NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, March 27, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-116 - Santa Monica Mountains (California) - Landslide; Closure

A major landslide on March 22nd in a road cut on the Kanan-Dume Road and
subsequent slides have forced the closure of that road by Los Angeles County
until further notice.  About 35,000 yards of debris have been released from
the slope since the first slide.  Kanan-Dume Road is a major county road
crossing through the central section of the Santa Monica Mountains.  The park
will work with state oversight agencies to assure that the problem is
corrected and to ensure minimal impacts to park resources.  [Jon Dick, SAMO]

96-117 - Padre Island (Texas) - Assault and Disorderly Conviction

Major R.G. of the United States Air Force was convicted on March
22nd on several charges stemming from an incident which occurred in the
park's campground over the Fourth of July weekend last year.  R.G. was
found guilty of battery of a spouse, threatening a federal officer, and
disorderly conduct at a general court-martial at Shepherd Air Force Base.  He
was sentenced to 18 months confinement at Leavenworth prison; forfeiture of
all pay, allowances and retirement; and dismissal from the Air Force. 
Testifying were rangers Perky Wheeler and Bret Morris.  [Dan Wirth, ACR,
PAIS]

96-118 - Lake Mead (Nevada) - Homicide Victim Found

While investigating an off-road vehicle, ranger Gord came upon the remains of
a woman.  Investigation by the park's criminal investigator and by Las Vegas
homicide detectives revealed that the woman had been murdered and that she
was 37 years old and a resident of Las Vegas. The investigation continues. 
[Grace Gerken, Dispatch, LAME]

96-119 - Big South Fork (Kentucky/Tennessee) - Suicide Intervention

On the afternoon of March 20th, county deputies received a call from a man at
the Leatherwood Ford parking area who was threatening suicide and asking for
help.  A significant snow storm was in progress at the time.  Rangers
Brinkley and Flood responded in four-wheel-drive vehicles.  They talked to
the man, convinced him to seek treatment, and drove him to a hospital in Oak
Ridge.  Doctors told the rangers that the man was on medication and had not
taken it for five days.  They believed he was capable of carrying out his
suicide threat.  [Frank Graham, CR, BISO]

96-120 - Acadia (Maine) - Suicide

While walking on Sand Beach at 6 a.m. on March 25th, a visitor discovered the
body of a young man.  The victim, a 25-year-old Marine stationed at Quantico,
Virginia, but originally from Norton, Kansas, had shot himself with his
service-issued Glock pistol.  The state medical examiner pronounced death
from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.  The investigation is
continuing.  [Norm Dodge, CR, ACAD]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Shenandoah (Virginia) - Air Quality

Representatives from the National Park Service, Merck (the pharmaceutical
company), EPA, and the state of Virginia met in February to discuss Merck's
business and permitting needs for its Elkton, Virginia, facility, which is
only a few kilometers from the park.  Merck has recently developed a drug
that may cure the HIV virus, pending further tests and FDA approval, which
they intend to produce at Elkton.  Last November, Merck was selected as one
of seven "Project XL" projects as part of President Clinton's plan to
reinvent regulation.  Instead of being subject to standard air pollution
regulations, Merck has been given the opportunity to propose its own form of
control, as long as it can satisfactorily demonstrate an environmental
benefit.  Since Merck hopes to soon gain FDA approval and begin manufacturing
the new drug, their goal is to develop a final project agreement to enable
them to forgo compliance with traditional regulations by this May.  Extensive
meetings and teleconferences are planned.  [Abby Miller, WASO]          

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Radio "Narrowbanding" - On March 4th the Department of the Interior issued
OIRM Bulletin 96-03,stating that they have adopted the Public Safety
Communications Officers (APCO) Project 25 standards as the Department's
standards for narrowband radio operations.  They directed bureaus and offices
to purchase only radios and equipment which meet the Project 25 standards. 
The adoption of the APCO-25 standard reflects a movement by the Department
toward digital radio communications technology, which will continue to
support interoperability and provide better technology for security of
communications in law enforcement operations.  They foresee the day when
digital radios will approach the lower cost of current analog radios.  A
Departmentwide contract is planned for award in mid-1997.  The contract will
include both digital and analog narrowband radio equipment.  Special
Directive 92-7 is still in effect, which requires clearance of radio
equipment purchases.  In view of the foregoing, you should talk to your
technical support personnel for information on meeting the APCO standard
before planning procurement of radio equipment.  Cluster support personnel
tentatively identified for technical and/or management oversight are:
   
     o Alaska - Kyle Sinclair, Anchorage
     o Columbia Cascades - Mel Kossen, Olympic
     o Pacific Great Basin - Jim Purvis, Sequoia and Kings Canyon 
     o Rocky Mountain (Western Montana) - Don Martinus, Glacier 
     o Rocky Mountain (Colorado, Wyoming and Eastern Montana) - Jake Schild,
       Denver
     o Colorado Plateau - Jake Schild, Denver
     o Desert Southwest - Tom Bemis, Carlsbad Caverns 
     o Great Plains - Charlie Marshall, St. Croix NSR 
     o Great Lakes - Charlie Marshall, St. Croix NSR 
     o New England - John Lynch, Boston
     o Allegheny - Jim Wolf, Valley Forge
     o Chesapeake - Jim Wolf, Valley Forge
     o National Capital - Mike Barnhart, Catoctin 
     o Appalachian - Leon Folsom, Atlanta
     o Atlantic Coastal Plain - Leon Folsom, Atlanta 
     o Gulf Coast - Leon Folsom, Atlanta

Please contact them with any questions.  [Frank Weed, NP-FOTSC]

Fee Program - About 140 people, most of them responsible for their park fee
programs, attended the national fee program training session in Las Vegas
last week.  Annual training is normally conducted in field areas, but a
national gathering was deemed appropriate this year in order to assure that
all principals received the same operational information, maximize the
dissemination of new ideas, and achieve greater economy (Las Vegas remains
one of the least expensive meeting areas in the country).  The session
focused, among other things, on the details of draft fee legislation, new
technologies and innovations, rationales for park programs, and 1996 program
goals and directions.  [Tim Stone, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

OBSERVATIONS

The following is the last (for now) in the running series of park-related
quotes and was submitted by Steve Perlman at INDE:

"...all the political sentiments I entertain have been drawn...from the
sentiments which originated in and were given to the world from (Independence
Hall)...It was not the mere matter of separation of the colonies from the
motherland, but that sentiment in the Declaration of Independence which gave
liberty not alone to the people of this country, but hope to all the world,
for all future time."

                                   Abraham Lincoln, address at
                                   Independence Hall, February 22,
                                   1861

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

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