NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, May 17, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-209 - Yosemite (California) - Flooding

The park was closed yesterday morning due to flooding from the Merced River. 
At the time of the report in mid-morning, the river was two feet above flood
stage and still rising.  Some people in campsites were evacuated to higher
points, and there was only limited travel in and out of Yosemite Valley.  The
park was on flood watch until noon.  [CRO, YOSE]

96-210 - Jefferson National Expansion (Missouri) - Flooding

Due to recent heavy rains in the Missouri and Mississippi River valleys, the
Mississippi rose dramatically at St. Louis and was expected to crest
yesterday at 36 feet, about six feet above flood stage.  This would place the
eastern edge of the park under approximately five feet of water.  Some
resource damage was expected in the area.  Flooding has caused an increase in
May's already seasonally high visitation.  [Beth Stout, Acting CR, JEFF]

96-211 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado) - MVA with Fatality

R.H., 35, of San Antonio, Texas, and a friend were riding their
motorcycles on South Rim Drive at 8:30 a.m. on May 14th when R.H.'s
companion noticed in his rear view mirror that R.H. was no longer
visible.  He turned back to look for him and found him lying unconscious in
the middle of the road.  He asked a passing motorist to call for help.  The
park's chief ranger and a maintenance employee were the first park staff on
scene.  Although R.H. had a slight pulse and was still breathing, he soon
went into full arrest.  CPR was begun and Montrose responding paramedics
provided advanced life support, but R.H. was pronounced dead on arrival
at the Montrose hospital.  He succumbed from massive head injuries, even
though he was wearing a helmet and had been driving at only 35 mph.  Evidence
at the scene indicates that he struck a deer.  [Linda Alick, CR, CURE]

96-212 - Monocacy (Maryland) - Assist; Fleeing Felon

A county deputy spotted a vehicle being driven in an erratic manner with no
lights on at a shopping mall near the park around 2 a.m. on May 12th.  He
attempted to stop the car, but the driver, subsequently identified as 20-
year-old J.F., sped south through the battlefield and eventually
crashed through the fence of a park neighbor.  J.F. then fled on foot into
the park, and the deputy lost him in the dark.  The county asked ranger T.W,
Kopczyk to assist.  He joined state and county units and a dog team from a
nearby city in the search for J.F..  The dog team found him hiding near the
bank of Bush Creek, which was very swollen due to severe thunderstorms which
had struck the area.  J.F. attempted to cross the stream, but a deputy and
state trooper nabbed him before he got across.  They made it to the opposite
bank, where they were picked up by a state police helicopter.  J.F. was
charged with DWI, fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest and several other
traffic violations.  The car had been stolen from J.F.'s aunt.  [T.W.
Kopczyk, PR, MONO]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE SUMMARY

                                                                     %   Est
State      Unit                Fire          IMT     5/16     5/17  Con  Con

AK    State/Kenai NWR        Hidden Creek     T2    5,200    5,200   NR  5/18
      State                  Prator Lake      --      120      120  100  CND 

FL    Ocala NF               Major #1         --      800    1,510   40  6/1

Heading Notes

     Unit --    Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
                or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
                district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
     Fire --    * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex; LSS =
                limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
                strategy
     IMT --     T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
     % Con --   Percent of fire contained
     Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
                containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report

FIRES AND ACRES BURNED

                NPS     BIA      BLM     FWS    States     USFS      Total

Number            1       0        2       1        72        4         80
Acres Burned      0       0      230     280     1,058       20      1,588

COMMITTED RESOURCES 

               Crews     Engines     Helicopters     Airtankers     Overhead

Federal           25        42           17               2            133
Non-federal       14         1            4               0             40

CURRENT SITUATION 

Fire activity decreased in most areas yesterday.  Very high fire indices are
being reported in Colorado and southern California.  Most units in the
Southwest continue to experience very high to extreme fire danger.

NATIONAL OUTLOOK 

NICC has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for gusty southwest winds in northern New
Mexico.  

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 5/17]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No submissions.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Update on Aircraft Overflight Issues - There have been a number of recent
developments regarding the Service's efforts to resolve park overflight
issues:

o On May 11th, Frederico Pena, secretary of the Department of
Transportation, travelled to Rocky Mountain to announce the publication
of a notice of proposed rule making which addresses the request by the
park, state officials (city, county, and state), and virtually the
entire Colorado Congressional delegation to ban commercial sightseeing
flights over the park.  The proposed rule suggests a number of
alternatives, including a total ban, limits on operations, voluntary
agreements, and a combination of any of these alternatives. 
Development of a final rule will begin at the close of the 90-day
comment period.  This unprecedented action is the result of sustained
efforts by the park, the directorate, and DOI officials, working in
conjunction with officials from the Department of Transportation.

