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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, May 6, 2014 INCIDENTS Lake Roosevelt NRA Explosives Found During Lake Drawdown On April 22th, the park was notified that explosive material had been found in the park on the west side of the lake on State Highway 395 north of Kettle Falls. The material was contained in tubes that were about a foot long and several inches wide and labeled Senatel Magnafrac. The Spokane Bomb Squad responded and destroyed the materials. Two days later, the park was notified that additional tubes had been found near Snag Cove Campground. The bomb squad again responded and destroyed the materials. More tubes were found about a mile north of North Gorge campground the next day, and the squad responded again. These explosives are used in mining and excavation operations and require additional materials and actions to explode. They do not pose a significant risk to the public and should not impact recreational use of the lake. The tubes evidently surfaced during the annual drawdown of the lake to make room for incoming spring snowmelt. The park sent out a press release and placed alerts on their website and social media directing anyone who found this material not to touch it, call 911, and be available to direct responding officers to the location so the materials can be removed. Park staff phoned the permittees closest to these areas who have water withdrawal systems so they were aware of the discoveries and could call the tri-county hHealth agency if they had questions about water quality. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Spokane is taking the lead on this case. Rangers continue to work with them and the Ferry and Stevens County Sheriffs' Offices. BATFE was provided with lot numbers that helped them confirm that the material originated in Canada. The investigation continues. [Marty Huseman, Chief Ranger] 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): Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - The sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War's Overland Campaign, which took place in the spring of 1864, got underway this past weekend with events at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Battlefields. Brown v. Board of Education NHS - A new park program took visitors on a journey through time to learn about civil rights in Kansas by hearing the story of an abolitionist, a free-state advocate, a women's rights supporter, an Exoduster, and an African American educator. Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - The Incident Management, Analysis and Reporting System (IMARS) has been upgraded to remove the need to use VPN to access it when logging in from a network computer. Valley Forge NHP - Valley Forge National Historical Park celebrated National Junior Ranger Day on April 19th with a wide variety of outdoor learning stations for children and their families. Office of Communications - The NPS has awarded more than $400,000 in grants to help preserve more than 300 acres of land at three of America's Civil War battlefields threatened by developments. Denver Service Center - Tubes of explosives appeared along the shores of Lake Roosevelt at three locations over the course of several days in late April. All were destroyed by a bomb squad. Denver Service Center - After 36 years of service to the NPS, Ric Alesch will retire on May 31st. Ric is a project manager with Denver Service Center's Design and Construction Division. 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). --- ### --- |