|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, December 19, 2014 INCIDENTS Big Bend NP Stolen Items Returned Following Cross-Border Discussions Ranger Jorge Martinez was dispatched to the Rio Grande Village Campground on December 4th to investigate thefts that had occurred at two different campsites the previous night. Ranger Alyssa Van Schmus also responded, and, with the assistance of local Border Patrol officers, identified foot signs in nearby brush thought to be related to the thefts. The tracks lead a short distance south to the Rio Grande, the international border with Mexico. At the river's edge they found items related to the thefts. Surmising that the stolen items were south of the border, Martinez began contacting residents of the villages of Boquillas del Carmen and Ojo Caliente in the Mexican state of Coahuila via two-way radio. He arranged to have cross-river meetings with residents of both Mexican towns the following day. Martinez also coordinated with NPS maintenance employee Hernan Hernandez, who was visiting family in Boquillas del Carmen. Hernandez was vital in helping to spread the word of the recent thefts. On the following morning, Martinez and Ranger Nicolas Clapp attended meetings along a five-mile stretch of river with various residents of both Mexican towns. Everyone who they spoke with said that they would help as best they could to find the stolen items. They all noted that they did not want to damage their relationship with the park over the thefts. On Saturday, December 6th, all of the stolen items were returned to the U.S. side of the river at the scenic Boquillas Overlook parking area. It remains unknown who had stolen the items. Big Bend National Park has a long history of a close, positive and productive working relationship with the Mexican villages that sit on the border with the park. This includes unique arrangements between our nations' state departments that allows international collaboration on resource and fire management issues. [Allen Etheridge, 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): Southeast Utah Group - On Saturday, December 6th, the parks of the Southeast Utah Group - Arches, Canyonlands, Hovenweep and Natural Bridges - participated in the city of Moab's annual Christmas Electric Light Parade. Parashant NM - The Yevingkarere Youth Camp, normally held in Parashant every September, was postponed this year due to significant flooding on the Moapa Indian Reservation and was instead held recently in Zion. Park Facility Management Division - The November/December issue of Park Facility Management Division Update is now available online. A link is provided to both current and past editions. Park Facility Management Division - Tim Harvey, chief of the Park Facility Management Division, is retiring with 40 years of dedicated service to the National Park Service to his credit. Visitor and Resource Protection Directorate - Roger Semler has been named the chief of the Wilderness Stewardship Division in WASO. He succeeds Garry Oye, who retired last July. National Capital Region - On December 31st, Stanley A. Briscoe, supervisory architect, will be putting away his NPS T-square for the final time after serving 42 years in the National Park Service. Servicewide Training Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses, conferences, webinars and online training offered by the National Park Service and related agencies. The following have been added to this week's calendar - nine structural firefighting training classes that will be held in 2015, three upcoming Servicewide digital calls/webinars, and a new offering of the interdisciplinary resource protection and law course. 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). --- ### --- |