NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, September 23, 2013

INCIDENTS

Point Reyes NS

Employee Life Saved Through EMS Response

While working outside near the park's headquarters area last Wednesday afternoon, an NPS employee was stung in the neck by a wasp.

Responding rangers found the employee unconscious and initially unresponsive, so provided basic life support and administered epinephrine. The employee again become responsiveness and resumed regular breathing. Marin County Fire Department paramedics arrived on scene, administered further medications, and transported the employee to a nearby hospital.

The early administration of epinephrine by rangers likely had a significant positive impact on the outcome of this incident. The employee has made a full recovery and has returned to work.

[Chief Ranger's Office]

North Cascades NP

Overdue Backpacker Found By Searchers

On the morning of September 13th, the park received a report that a 60-year-old man was two days overdue from a nine day backpacking trip in the Berdeen Lake area. An aerial search was launched and he was found by day's end near Lower Berdeen Lake.

Rangers determined he'd sustained no life threatening injuries, but that it would take too long for him to hike up to the nearest landing zone given his exhausted condition, the rough terrain and impending darkness. They therefore instead supplied him with food and a radio and advised that they would return the next morning. Rangers long-lined the hiker's gear to a nearby landing zone the next morning and then helped him to the helicopter.

The Berdeen cross-country zone is a seldom visited, trail-less portion of the park with extremely steep and challenging terrain.

The hiker said that he knew he was unable to complete his trip and return to his vehicle by day five, but that he continued on his hike to get out of the wooded area and into the open so that searchers could more easily locate him.

[Kinsey Shilling, Chief of Visitor and Resource Protection]

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/):

Rocky Mountain NP - Staff continue to examine the condition of facilities and trails within Rocky Mountain National Park to determine which areas can be reopened following this month's flooding. An update is provided on which roads and trails are currently open and which are closed.

Death Valley NP - Park employee Charles (Chuck) Caha, 64, died last Thursday. When he failed to return from a grading project on West Side Road, coworkers sought and found him, unresponsive, on the road.

Interpretation and Education Division - "Mapping Our World" is the theme of Earth Science Week this year, set to take place on the week of October 13th. This year's theme focuses on how geographers and other mapping professionals use maps to represent fault lines, weather patterns, parks and more.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers the week ending Friday, September 20th.

Northeast Region - Cinda Waldbuesser has been selected as the Northeast Region's partnership program specialist. She comes to the NPS from the National Parks and Conservation Association.

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The Morning Report is 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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