RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
                           MORNING REPORT

Attention: Directorate
           Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
           CC: RAD Information Net

Day/date:  Monday, March 18, 1991

INCIDENTS

91-75 - Wind Cave (South Dakota) - Assist on SAR

On February 18th, the Keith County, Nebraska, sheriff's office 
asked the park's SAR canine team to assist in the search for the 
body of a child lost in a lake in Ogallala, Nebraska.  Rangers 
Ed and Kelly Pontbriand and their dog worked with dog teams from 
Colorado in searching the area around the point where the victim 
was last seen floating in the water.  Teams worked in boats and 
marked any area where the dogs alerted.  Four areas were 
identified in the six-mile-long stretch of water and were 
rechecked with other dog teams.  Divers then began a sweep of 
those areas.  The body was recovered close to an alert site 
during the first week of March.  [CompuServe message from Kathy 
Lee, WICA, 3/15]

MIDDLE EAST INCIDENT UPDATE

George Rogers Clark (Indiana) - A demonstration in support of the 
troops in the Middle East was held in the park on March 10th.  
About 500 people attended the event, which lasted approximately 
90 minutes.  There were on unusual incidents during the 
demonstration.  [J.J. McLaughlin, RAD/MWRO]

Please advise us through your regional offices of all threats 
received, permits issued for demonstrations, and demonstrations 
or incidents that occur which are related to the war in the Gulf.  
Call Major Schamp at FTS 268-4209 (202-208-4209).

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Isle Royale (Michigan) - Wolf Study

The park's 33rd annual "winter study" was completed on March 5th.  
The NPS/Michigan Technological University monitoring team found 
12 wolves and approximately 1300 moose.  The wolf population 
continues to slowly decline, and now may be at its lowest level 
since monitoring began, as one of the 12 seen early in the 
survey is now presumed dead.  Intensive studies of the causes of 
the wolf population decline, which began in 1984, are funded by 
the NRPP program.  Since 1988, eight wolves have been 
live-captured, blood-sampled, and radio-collared.  The three major 
hypotheses for decline (food shortage, disease, and genetics) 
still remain, though there are no strong indications that either 
of the first two are significant problems.

NPS-funded genetics analysis of over 100 gray wolves from all 
over North America has shown that Isle Royale wolves are not 
genetically unique, although the mitochondrial DNA (a genetic 
"marker" with little or no bearing on fitness or phenotype) 
pattern found at Isle Royale is apparently an uncommon variety.  
In the approximately five or six generations since the Isle 
Royale population was founded (and isolated) in the late 1940s, 
the wolves have apparently lost approximately 50% of the genetic 
variability found in mainland animals.  All eight wolves tested 
are as closely related as siblings or parent-child.  These 
exciting discoveries seem to bear out expected theories of small 
population genetics, but they do not yet allow us to say 
"genetics problems are the cause" of the current population 
decline. 

As the wolf population dwindles, a fourth hypothesis for decline 
looms ever more important, and may play a significant role in 
the wolves' future: random chance or poor demographics may doom 
this population even if other factors do not.  

Routine monitoring and intensive studies of Isle Royale wolves 
are funded by the National Park Service and led by Dr. Rolf 
Peterson of Michigan Technological University under Cooperative 
Agreement.  Dr. Robert Wayne of UCLA has done the genetics 
studies.  The project manager is Isle Royale Natural Resource 
Management Specialist Robert J. Krumenaker. [CompuServe message 
from Bob Krumenaker, ISRO, 3/18]

STAFF STATUS

Division Chief: Dabney on travel to Canyonlands, UT (3/183/22).

Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: Marriott at NSA meeting,
Baltimore, MD (3/19-3/22); Halainen on detail to House Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands (3/18-4/26); Sisto at MWR chief 
rangers' conference, Lake Geneva, WI (3/18-3/20).

Branch of Fire: Norum at meeting of interagency forest and range
experiment station review board, East Lansing, MI (3/18-3/21); 
Broyles at RX-90 burn boss course, Beaumont, TX (3/17-3/29); Gale and 
Erskine at Big Cypress/Everglades fire program review (3/15-3/22); Clark
instructing S490590, NARTC, Marana, AZ (3/3-3/22); Farrel at MWR
chief rangers' conference, Lake Geneva, WI (3/20-3/21).

Prepared by WASO Division of Ranger Activities

Telephone:  FTS 268-4874/6039 or 202-208-4874/6039
Telefax:    FTS 268-5977 or 202-208-5977
CompuServe: WASO-RANGER (Branch of R&VP); WASO-FIRE-WO (Branch of Fire)
SEAdog:     1/650