RANGER ACTIVITIES DIVISION
MORNING REPORT
Attention: Directorate
Regional and Park Chief Rangers, USPP, BIFC, FLETC
CC: RAD Information Net
Day/date: Monday, September 9, 1991
INCIDENTS
91-470 - Ellis Island (New York) - Larceny
At about 5:45 p.m. on September 3rd, about a half hour after the
departure of the last visitor boat, ranger Matthew Stefanski was
informed that two people had been found on the island.
Stefanski contacted the pair, and found that neither could
provide a reasonable explanation for why they'd missed the boat
or offer a clear account of their actions during the time since
it had left. Stefanski's suspicions were heightened when he saw
a partially concealed face shield bearing an NPS label in one of
the person's packs. After obtaining permission to examine its
contents, Stefanski found door-knobs and related hardware which
had been removed from a closed area of the island. All of the
items were historically significant; together, they were valued
at $2,500. Both individuals were placed under arrest and
transported to Manhattan. They are to be charged with several
counts of felony larceny and will appear in court on October 4th.
[Telefax from Bob Ditolla, LES, RAD/NARO, 9/6]
91-471 - George Washington Parkway (Virginia) - Falling Fatality
M.S.Y., 19, died of head and chest injuries after
falling 60 feet while climbing near Great Falls on the afternoon
of September 7th. M.S.Y. had been climbing without ropes for
about two hours when the accident occurred. He was unconscious
when local rescue squads arrived. Efforts were made to revive
him, but were unsuccessful. [Stephen Buckley, Washington Post,
9/9]
91-472 - Arches (Utah) - Falling Arch
Sections of 306-foot-long Landscape Arch, the longest stone arch
in the park, fell from the underside near the center of the span
on last week. Several visitors at the arch on September 1st
heard popping, cracking and snapping sounds, then saw a section
measuring 60 by 8 by 5 feet fall to the ground. The park
subsequently closed the trail under the arch. According to
Superintendent Noel Poe, two more slabs fell on the 4th, and two
other sections are expected to fall soon. The last recorded
rockfall at Landscape Arch took place in the winter of 1941,
when a large boulder slipped from the inside of the arch's north
end. Poe said that no attempt will be made to prevent the arch
from collapsing. [Associated Press, 9/7]
91-473 - New River Gorge (West Virginia) - Ginseng Poaching
On September 2nd, rangers working in the Canyon District
arrested Jesse and Keith Lester, both of Richmond, Virginia, for
illegal collection of ginseng root from the park. The rangers
had established surveillance on a suspicious vehicle parked in a
remote area of the park known as the Bragg Farm. Although it
was initially thought that the car was associated with people
involved in a marijuana harvest, they subsequently found the
Lesters gathering ginseng. At the time of contact, the two men
had enough ginseng in their position to establish that they'd
taken over 200 plants. [Telefax from Bill Blake, CR, NERI, 9/6]
FIRE ACTIVITY
1) ACTIVITY LEVEL Planning Level II
2) FIRE SUMMARY
State Agency Area Fire 9/8 9/9 Status
ID USFS Payette NF * Squaw Lake 280 280 CN
CA USFS Shasta-Trinity NF * China 409 409 CN 9/8
MT BIA Crow Agency * East Tullock Creek 3,500 CN 9/9
Notes:
Fires - Asterisk indicates newly reported fire (on this report).
T1 and T2 indicate assigned Type I and Type II Teams.
Status - The following abbreviations are employed:
NR No report received MS Modified suppression strategy
CN Contained MN Being monitored
CL Controlled NEC No estimate of containment
CS Confinement strategy DM Demobed
3) 1990/1991 COMPARATIVE ACTIVITY SUMMARY
Fires Acres
1990 (Year-to-date) 56,487 4,394,187
1991 (Year-to-date) 57,462 2,040,189
1990-1991 (% difference) + 2% 54%
4) ANALYSIS - Only minor fire activity is expected.
5) PROGNOSIS - No resource shortages are expected.
[Fire Management Situation Report, NIFCC Intelligence Section,
9/6]
CALENDAR
Asterisk (*) indicates new entry; plus (+) indicates revised
entry subsequent comments explain the revision. Brackets at
end of entry indicate source of information:
September 19-21 Managing the Search Function, Nashville, TN.
For further information, contact the National Association for
Search and Rescue (703-352-1349). [Bill Pierce, DETO]
September 19-27 Managing the Search Function, Ely, MN. For
further information, call Vermilion Community College
(1-800-475-6666). [Hugh Dougher, VOYA]
September 27-28 "Perspectives on Parks, Politics and Policies",
symposium sponsored by Michigan State University, East Lansing,
MI. The symposium will bring practitioners, academics,
legislators, interest groups, students and others together to
explore and discuss shared interests in parks, politics and
policy. Interested parties should contact Dr. Betty Van Der
Smissen, Chair, Department of Park and Recreation Resources, 131
Natural Resources Building, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, MI 48824, or call 517-353-5190. [Dee Highnote,
Concessions/WASO]
September 30-October 2 "Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus", training
course, Colorado Northwestern Community College, Rangely, CO.
