NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, January 12, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

95-679 - Catoctin (Maryland) - Follow-up on Resource Violation

On October 1st, R.R. and D.R. and photographer M.E. were
caught in the process of poaching an eastern timber rattlesnake from the park. 
On December 15th, R. plead guilty to poaching the snake; he was fined $750,
given two years' probation, and barred from entering any NPS unit for one year. 
He was also ordered to forfeit his snake collecting paraphernalia and four
rolls of slide film that had been seized as evidence.  The slides, which are of
professional quality, will be used by the park for educational purposes. 
Before sentencing, magistrate judge Donald Beachley said that "even the removal
of one snake took away from a quality experience by other visitors, R.'s
children, grandchildren, and others."  [Roger Steintl, CATO]

95-761 - Sleeping Bear Dunes (Michigan) - Follow-up on Death of Employee

Carole and Rob Slonaker, the wife and son of Richard Slonaker, the Platte River
district ranger who passed away in early December, have sent along their thanks
to all of the members of their "extended park family" for the loving cards,
letters, faxes, phone calls and donations that they've received since Rich's
death.  Carole adds that she was grateful to everyone for the "special hugs"
and memories that they shared with them; each will be treasured. 
[Superintendent, SLBE]

95-774 - Canyon de Chelly (New Mexico) - Follow-up on Burglary

Most of the items stolen in the burglary of the park's maintenance facility on
December 9th were recovered four days later.  Rangers and Navajo police
officers were able to pinpoint the location of the suspects by monitoring their
use of the stolen radios as they repeatedly used their names and locations when
communicating with each other.  Three juveniles were arrested during another
burglary attempt at a Chinle school building at 2 a.m. on the 13th. 
[Superintendent, CACH]

95-779 - Systemwide - Follow-up on Government Shutdown

Additional reports regarding the impacts of the three-week shutdown have been
received.  If the shutdown had significant consequences at your area, please
send along a brief report:

* Saguaro - The park was closed during the two busiest weeks of the year
(Christmas and New Year's).  About $8,000 in entrance fees were
forfeited, and the park's natural history association lost an estimated
$35,000 in sales.  Two weddings and one filming permit were canceled, and
ten commercial use licensees had to curtail their activities in the park. 
Rangers were unable to close the entire park to the public due to
multiple access points and commuter roads.  During the closure, rangers
investigated nine serious motor vehicle accidents, made several resource
damage cases, and made eight DUI arrests (a record high) and one major
felony arrest.

* Everglades - Yesterday's Morning Report stated that Flamingo Lodge and
Marina, managed by TW Services, had estimated a loss of close to $60,000. 
That figure should have been $600,000.

* AOC/WASO - Due to the shutdown and subsequent blizzard, the Accounting
Operation Center was closed from December 18th to January 11th.  Only
about half of the AOC staff made it work yesterday because of snow and
ice-related commuting difficulties.  Since the center processes several
thousand payments, receipt distributions, expenditure transfers and
related financial transactions daily, there was a tremendous backlog of
work on hand when employees returned, along with more at the post office
and awaiting transmittal in field offices.  All work on hand and incoming
will be processed oldest first.  Overtime will be authorized until AOC is
caught up; assistance will be sought from other offices and parks.  It
will take at least a month to get current - if there are no more
closures.  The last payments (commercial, grants, travel and relocation
reimbursements, imprest funds, etc.) sent to Treasury prior to the
shutdown were those scheduled through December 19th.  All payments
processed prior to the shutdown for payment by January 11th were sent to
Treasury for disbursement yesterday morning.  No receipts, reimbursables,
debt collections, report distributions, reconciliations or other
activities have been processed since the shutdown began.

[Jon Shrum, AOD/WASO; Paula Rooney, CR, SAGU; Roberta D'Amico, PIO, EVER]

95-792 - Indiana Dunes (Indiana) - Assist; Felony Pursuit and Arrest

On December 20th, county police sent out an advisory to be on the lookout for a
vehicle which had fled the scene of an injury accident by driving through a
fence onto an interstate highway.  About 25 minutes later, ranger Rich Eshenaur
spotted a vehicle matching the description which was traveling about 30 miles
above the speed limit on the state highway which passes through the park. 
Eshenaur pursued the vehicle for eight miles at speeds between 45 and 65 mph,
during which time the car crossed the centerline several times and almost
crashed into parked vehicles.  Units from several local agencies assisted and
finally stopped the vehicle by blocking it in.  The driver, G.C., was
arrested for leaving the scene of an accident, DWI, fleeing arrest, and the
stop sign violation which caused the accident.  A check showed that G.C. had
recently escaped from federal custody in Indianapolis and that he had a history
of escapes from federal custody.  He was taken by U.S. marshals to a maximum
security facility in Kansas.  Eshenaur was commended by local officers for
spotting the vehicle, even though the broadcast description was sketchy.  [Dick
Littlefield, CR, INDU]

96-04 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Follow-up on Blizzard Impacts

