castle Clinton, Federal Hall, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, General Grant, Hamilton Grange, St. Paul's Church, and Gateway. The team is also supporting parks on Long Island and in New Jersey, including Sagamore Hill, Fire Island, Morristown, and Thomas Edison.
Preliminary damage assessments and response to critical needs of the parks continue. The response is being framed by the need to work safely and provide support for all NPS employees in the affected areas.
Yesterday, a meteorologist arrived on site to forecast the nor'easter predicted for Wednesday night. In preparation for the storm, field operations are developing an inclement weather contingency plan. The following actions were also undertaken:
National Parks of New York Harbor
- Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island – Facility assessment teams continued assessment of the islands' structures. Structural engineers traveled by U.S. Park Police boat to access the bridge to Ellis Island. Crews continued clearing debris and trash. The island is not open to the public due to safety concerns.
- Governors Island – Assessment teams and resource advisors have been assessing the area. Extensive damage to park electronics was reported. The park remains closed until further notice.
- Grant's Tomb, Hamilton Grange and St. Paul's – The Natchez Trace Parkway saw team removed debris from Hamilton Grange and St. Paul's. A 70 foot tree was removed from the area of seven headstones; four of the headstones were damaged, while the remaining three were not. The stones date back to between 1790 and 1820. Plans are being made for their restoration. St. Paul's is open to the public. Staff will return to Hamilton Grange on Wednesday for a trial run and if successful it will open on Thursday.
- Federal Hall and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace – The sites have no assessed damage, but remain closed due to lack of power.
- Castle Clinton and African Burial Ground – The parks have no power, phone or internet service, but damage is minimal.
Gateway National Recreation Area
- Jamaica Bay Unit – Crews are working on acquiring Conex boxes, identifying locations to place roll off dumpsters for debris collection, and identifying and securing an open pit well.
- Staten Island Unit – Teams worked to remove debris and placed 24 pallets of sandbags to secure breeches in the northwest, northeast and southwest areas of Battery Weed. Maintenance workers assessed Building 6 and the historic hangar in Miller Park and found that work will be needed.
- Sandy Hook Unit – FMSS teams have continued assessment of damage at Sandy Hook; detailed assessments will follow. Traffic on the road to the Sandy Hook Unit has increased. Crews are starting to weatherize for winter months ahead. Public health specialists have assessed the wastewater treatment plant and crews began pumping it dry so repairs could begin.
Fire Island National Seashore and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Plumbers and electricians began to winterize and secure homes. Water service wells currently are running on generators; getting power to them is a priority. Police patrols have been increased and five four-person teams of tree cutters arrived and are clearing trees and brush. Beach areas and overwashes continue to be assessed.
Morristown National Historical Park
Approximately 500 hazardous trees have been identified and prioritized for removal, and cleanup continued. There is no power to the area. The park will be closed until further notice.
Edison National Historical Park
The Northeast Region arborist team continued to take down hazard trees. Power was briefly restored, but then lost. The park is closed until further notice.
Social media remain active. Nearly 16,200 people have accessed the Facebook site to date. The Twitter site continues to re-tweet incoming information from the parks and other agencies.
As one of the member agencies of the National Interagency Fire Center, the National Park Service is also involved in NIFC hurricane recovery operations. As of yesterday, eleven incident management teams had been committed to the recovery – three NIMO teams, two Type 1 teams, and six Type 2 teams. They are variously engaged in managing staging areas or emergency operations centers, clearing roads, or otherwise providing support in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Fifteen NPS employees were committed to this effort.
More information on the Hurricane Sandy response can be found at these websites:
- Hurricane response and recovery – A webpage with current information on the NPS response to Hurricane Sandy.
- Resource needs shopping list – A listing of incident management team positions that still need to be filled, updated daily.
- NPS Superstorm Sandy Response – A Facebook page managed by the IMT with updates on the response.
- SandyResponseNPS – A Twitter page managed by the IMT with updates on the response.
[Submitted by Linda Friar, Incident Information Officer]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Two Arrested For Mining Minerals
In September of 2011, rangers discovered an area just below the
parkway near the Mt. Mitchell area where recent digging into an old gem
mine was apparent. The area was monitored as digging continued. On
October 13th and 14th, two men were found in the site and were arrested
for digging and removing kyanite from the pits.
Both said that they had visited and dug at the site before, as well as
sites on adjacent Forest Service property. A joint investigation
is underway with the USFS to identify other individuals who are mining
the sites.
[Submitted by Tim Francis, Pisgah District Ranger]
Shenandoah National Park (VA)
Rangers Make Six Ginseng Poaching Cases
Between Thursday, September 20th, and Saturday, October 6th,
protection rangers detected and apprehended six separate groups involved
in the illegal digging and taking of ginseng plants from the park.
Eleven people were issued multiple mandatory citations and three others
were arrested. One of those arrested is a commercial dealer in
Virginia. A total of 185 plants were seized. A warrant was served to
retrieve information off a GPS unit that the dealer possessed at the
time of arrest. ISB is assisting in the investigation. Ranger Stu
Curtin is the case officer.
[Submitted by Jennifer Flynn, Deputy
Superintendent]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Sitka National Historical Park (AK)
GS-1015-11 Museum Curator (Lateral)
Sitka National Historical Park is seeking candidates interested in a lateral reassignment to a permanent, full-performance museum curator position. The selected individual will manage the park's museum program. Candidates should be (or have been) at the GS-11 grade or higher.
