- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, October 2, 1996
- Date: Wed, 2 Oct 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, October 2, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-570 - Little Bighorn (Montana) - Employee Murdered
Clifford Nelson, a veteran seasonal ranger/interpreter who has worked at the
park since 1968, was found shot to death in his home in Seeley Lake, Montana,
on Monday, September 30th. The homicide is under investigation; no arrests
have yet been reported. Cliff was very proud to represent the National Park
Service during the many years he worked at the park, and had just completed
another season. He was an outstanding story teller and loved to share his
knowledge of the battle with visitors. Cliff personified the image of the
ranger/interpreter, and touched the lives of all who knew him. A memorial
service was held Monday evening at Seeley-Swan High School, where he taught
when not working in the park. A special scholarship fund has been
established in his honor. Contributions may be sent in care of the Cliff
Nelson Scholarship Fund, First Valley Bank, PO Box 720, Seeley Lake, MT
59868. [Gerard Baker, Superintendent, LIBI]
96-571 - Everglades (Florida) - DOI Helicopter Crash
A Department of Interior owned helicopter operated by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service crashed in the park about ten miles southeast of
headquarters just after noon on September 30th. The pilot and sole passenger
were unhurt and were picked up by a Coast Guard helicopter that afternoon.
The Bell 206 went down in an area of mangroves in a shallow, seasonally
flooded area several miles north of Florida Bay. Water depths at that
location ranged from several inches to a foot. The cause of the accident is
unknown, and an investigation is underway. The helicopter was being operated
by FWS under an agreement with the U.S. Geologic Survey. [Phil Selleck,
Acting CR, EVER]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Mon Tue % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 9/30 10/1 Con Con
WA Wenatchee NF Myrtle T2 40 40 40 NEC
NV Winnemucca District * Clear Creek T2 - 300 0 NEC
ID Boise NF * Zimmer Creek -- - 204 40 10/2
MT State * Rogers Mountain T2 - 350 NR NEC
* Antelope Creek -- - 2,000 100 CND
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; LPS = limited
protection status
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Friday, 9/27 0 0 2 0 40 8 50
Saturday, 9/28 0 1 8 0 19 11 39
Sunday, 9/29 0 1 3 0 19 9 32
Monday, 9/30 0 39 1 2 63 30 135
Tuesday, 10/1 0 0 7 1 40 10 58
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Friday, 9/27 36 111 14 0 101
Saturday, 9/28 41 86 19 6 227
Sunday, 9/29 35 82 19 3 199
Monday, 9/30 41 67 18 4 195
Tuesday, 10/1 48 74 19 2 104
CURRENT SITUATION
Fire activity increased yesterday in the northern Rockies and Great Basin,
but resource mobilization through NICC remained minimal.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast for southern Nevada,
Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. Temperatures will be within normal
ranges.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
National Park Service Budget - President Clinton signed the FY97 Omnibus
Appropriations Act on Monday night, thereby providing full year funding for
the National Park Service. Here are some key sections of the bill that
pertain to the NPS, as summarized by Jim Giammo from the budget office in
Washington:
o All park ONPS increases (except special south Florida increases) are
approved, as requested - a 3% across-the-board increase for all parks
($21.7 million), an enhanced across-the-board increase for 42 parks
($8.5 million), specific park operations increases for 39 parks ($13
million), and 6(c) benefits ($5.664 million).
o Of the $12 million requested in the resource management initiative,
only $2 million for inventory and monitoring and $2.5 million for CRPP
were approved.
o The training request (which included safety training and the Workers
Comp initiative) was not funded.
o Cyclic maintenance and cultural cyclic maintenance received $2 million
and $1 million increases respectively; all fixed cost increases were
accepted.
o Historic Preservation Fund grants-in aid were kept at FY 96 levels; the
National Trust appropriation was set at $3.5 million.
o Construction was funded at $163.444 million, an increase over FY 96.
o Land acquisition was funded at $53.915 million, also an increase over
FY 96. The sum includes $1.5 million for state administration, the
same as in FY 96.
o The fee pilot program has been expanded to 100 test areas and extended
through FY 1999.
o No funds of any kind can be used to prepare, promulgate, implement or
enforce any interim or final rules regarding any waters, non-Federal
lands, or lands selected by Alaska pursuant to the Submerged Lands Act,
Alaska Statehood Act or an Alaska native corporation (pursuant to
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).
