NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

INCIDENTS

Grand Canyon NP

Ailing Hiker Rescued Via Helicopter Short-Haul

Late in the day on Tuesday, June 4th, visitors found a 29-year-old man in severe distress on the North Kaibab Trail. The hiker reportedly drank large amounts of water, but had eaten very little food. This, coupled with the expected increased perspiration while hiking in hot temperatures, lead rangers to believe this visitor was suffering from a potentially life-threatening condition due to low blood sodium levels known as HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyponatremia" hyponatremia. Responding via helicopter, ranger/medic Brian Bloom utilized a portable blood chemistry instrument (iStat) to confirm his suspicions and begin appropriate field treatment. Due to the serious nature of the man's condition and the lack of nearby landing zones, he was helicopter short-hauled with Bloom from switchbacks in the Redwall to the North Rim helibase. He was then placed inside the helicopter, flown to the South Rim, and taken from there to Flagstaff Medical Center. Heis expected to recover. [Brandon Torres, Branch Chief of Emergency Services]

Padre Island NS

Cross-Border Incidents Spike In May

May proved to be a busier than normal month for illegal cross-border activities at Padre Island. According to the Border Patrol, the park recorded an 85% increase in such activities, with the highest monthly numbers recorded this year. Rangers made nine personal use drug cases and seven DUI arrests; they also twice dealt with drug wash-ups and three times with smuggling operations. These collectively led to the arrest of seven smugglers, the issuance of 14 citations, and the seizure of 75 pills, nearly 46 kilos of marijuana, a kilo of cocaine, and seven pipes and a grinder. One federal felony indictment is pending. Rangers also arrested 16 undocumented aliens. [Travis Poulson, 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/):

Office of the Director - Seventeen children became American citizens at a ceremony at the Frederick Douglass Home in mid-May, another in a series of such ceremonies jointly sponsored by the NPS and the Citizenship and Immigration Service. Links are provided whereby you can obtain information on hosting such a ceremony in your park.

Natchez Trace Parkway - Natchez Trace Parkway and Southeast Archeological Center recently completed the second largest NAGPRA repatriation in Southeast Region's history.

Great Smoky Mountains NP - On Friday, May 31st, David Rockefeller, Sr., son of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., whose donations led to the acquisition of much of the park's land in the 1920s, paid a visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Grand Canyon NP - Park biologists found spawning translocated endangered humpback chub (Gila cypha) in Havasu Creek during a recent fisheries monitoring trip - a benchmark in the long-term effort to improve the species' odds of survival.

Civil War to Civil Rights - Several organizations have collaborated to produce a book on Native American participation in the Civil War entitled American Indians and the Civil War. It is now available from Eastern National.

Pacific West Region - Erika Stein has been selected as the new superintendent of Kalaupapa National Historical Park on the island of Moloka`i in Hawai`i.

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Guidance on incident notification can be found under the “Hot Topics” heading on InsideNPS or at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504.

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@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).

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