All known stranded parties were reached and evacuated by 4 p.m. on January
10th.  All park residents had also been reached by that time except for one
family at Skyland, but plans were to get through to them yesterday.  Since more
snow will fall today, most park residents and the park's winter rescue
equipment were moved yesterday to nearby motels for staging.  Snow removal
equipment was also pre-positioned.  Investigations and follow-up on clues from
observation flights are continuing; as of yesterday, the team had closed out 21
searches, but two were still underway.  [Greg Stiles, SHEN]

96-07 - Shenandoah (Virginia) - Death of Employee

Bobby Smith, 47, a motor vehicle operator in the South District, was found dead
at his residence by his wife upon her return from work at 7:30 a.m. on January
11th.  The coroner has tentatively determined the cause of death to have been a
heart attack, which probably occurred during the night.  Bobby had worked for
the park since 1973.  He was assigned to the Operation Snowdrift incident as a
V-plow operator on January 9th and 10th and was on out-of-service/rest status
at the time of his death.  Preliminary investigation has revealed no
irregularities in terms of hours worked, exertion, or other problems.  A safety
analysis had also been conducted prior to publication of the incident action
plan.  Upon receipt of the news, operations were halted for half an hour to
allow employees to assimilate the news and to conduct a thorough safety review. 
Critical incident stress debriefings are underway, and liaison has been
established with the family.  [Greg Stiles, SHEN]

96-08 - Hawaii Volcanoes (Hawaii) - MVA with Fatalities and Injuries

On the afternoon of January 8th, K.J., 22, and her 14-month-old
daughter, both from Colorado, were killed in a two-car accident in the park. 
Their car, which was being driven by K.J.'s juvenile brother, a local
resident, apparently crossed the centerline and was struck broadside by a car
being driven in the opposite direction by C.R., 44.  C.R., and
his passenger, David Trail, were taken to Hilo Medical Center and are both in
intensive care.  The juvenile was treated and released.  Approximately 20
people from several agencies responded to the accident.  Fatigue is believed to
be a factor in the cause of the accident.  Charges are pending for both the
accident and for a quantity of packaged marijuana found in one of the vehicles. 
[Scott Hinson, WRO]

96-09 - Pu'uhonua o Honaunau (Hawaii) - Storm Closures

Heavy surf from 10 to 15 feet in height struck the park on Wednesday, causing
damage to the Place of Refuge, picnic area road, and interpretive trail south
of the picnic area.  Because of this, the Palace Grounds, Place of Refuge and
picnic area have been closed and will remain closed until the waves subside and
clean-up can be completed.  [Jerry Shimoda, PUHO]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Yellowstone (Wyoming) - Update on Wolf Reintroduction

Plans are underway to continue the restoration of the gray wolf in Yellowstone
and central Idaho this winter.  Private funds are being used to augment the
federal monies allocated for capturing and transporting wolves from Canada to
the restoration sites.  Operations will be similar to those in the original
reintroduction effort.  Wolves will be captured in northeastern British
Columbia, radio collars will be installed, and the collared wolves will be used
to help Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian biologists to locate and capture
about 30 wolves from several different packs.  About half will be released into
the Idaho wilderness without acclimation; the remaining half will be
transported to the park and acclimated in pens for 10 weeks prior to their
release.  The wolves will be released in late March or early April, prior to
any denning activity that might occur among breeding pairs.  Since three wolf
packs now occupy the park and at present have home ranges in Lamar Valley,
additional wolves penned in Lamar may be transported to the southeastern
portion of the park for release after the acclimation period.  Wolves penned on
Nez Perce Creek and at Blacktail will be released on site.  Some historic
reports suggest wolves lived in the Firehole Valley, where there are resident
herds of bison and elk.  ["Yellowstone Wolf Tracker', YELL]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

1) Continuing Resolutions - Two continuing resolutions (CRs) were enacted last
weekend.  The first one allowed us to bring everybody back (with back pay) in
order to provide "visitor services."  Based on that act, the Director sent out
a memo instructing all employees to return to work for their normal shifts and
to conduct all work in normal fashion.  Employees were also advised in the
message that WASO would be attempting to sort out the meaning of the "visitor
services" condition as soon as possible and determine what implications it
might have on our ability to do all of our work.  The second CR extended the
Service's authority to spend money at FY95 levels until January 26th WITHOUT
CONDITION.  This means that the determination as to what is included in a
definition of "visitor services" will not become relevant until then.  All work
therefore ought to continue normally until further notice.  [Jim Giammo,
Budget, WASO]

MEMORANDA

No memoranda.

OBSERVATIONS

The following quote was sent along by Chuck Harris at Cape Lookout:

"The kings of England formerly had their forests 'to hold the king's game,' for
sport or food, sometimes destroying villages to create or extend them; and I
think that they were impelled by a true instinct.  Why should not we, who have
renounced the king's authority, have our national preserves, where no villages
need be destroyed, in which the bear and panther, and some even of the hunter
race, may still exits, and not be 'civilized off the face of the earth' - our
forests, not to hold the king's game merely...but for inspiration and our own
true recreation?  Or shall we, like the villains, grub them all up, poaching on
our own national domain?"

                                     Henry David Thoreau, from "Maine
                                     Woods"

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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