NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Friday, November 15, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-657 - Biscayne NP (Florida) - Follow-up on Ship Grounding

The "Selma Kosan," which will be removing the 1,000 tons of butadiene on the
"Igloo Moon" in order to lighten and refloat the ship, is docked in Miami,
awaiting a break in the weather.  Winds are currently blowing between 25 and
30 knots, with gusts to 40 knots.  Seven to twelve-foot seas are forecast for
the next few days.  [Gary Bremen, IO, BISC]

96-672 - Whiskeytown NRA (California) - Decoy Poaching Arrests

On three evenings during the recent big game gun season, the park positioned
a deer decoy along a park road.  Rangers, the park's criminal investigator
and state fish and game wardens apprehended ten people on charges associated
with the decoy.  Six were charged with unlawful shooting and spotlighting,
two were charged with felony firearms possession, one was charged with
possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, and the last was charged with
driving off a designated road when he attempted to steal the decoy by loading
it onto his truck.  A family was contacted and quickly removed from the area
after they set a small child on the decoy for photos.  One of those arrested
used the park entrance sign as a bench rest to shoot the decoy, and another
used number six bird shot, hitting the decoy in the side of the face.  The
decoy was of an Eastern whitetail deer, which is not indigenous to
California.  It was quite successful until the last night of the operation,
when word got out about it and incidents dropped off dramatically.  [Alan
Foster, CI, WHIS]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Gang Activity - Ranger Activities is seeking information on instances of gang
activity in parks.  The information is vital to the office's efforts to
prepare the parks to deal with this increasing threat to the safety of both
visitors and resources.  Please send copies of case incident reports or a
summary report dealing with gang activity in your park (including instances
of gang graffiti) to Bill Sanders as soon as possible.  Either fax the
information to 202-208-6756 or send it to William Sanders at NP-WASO-POPS. 
[Bill Sanders, RAD/WASO]

Omnibus Bill - President Clinton signed the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands
Management Act into law (P.L. 104-333, Stat. 4093) on Tuesday, November 12th. 
The following is a short summary of the law's key provisions, prepared by the
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs:  

o The principal components are the authorization of the Presidio Trust
and the acquisition of Sterling Forest.

o Five new NPS areas were created: Tallgrass Prairie NP (KS), Nicodemus
NHS (KS), Washita Battlefield NHS (OK), New Bedford Whaling NHP (MA),
and Boston Harbor Islands NRA (MA).

o One affiliated area was created: Aleutian World War II National
Historic Area (Unalaska).

o Three other areas were designated: Vancouver National Historic Reserve
(WA), Great Falls Historic District (NJ), and the AIDS Memorial Grove
(CA).

o Nine new heritage areas were created (with respective field areas
having lead responsibility): Coal (WV), Tennessee Civil War, Augusta
Canal (GA), Steel Industry (PA), Essex (MA), South Carolina, Ohio &
Erie Canal (OH), Shenandoah Valley battlefields (VA), and Hudson River
Valley (NY).  In addition, the law creates one heritage area to be
managed by the Department of Agriculture, America's Agriculture
Heritage (IA), modifies an existing area, Blackstone River Valley (RI
and MA), and proposes a study for extending the Illinois and Michigan
Canal Heritage Corridor (IL).

o The law modifies boundaries at Yucca House (CO), Zion (UT),Pictured
Rocks (MI), Independence (PA), Craters of the Moon (ID), Hagerman
Fossil Beds (ID), Wupatki (AZ), Walnut Canyon (AZ), Colonial (VA),
Cumberland Gap (VA), Big Thicket (TX), and Women's Rights (NY).

o The NPS administrative reform section provides the following: Employee
housing authorities, minor boundary adjustment authority, authority for
park administrative and visitors' facilities outside Zion NP,
elimination of certain reporting requirements, Senate confirmation of
the NPS director and establishment of two deputy directors,
reauthorization of the NPS Advisory Board, Challenge Cost-Share
authority, and cost recovery for damage to park resources.

o The law contains three recognitions, designating the Carl Garner
Federal Lands Cleanup Day, the Laura Hudson Visitor Center at Jean
Lafitte NHP (LA), and the Robert Lagomarsino Visitor Center at Channel
Islands NP (CA).

o The law authorizes a feasibility study of Calumet Ecological Park (IL).

o The law authorizes acquisition of Santa Cruz Island property in Channel
Islands NP (CA).

o The law authorizes two land exchanges: Anaktuvuk Pass in Gates of the
Arctic NP (AK), and Alaska Peninsula subsurface consolidation,
involving Aniakchak NM (AK)

o Two trails are included: A study is authorized for Old Spanish Trail,
and designates the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail.

o There are several Wild and Scenic River provisions: It establishes
permanent protections from development for Hanford Reach of the
Columbia River (WA), designates a 11.5 mile segment of Lamprey River
(NH), allows the state of WV to do fish stocking in New River Gorge
National River (WV), authorizes the Secretary to construct a visitor
center at New River and Gauley River, requires the Secretary to create
an access point to the Gauley River at Woods Ferry (WV), allows the
Secretary to acquire public access and parking areas at Eads Mill along
the Bluestone River (WV), provides protection for North St. Vrain Creek
from any dams or impoundments within Rocky Mountain NP downstream for
eight miles, and makes technical amendments to Wild and Scenic Rivers
Act.

o Commissions are extended at Kaloko-Honokohau NHP (HI) and Dayton
Aviation Heritage NHP (OH).

o The law recognizes African Americans by extending the authority for
Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation to establish a
commemorative work through October 27, 1998, authorizing the Secretary
to make matching grants to historically black colleges, and authorizing
the establishment of memorial in D.C. to Martin Luther King, Jr.

o The law recognizes Japanese Americans by authorizing the establishment
of a memorial in D.C. to Japanese American patriotism in WWII, and
placing land within boundaries of Manzanar NHS (CA) under NPS
jurisdiction.

o The law contains several provisions pertaining to American military
sites: it establishes the U.S. Civil War Center at Louisiana State
University, authorizes construction of visitor center at Corinth (MS),
authorizes study of Revolutionary War sites and War of 1812 sites,
authorizes the NPS American Battlefield Protection program, and
increases the authorization for completion of the relocation of the
highway around Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP (GA).

o Miscellaneous other authorities are contained in the law, including:
Removal of limitations on expenditure of funds for park buildings,
provision of authority for transportation of children to and from units
of system, provision of authority to use motor vehicles, fixed-wing
aircraft, and helicopters to control feral burros and horses, a
requirement that the Secretary allow 50 free-roaming horses in Ozark
SR, a provision for disposal authority for museum objects, an increase
in the amount available for expenditure on the VIP program, permission
to build a visitor center outside Rocky Mountain NP (CO), permission
for the town of Grand Lake to permanently maintain a cemetery in Rocky
Mountain NP (CO), permission to resume collection of fees for use of
Route 209 in Delaware Water Gap NRA (PA), revisions to regulations on
Glacier Bay cruise ships (AK), permission for the Boston Public Library
to distribute information on Boston NHP (MA), extension of the
authority for Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, authorization
of cooperative research authority for the NPS, authorization for the
NPS to contribute $3 million toward building of visitor center at
Natchez NHP (MS), permission to continue traditional fishing of red
fish within Katmai NP (AK), and elimination of  use of reservation by
Army Corps of Engineers at Ft. Pulaski NM (GA).

Questions about any of the law's 116 sections should be directed to Don
Hellman at 202-208-5675 or on cc:Mail at NP-WASO-POPS.  [Don Hellman,
OLCA/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

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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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