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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Monday, November 17, 2014 INCIDENTS Big Bend NP Vandal Tracked By Own GPS And Blog On November 7th, rangers were contacted by a concerned citizen who informed them of a solo motorcycle adventurer's blog. The blog detailed the journeys of the rider, up to and including photos which had been taken in the park that day. These photos included images of the rider's motorcycle (and its license plate) and revealed that the rider had stayed at the Cottonwood Campground for two nights. Registration records provided his name, mailing address, and phone number. The photos also showed the rider vandalizing a historic structure, by signing his name and the date on the structure. Through their investigation, rangers found a link to the rider's active HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPOT_Satellite_Messenger" SPOT device, which provided the rider's exact location. Using this information, rangers drove up to where the rider was sitting in the local town of Terlingua. When they approached the rider, he confessed: "I know what this is about and I am guilty." The investigation is still open and charges are pending. [John Craig, Acting East District Ranger] Bandelier NM Driver Killed In Trailer Truck Crash In Park On Monday, November 10th, an 18-wheeler went off a sharp curve on New Mexico Highway 4 in the park, broke through the guardrail, rolled several times, and came to rest down a steep embankment below the highway. The driver, who was the truck's only occupant, was killed. No other vehicles appear to have been involved. Between the very complex operation of bringing the wreckage back up to the roadway and the investigation done by the Los Alamos Police Department and the New Mexico Department of Transportation, it was two days before the road was fully reopened. Bandelier rangers and the Los Alamos Fire Department were also involved in the operation. [Chris Judson, 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): Biological Resource Management Division - The National Park Service and other federal agencies are working to implement a Presidential mandate to create a federal strategy to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators. Guidance is provided on how you can help, both at work and at home. Today's Almanac - Another round of arctic air and wintry precipitation will move into the central and eastern states today. Red flag warnings have been posted in southern California. Office of International Affairs - The Sixth World Parks Congress opened last Wednesday in Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia. The theme of this congress is “Parks, People, Planet: Inspiring Solutions.” Canaveral NS - On Wednesday, October 22nd, Canaveral National Seashore hosted and participated in “Operation Vanishing Mosquito”, a full-scale multi-agency disaster exercise. Kalaupapa NHP - Staff from the park and the state of Hawaii's Department of Health took part in a community emergency response team and incident command system training course and exercise on November 5th. 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 November 14th. Southeast Region - Dave Hallac has been selected as superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Outer Banks Group in North Carolina. Southeast Region - Barbara Judy has been selected as the superintendent of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. 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). --- ### --- |