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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, February 24, 2014 INCIDENTS Zion NP Woman Killed In Illegal BASE Jump In Park On the evening of February 8th, the park was notified that a fatal HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASE_jumping" BASE jump had occurred at Mount Kinesava. A couple from Salt Lake City, both experienced BASE jumpers, had come to Zion to jump from the mountain, although jumping is not permitted in the park. Mount Kinesava is also an area of the park that contains important natural resource habitat protecting threatened and endangered species. Investigation revealed that the man had previously jumped from this location on several occasions. His wife was wearing a custom-made HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingsuit_flying" wing suit, which she was using for the first time from this location. According to her husband, her main chute did not open in time to stop her from hitting the mountain's talus slope. The husband completed his base jump and hiked out to report the incident after dark. Rangers were short-hauled by Grand Canyon's helicopter to the victim's location on a cliff band 1500 feet below the summit and recovered her body. For more information, see this news story: HYPERLINK "http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/09/us/utah-newlywed-killed-base-jumping/" http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/09/us/utah-newlywed-killed-base-jumping/ [Cindy Purcell, Chief Ranger] Lake Mead NRA Body Of Missing Boater Found, Search Continues For Two Others On February 20th, the park was advised that three men who'd gone on a multi-day boating trip on the park had failed to call in as planned the previous night. A search was begun, and their capsized 1977 Glastron boat was found on the lake the next morning. The body of one of the missing men was found a half mile north of the vessel. A land, water and air search for the other two men continues. The search team this past weekend consisted of four National Park Service vessels with rangers and side scan sonar, a Nevada Department of Wildlife vessel, and Metro Air and Civil Air Patrol aircraft. Around 40 Red Rock Search and Rescue volunteers combed seven miles of land on both sides of the shore. [Christie Vanover, Public Affairs Officer] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers): Chaco Culture NHP - Chaco Culture's natural nighttime darkness, commitment to reducing light pollution, and ongoing public outreach recently led to its certification as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association. Office of Communications - Director Jarvis will host another webchat this Wednesday as part of his ongoing commitment to engage in dialogue with all members of the NPS family. It will be held at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Office of Relevancy, Diversity and Inclusion - A report has been published that summarizes the findings of the recent cultural needs assessment completed by nearly 4,000 employees Servicewide. A webinar will be held next week on these findings. Details are provided on how to participate. 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 activities in Congress for the week ending February 21st. To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites: NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/ 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). --- ### --- |