|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, May 19, 2014 INCIDENTS Yosemite NP Injured Climber Rescued From El Capitan Park dispatch received an emergency call from a climber in a party on the Salathe Route on El Capitan around 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10th. The climber, who was approximately 1,000 feet up on the route, reported that he was down-climbing when he pulled a large rock from the wall that was approximately the size of a small refrigerator and that it fell from his location and struck another climber approximately 200 feet below him on the same route. That climber, a 45-year-old Australian man, sustained injuries to his lower extremities and was unable to move. The lead climber from the other party who pulled the block loose sustained minor injuries to his ankle. Rangers David Pope and Aaron Smith arrived on scene via fixed ropes on the route about two hours later. The injured climber, located on a feature known as the Heart Ledges, received medical attention, was packaged in a litter, and was lowered to Yosemite Valley with Pope as the litter attendant. Smith, along with Cheyne Lempe, Everett Phillips, and Bud Miller from Yosemite SAR, then assisted the victim's climbing partner to Yosemite Valley via rappel. Once on the ground, the injured climber was transported via ground ambulance to a local hospital for medical treatment. The victim's partner sustained no injuries during the incident. The climber who pulled the rock loose was able to self-extricate. Supervisory Valley Ranger Chris Bellino served as the incident commander for this rescue. [Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer] Redwood N&SP Two Arrested For Burl Poaching Two men have been arrested in one of the most egregious cases of burl poaching in Redwoods State and National Parks. L.M., 35, is currently serving a one year sentence for involuntary manslaughter after knifing a man to death in a Trinidad, California, trailer park in January of this year. Danny Garcia, 42, was arrested by his probation officer on an NPS warrant one day before he was to be arrested by NPS and state park rangers. The two are being charged with felony vandalism and possession of stolen property in state court after crudely hacking approximately 115 cubic feet of HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burl" burl tissue from an 800-year-old HYPERLINK "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_redwood" coastal redwood. It's not known if the tree will survive the damage. These arrests marked the culmination of a year-long investigation involving California State Park rangers, Humboldt County probation officers, the Humboldt County District Attorney's Office and National Park Service rangers and special agents. Adjudication in the case is pending. [Investigative Services Branch] 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): National Mall and Memorial Parks - The Old Post Office Tower on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, has been closed for renovation, necessitating the closure of the NPS-administered tower and observation deck for approximately two years. Hopewell Culture NHP - On Thursday, April 17th, the entire 2.3-mile length of the Seip Earthworks came alive with the help of over 1200 local students from area schools. Fort Union NM - Fort Union National Monument hosted a naturalization ceremony at its visitor center on Friday, May 9th. Thirteen candidates from eleven countries took the oath of citizenship. 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 Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending May 16th. Carlsbad Caverns NP - Marie Marek, the park's chief of interpretation, will retire on May 31st following 37 years with the National Park Service. 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). --- ### --- |