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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Tuesday, September 16, 2014 INCIDENTS Buffalo NR Man Arrested After Shooting His Wife On the evening of September 8th, dispatch received a report of multiple gunshots being heard at the Buffalo Point Campground. Ranger Daniel Williams responded within a matter of minutes, found the reporting party, and conducted a quick interview. After gaining valuable information, Williams assessed the situation and tactically approached the campsite where the witness said the gunshots had come from, placing himself in a position of advantage and ordering the man out of his tent. He then ordered the man to lie on the ground, quickly handcuffed him and made the scene safe. Rangers Dale Johannsen, Mark Miller, Logan Tucker and Mike DeSanto arrived on scene while Williams was rendering aid to a woman in the tent who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She was flown to Springfield Medical Center, where she was operated on for upwards of ten hours. She remains in stable but critical condition. Several rangers assisted in securing the crime scene overnight and staying at the hospital with the victim. Special agents with the Investigative Services Branch conducted interviews, obtained a search warrant and processed the crime scene. Processing the crime scene took three days with the assistance from the park's law enforcement specialist and numerous rangers. Buffalo National River and Marion County Sheriff's Department are conducting a joint investigation. [Karen Bradford, Chief Ranger] New River Gorge NR Three Ginseng Poachers Caught Ranger Karl Keach received a tip about possible ginseng poaching in the area of Claypool Hollow while conducting a vehicle stop on September 4th. Keach located the unoccupied suspect vehicle and set up surveillance along the two possible exit routes with Ranger Mark Faherty. Hours later, the rangers conducted a stop on the vehicle and, after issuing a warning for an equipment violation, received consent to search the car. During the search, they found marijuana paraphernalia, an unloaded revolver and 148 ginseng roots, which weighed just over one pound. Local buyers are currently paying up to $600 for a pound of ginseng. After thoroughly documenting the evidence, the rangers worked with the park's resource management staff to have the ginseng replanted. Three suspects in the vehicle were identified and charges are pending. The park's GIS specialist and a Student Conservation Association summer intern have created a computer model and map identifying high-probability ginseng locations throughout the park in order to aid in the detection and apprehension of ginseng poachers. Though illegal within NPS boundaries, West Virginia has a legal ginseng harvest season which runs from September 1st through November 30th. Ironically, just days after this incident, the park permits office received a request from producers of History Channel's “Appalachian Outlaws”, a television series showcasing ginseng harvesting in southern West Virginia, both legal and illegal. The show wanted to film inside the park. The permit request was denied but the show's popularity is anticipated to have an impact on park resources. [Chuck Noll, Law Enforcement Specialist] 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): Olympic NP - The historic Enchanted Valley Chalet, located in the park's wilderness, has been successfully moved away from the bank of the East Fork Quinault River, which was undercutting the structure. Today's Almanac - Red flag warnings are up in southwestern California. Moisture associated with Tropical Storm Odile will continue working northward across the desert Southwest, bringing heavy rain and potential flash flooding. Stephen Mather Training Center - The Natural Resource Stewardship Training Program trained its 500th student in the Interdisciplinary Resource Protection and Law course this past May. Governors Island NM - Former president Bill Clinton visited Governors Island on September 3rd for the first time since he established the national monument there in 2001. Pacific West Region - On August 28th, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the state's tourism agency, recognized the National Park Service at its 2014 Tourism Legacy Awards Luncheon during the 2014 Hawai‘i Tourism Conference. 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). --- ### --- |