o The Pacific West Field Area's (PWFA) resource stewardship conference in
San Francisco the week of April 29th included a workshop on natural
quiet/park overflights.  Panel members included Dr. Wes Henry, NPS park
overflights coordinator; Dr. Jim Foch, NPS sound consultant; Dr. Dick
Hingson, conservation coordinator for the Angeles chapter of the Sierra
Club; Brian Calendine, chief of FAA's Las Vegas operations unit; Art
Schneider, manager of the "WhisperJet" helicopter retrofit program for
Papillon Air Tours; and Steve Oppermann, Intermountain Field Area
(IMFA) park overflights coordinator.  The work group produced a
template for use by PWFA in assessing and refining its natural quiet
policy and in determining necessary actions.  This will be placed on
the overflights bulletin board when completed.

o An NPS sound/noise monitoring meeting is currently underway in Denver. 
It has brought together many individuals from around the NPS who are
concerned with how the NPS should collect sound data for characterizing
both the natural quiet and natural sounds which need protection and the
intrusive noise sources that need to be addressed.  The group will
endeavor to address the best format for collection of sound/noise data,
data storage, data analysis, equipment, etc.  

o Steve Oppermann met on May 6th with Dr. Bob Wood, head of helicopter
research and technology development for the Naval Postgraduate School
in Monterey, California.  Dr. Wood said that the objective of the
American Helicopter Society's annual helicopter design competition for
1996 is to design a fire- fighting rotorcraft.  Ed Nelson of Sequoia
agreed to travel to Monterey in the near future and meet with Dr. Wood
and his students (mostly DOD pilots) to give them the perspective of
Park Service employees who actually fight wild fires.  Dr. Wood also
said that NASA has established a National Rotorcraft Technical Center
(NRTC) at its Ames Research Facility at Moffett Field in Mountain View,
California.  He advised Oppermann to call Tom Snyder, NRTC's director,
to talk about the possibility of building NPS needs into NRTC research
projects for the next fiscal year.

Further updates will appear in future Morning Reports.  [Wes Henry, RAD/WASO]

Cluster Advisory Teams for Ranger Activities - As part of the overall
reorganization taking place within the Service, cluster advisory teams (or
chief ranger advisory groups) have been formed to address issues within
Ranger Activities operations.  WASO Ranger Activities would like to establish
a directory of such cluster advisory teams (CATs) currently in operation
throughout the NPS, as the presence, location and make-up of existing CATs
are not widely known outside of individual clusters and/or field areas.
Communication, cooperation and collaboration between these different CATs is
accordingly either limited or non-existent.  In order to mobilize and better
utilize these largely untapped resources, existing CATs are requested to
submit the following information via cc:Mail to Tarsha Edwards in Ranger
Activities: The name or title of your cluster advisory team, the field area
name, the SSO and/or cluster name, a roster of team members (individual names
with their parks and telephone numbers), the charter or authority of the
group, and the groups's role and function statement.  If appropriate, provide
a short synopsis of issues being addressed by your CAT.  WASO Ranger
Activities will compile a national directory of cluster advisory teams and
disseminate this information to the field.  Subsequent efforts will be
directed toward better networking these groups, sharing work products and
possibly establishing a dedicated bulletin board.  [Pete Armington, CR, ISRO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

Historic Fire Truck Available - The Calaveras District of the California
State Park system is looking for a good home for a 1934 Studebaker fire
truck.  This truck had an early association with the National Park Service,
as it was originally used at Sequoia/Kings Canyon.  In the late 50s or early
60s, the truck was transferred to Angel Island during the time that area was
administered by the Service.  When California State Parks inherited the park,
the engine came with it and has been there ever since.  The body is in good
shape.  As far as can be determined, the only stock items missing are the
headlamps, siren, and radiator cap.  The engine needs work (but does run),
and the upholstery needs replacing.  Photos are available at Redwood
National/State Parks.  If interested, contact Alan Fieldson at REDW at 707-
464-6101 ext. 5053; arrangements can be made for viewing the photos.  All
other information can be directed to Wayne Harrison, Associate State Park
Resource Ecologist, California State Parks, at (209) 795-3488.

OBSERVATIONS

"Let's get away from the idea that man is always and invariably an intruder
in the wilderness, in nature.  He has changed nature greatly, sometimes
wisely, sometimes with the most appalling lack of wisdom.  But man is as much
a part of nature and the natural scene as a sequoia or a bear or an eagle. 
For some reason, we consider the Indian in his ancient habitat a part of the
natural scene; actually all men are part of it. The more they make themselves
a part of it without changing it foolishly, the better off they are."

                                Herbert Evison, former chief of
                                information, National Park Service,
                                from "Quotes: Conservation, Parks,
                                Natural Beauty," DOI, 1966

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please address requests
for the Morning Report to your servicing hub coordinator.

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

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