Ticks and Disease - This is the third in a series of short reports on tick-
borne diseases prepared by Dr. Jerry Johnson of the Public Health Service:
Rocky Mountain spotted fever occurs primarily along the southern Atlantic
Coast, although cases also occur in the Midwest, the Rocky Mountain states
and on the Pacific coast. Most cases occur between April and September.
Three ticks commonly transmit the disease to man - the Rocky Mountain wood
tick in the west; the American dog tick in the east and in parts of the
Pacific Coast; and the "Lone Star" tick in parts of the east and in Texas,
Oklahoma, and Arkansas. About three to ten days after tick attachment, the
disease starts with a definite fever, often with chills, headache, or muscle
aches. A rash usually appears after one to three days of fever, usually on
the wrists and ankles. The rash at first resembles measles; it may later
spread to the rest of the body. Because they are more likely to be exposed
to ticks, children living in rural and suburban areas and children attending
youth camps are more likely to become infected. The disease is severe at all
ages, but it is more severe in adults, especially the elderly. It is
important to seek medical attention if you suspect you have been bitten by a
tick and especially if you are experiencing any of these symptoms. Timely
treatment is essential. In some areas ticks saved in a sealed container can
be submitted to the local health department for identification. If you have
any questions regarding tick-borne diseases, please contact the field area
public health consultant for your park.
MEMORANDA
"Facility Management Program Information Management," signed on September
27th by Associate Director, Park Operations and Education Maureen Finnerty
and sent to all field directors. An informational copy follows:
"Information management has become more important than ever for decision
makers to determine where and what has to be accomplished throughout the NPS.
With the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
driving performance-based programs, it is increasingly important that program
inputs, outputs and the resulting outcomes are well documented and in line
with mission goals.
"In the facility management field, program documentation is extremely
important beginning with reliable inventory and condition assessment data.
This information, followed by the development of a work program that
identifies a required level of maintenance necessary to maintain the park
infrastructure, is invaluable to document the resources needed to maintain,
repair or replace the infrastructure. The data will also document the
shortfall and backlog of maintenance work, information that is increasingly
important to the park, field offices, WASO, OMB and our appropriations
committees.
"We anticipate future facility management summary data calls from the budget
office concerning inventory and condition assessments, work planning and
accomplishment reports. This information will not only be used to support
performance-based budgeting at the park level, but also assist the budget
office in preparing the GPRA year-end report to Congress. It is, therefore,
extremely important to document an overall maintenance work plan and report
measurable accomplishments.
"To assist park managers in managing facility maintenance data, we recently
released an updated version of the Servicewide Maintenance Management Program
(MMP) software. Numerous improvements to the original software have been
made as recommended by a field task group that identified the short term
direction for this software. The Inventory and Condition Assessment program
(ICAP) has also been updated and is available upon request. Numerous off-
the-shelf preventive maintenance programs have also become available on GSA
schedule. While the NPS currently maintains and supports two Servicewide
Information Management software packages, MMP and ICAP, our office has no
objection to the use by parks of these off-the-shelf products as a short term
solution to supplement the use of the available Servicewide programs, if
desired.
"To meet the long-term goals of improving information management software, a
Servicewide Maintenance Advisory Committee (SMAC) has established a field
based work group to assist in this effort. The project methodology is
following the recommended 'Life Cycle' software review and development
process as specified by Federal Information Resources Management Regulations
and Federal Information Processing Standards. This effort is recognized as
the number one priority of SMAC.
"Please share this memorandum with all parks. If you have any questions
concerning this project please contact Kip Hagen at 202-343-7040."
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
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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