The park's museum collection includes Russian American historical furnishings, icons and archaeological objects associated with the Russian Bishop's House, a National Historical Landmark. Equally rich ethnographic items include Haida and Tlingit totem poles, Tlingit carvings, Chilkat robes, and baskets. Archives, historical photographs and oral histories in the collection are frequently used by researchers and park staff. Natural history collections include macro algae, fish and plant specimens with associated field notes.
The park's museum management program is notable for its long established partnerships with local Tlingit groups and the Russian Orthodox Church. Through agreements, these partnerships assure professional museum care for locally-owned ceremonial objects on exhibit at the park, while facilitating continued traditional use of these sacred objects.
The park is looking for an individual who will successfully combine professional museum management practice with good people skills and sensitivity to Native traditional cultural practice. The person selected must work equally well with prominent Native cultural leaders, professional museum colleagues, and other park staff.
Located on Baranov Island in Southeast Alaska, Sitka is a progressive community of 9,000 people. Amenities include schools, shops, restaurants, three museums, public library, hospital, airport, public radio station, daily newspaper, a university, and a fine arts camp. Sitka is accessible by daily air service, the Alaska state ferry system, and cruise ship. It is not connected by roads outside of Sitka. The State capital, Juneau, is a 20-minute flight away. Sitka National Historical Park is visited by 120,000 visitors annually. The climate is relatively mild and rainy. Coastal views are spectacular.
Relocation expenses will be paid. Permanent park housing is not available; however, a temporary stay in park housing is available while the employee is locating permanent housing in Sitka.
For more information regarding this position, please contact Chief of Cultural and Natural Resources Ana Dittmar at 907-747-0140 or ana_dittmar@nps.gov. Interested applicants should send their application/resume, a list of references, most recent SF-50, and most recent performance evaluation to Administrative Officer (John_Kidd@nps.gov) by November 26th.
Pacific West Region
GS-1603-5 Facility Services Assistant
Dates: 10/30/2012 - 11/13/2012
Lassen Volcanic National Park has an opening for a GS-5 faciltiy services sssistant. This is a permanent, full-time position located in Mineral, California. This position is being advertised under both merit promotion and DEU.
Questions about this position may be directed to Keith Farrar, the park's chief of maintenance, at Keith_Farrar@nps.gov.
[Submitted by Keith Farrar, LAVO Chief of Maintenance, Keith_Farrar@nps.gov, 530-595-6220] More Information...
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI)
Chris Case To Retire
Chris Case, the facility manager at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, will retire on December 1st after a 38 year career with the National Park Service.
Chris began his NPS career as a volunteer intern at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. After graduating from Northland College in 1974 with a degree in environmental studies, he began seasonal assignments at Apostle Islands, Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Monument, then permanent status assignments at Blue Ridge Parkway, Valley Forge National Historical Park and Voyageurs National Park. He arrived at Pictured Rocks in 1989, where he has served as the facility manager for 23 years.
Over the course of his career, Chris has demonstrated his multidiscipline perspective gained working as an interpreter, resource and visitor protection ranger and through the ranks in the maintenance division.
Throughout his career, in addition to his regular work, Chris has served as an instructor for a variety of classes and programs and mentor to many individuals. As part of his regular work, he has managed numerous complex projects, and his vision is represented by the amazing improvements and innovative solutions seen in facilities throughout the park.
“However, no part of Chris' career will leave a greater legacy than his work in developing sustainable practices and in environmental leadership,” according to Jim Northup, Pictured Rocks NL superintendent. For over 20 years, Chris has led efforts at Pictured Rocks and throughout the National Park Service and beyond in the application of ‘green' technologies including the use of bio-fluids, solar energy, employee-friendly low hazard products, and green procurement.
As a result of this work, Chris received the Director's Award for Excellence in Natural Resources Stewardship through Maintenance in 2001, led the team that received the Department of the Interior Environmental Achievement Award in 2001 and the White House Closing the Circle Award in 2002, and received the individual Department of the Interior Environmental Achievement Award in 2005. Since then, he has taught over 60 classes and webinars on environmental leadership to over 2300 individuals, many of whom have implemented what they have learned at their own parks, refuges or places of business.
“Chris has also represented the National Park Service and the Department extremely well and been enormously generous in partnering with and giving back to his community,” Northup added. Chris has been a great ambassador for the National Park Service, volunteering in the community band, leading the community recycling program, and leading the group that restored the iconic East Channel Lighthouse in Munising Bay. He has quietly donated over five gallons of blood through local blood drives, and donated over 1200 hours of annual leave to 21 different Department of the Interior employees over the course of the past decade.
In recognition of his collective achievements and contributions to the mission of the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior, Chris was recently awarded the Superior Service Award of the Department of the Interior.
“What an extraordinary career opportunity I have had," said Chris when asked to summarize his 38 year career. "To love what I do and work with an organization of dedicated and driven individuals, so passionate about taking care of the most special places in the country, has been incredibly meaningful to me.”
Chris plans to spend his retirement as he spent his work life, with enthusiasm and intensity. Along with car shows, antique truck restorations, sustainability activities, community involvement, genealogy and home improvement projects, he and his wife Anne plan to spend time with their son in Michigan and daughters in Florida and Switzerland.
After December 1st, Chris can be reached at E9439 Stone Street, Munising, MI 49862, (906) 553-2511, CCase@chartermi.net.
[Submitted by Jim Northup, jim_northup@nps.gov, 906-387-2607, ext. 202]
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.