Course is limited to 25 students. For further information and
applications, contact Steve Whittmore at 303-675-3306. [Steve
Whittmore, CNCC]
October 7-8 Crisis Intervention Skills Seminar, Tacoma, WA.
For further information, call 206-591-5999. [Diane Wisley,
RAD/PNRO]
October 8-December 20 Basic Law Enforcement for Land
Management Agencies, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Funded by LEEDC/FLETC.
For application procedures, contact your regional training
office. [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]
October 21-25 Archeological Resource Protection Training,
Artesia, NM. Funded by LEEDC/FLETC subject to availability of
FY 92 funds. For application procedures, contact your regional
training office. [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]
October 21-25 Regional Chief Rangers' Annual Meeting, Boise,
ID. [Dick Martin, RAD/WASO]
October 23-26 Tenth Annual Cave Management Symposium, Bowling
Green, KY. Cohosted by American Cave Conservation Association
(ACCA) and Mammoth Cave NP. For further information, contact
Dave Foster (ACCA) at 5027861466 or Jeff Bradybaugh (MACA) at
502-758-2238. [Jeff Bradybaugh, MACA]
October 25-26 "Biological Pollution: The Control and Impact of
Invasive Exotic Species", IUPUI University Place Conference
Center, Indianapolis, IN. For further information, contact Bill
McKnight, Indiana State Museum, 202 N. Alabama, Indianapolis, IN
46204. [Steve Cinnamon, MWRO]
* November 5-7 "Incident Commander: Emergency Response",
Myrtle Beach Hilton, Myrtle Beach, SC. The course, sponsored by
the Association of National Park Rangers, will focus on ICS
leadership and will be taught by NASAR instructors. The tuition
is $160. Registrations should include name, address, phone
number and tuition, and should be mailed to Debbie Gorman, PO
Box 307, Gansevoort, NY 12831. For further information, contact
Paul Anderson at 703-999-3400. [Paul Anderson, SHEN]
November 12-15 "Fisheries Management: Dealing with Development
in the Watershed", symposium, Newport, RI. For further
information, contact John Boreman at the University of
Massachusetts (413-545-2842).
* November 15-16 Sixth Annual Wilderness Emergencies
Conference, Los Abrigados Resort, Sedona, AZ. Sponsored by the
Flagstaff Medical Center. For further information, contact
Sharon Harbeck at 602-779-3366 ext. 4185. [Sharon Harbeck,
Flagstaff Medical Center]
November 18-22 Archeological Resource Protection Training,
FLETC, Glynco, GA. Funded by LEEDC/FLETC subject to
availability of FY 92 funds. For application procedures,
contact your regional training office. [Carole Pfeifer,
LEEDC/FLETC]
November 18-22 Second National Park Service GIS Users'
Conference, Denver, CO. The conference will bring together all
NPS users of geographicdata technology for the first time in
over three years. All personnel involved in GIS should consider
attending. There will be poster and plenary sessions, panel
discussions and workshops. For more information, including an
announcement brochure and list of possible workshops, contact
Leslie Manfull, GIS Division (Denver), at FTS 327-2590 or
303-969-2590. [Leslie Manfull, GIS]
November 19-22 Regional Recreation Fee Coordinators' Training,
Washington, DC. [Wes Kreis, RAD/WASO]
December 9-13 Archeological Resource Protection Training,
Marana, AZ. Funded by LEEDC/FLETC subject to availability of FY
92 funds. For application procedures, contact your regional
training office. [Carole Pfeifer, LEEDC/FLETC]
December 11 14 Annual convention, National Campground Owners
Association, San Diego, CA. NPS employees have been offered the
members' registration rate of $210 per person for the entire
convention, or $75 per day for the days when seminars will be
given. Lodging and some meals will be extra. The educational
program will focus on operations and maintenance; the trade show
will feature the latest in equipment and services. Call
703-471-0143 for registration information, or Priscilla Baker at
202-208-4917 or FTS 2684917 for further information. [Priscilla
Baker, Tourism]
(Calendar appears in the morning report every other Monday. If
you know of a conference, meeting or training session with
Servicewide interest and implications, please provide the
specifics to Bill Halainen in Ranger Activities).
STAFF STATUS
Division Chief: Brady at conference of associate regional
directors for operations, Jackson Hole, WY (9/9-9/23).
Branch of Resource & Visitor Protection: No leave or travel
scheduled.
Branch of Fire & Aviation: Information not available this
morning.
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