|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, December 4, 2012 INCIDENTS Eastern Areas Recovery Operations Continue In New York Area Parks Hurricane recovery operations continue. The Pacific West IMT will transition into management of the incident on Thursday. Currently, there are 321 National Park Service employees from 101 parks supporting the recovery efforts, a reduction from a high of 546. There are also 37 contractors and 47 local national park employees on the incident. The following National Park Service sites are now open: African Burial Ground National Monument, Federal Hall National Memorial, General Grant National Memorial, Hamilton Grange National Historic Site, St. Paul's Church National Historic Site, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Morristown National Historic Park (including New Jersey Brigade, Cross Estate, Fort Nonsense, Washington Headquarters Museum and Ford Mansion), Thomas Edison National Historical Park, Hamilton Beach and Frank Charles Park, Great Kills Park and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The National Park Service continues to repair and stabilize the following parks which remain closed until it is safe to reopen: The Statue of Liberty National Monument and the Ellis Island Immigration Hall remain closed as well as Governors Island; several sites within Gateway National Recreation Area (Fort Wadsworth; Miller Field; Ryan Visitor Center; Breezy Point; Fort Tilden; Jacob Riis Park; Floyd Bennett Field; Bergen Beach; Canarsie Pier; Sandy Hook Visitor Center; and Fort Hancock); Castle Clinton; and Fire Island National Seashore. Today's report is as follows (if a park or site is not listed, that's because there's no new information to report): Ellis Island - Contractors are working on hazard mitigation work planning. Morristown - Chipping and debris removal are underway. Fire Island - Crews are restoring the maintenance garage in Patchogue and the Lighthouse Annex. Gateway - A cultural resource advisor worked on mapping wrecked boats and coordinating upcoming board removals. The following actions were also reported at park units: Fort Tilden - Road and trail operations, building utility repairs, and sand redistribution continued. Jacob Riis Park - Road and trail clearing and sand redistribution continued. Great Kills - Debris removal operations and sand redistribution continued. Miller Field - Debris removal operations and sand redistribution continued. Fort Wadsworth - Debris removal continued at Seabee Park. Sandy Hook - Debris removal from road sides and beach plazas continued, as did replacement of oil tank gauges and the construction and placement of shutters on exposed windows and doors on buildings at Fort Hancock. More information on the response can be found at these websites: Hurricane response and recovery - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/waso.cfm?prg=1168&lv=3" webpage with current information on the NPS response to Hurricane Sandy. Resource needs shopping list - A HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1168&id=10935" ”shopping list” HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/SHOPPING%20LIST%2011-5.pdf" of incident management team positions that still need to be filled, updated daily. Hurricane Sandy relief fund - E&AA has set up a HYPERLINK "http://www.eparks.com/_" relief fund web page where you can make donations in support of employees who were affected by the storm. Facebook - A HYPERLINK "https://www.facebook.com/HurricaneResponseNPS" Facebook page managed by the IMT with updates on the response. Twitter - A HYPERLINK "http://mobile.twitter.com/NPS_Sandy?" Twitter page managed by the IMT with updates on the response. Flickr - A HYPERLINK "http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandyresponsenps/sets/72157631954446291/" Flickr page managed by the IMT with images of the response. Great Smoky Mountains NP Man Arrested For Breaking Into Cars In Park While conducting a surveillance operation on the morning of Sunday, December 2nd, a ranger saw what a man breaking into a vehicle parked at Chimney Tops Trailhead on Newfound Gap Road. The man then left the area in a Ford pickup. When rangers attempted to stop the truck on Little River Road west of Sugarlands Visitor Center, the man fled and continued to elude rangers until he exited the park at the Townsend Wye. Once outside the park, rangers turned over the pursuit to Blount County Sheriff's Office deputies, who took the 38-year-old Tennessee man into custody after he crashed his truck. Rangers and special agents subsequently confirmed the theft of property from a visitor's Ford Explorer parked at Chimney Tops Trailhead. The investigation of the offenses occurring within the park continues; federal charges are anticipated. [Dana Soehn, Management Assistant] 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/): Paterson Great Falls NHP - The park and Paterson Public School 7 have begun an educational partnership that will achieve the shared goals of both educators and the new national park. It will culminate during the Service's centennial in 2016 when that year's graduating class will unveil their capstone service project to enhance the visitor experience at the park. Gettysburg National Cemetery - Last Friday, volunteers began the job of placing 7,000 wreaths on the graves in the Soldier's National Cemetery, taking two days to complete the task. This annual commemoration was begun by the family of a soldier killed in 2006 in a military helicopter accident. Rocky Mountain NP - Firefighters made significant progress in containing the Fern Lake Fire yesterday after a night during which strong winds tested completed fire lines. The fire remains within the park's boundaries. Park Planning, Facilities and Lands - Eileen Izzo will be retiring on December 28th with almost 35 years of federal service. She is currently an administrative support assistant with the construction program management division in Lakewood, Colorado. * * * * The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov). --- ### --- |