NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Monday, November 18, 1996

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

96-662 - Lake Mead NRA (Nevada/Arizona) - Follow-up on Body Discovery

The county medical examiner has determined that the man who was found
floating face down in the water at Fortune Cove on the afternoon of November
11th died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds.  City and park investigators
located the man's relatives in the San Diego area and determined that the
victim had notified them on November 9th that he had a terminal illness and
planned to take his own life.  [Malcom DeMunbrun, CI, LAME]

96-668 - Adams NHS (Massachusetts) - Follow-up on Burglary

The joint FBI, NPS and Quincy police investigation into the theft of rare
books from the Stone Library continues.  Investigators have determined that
the thieves entered the library by sawing a hole in an antique door.  Some
specialists believe the theft was not the work of professionals and predict
that the books will surface fairly soon if the thieves attempt to sell them,
given the intense publicity on the eve of an international antiquarian book
fair in Boston.  Rare book sellers are faxing and phoning counterparts
throughout the world to forestall the possibility of dealers unwittingly
buying stolen goods.  Rangers from Boston NHP have been on site around the
clock since the burglary in order to maintain site security and control the
press, which has been relentless in its efforts to gain access to the crime
scene and to obtain confidential details on the incident.  The Service is
offering a $10,000 reward for the recovery of the books and the arrest and
conviction of the burglars.  [Bob Ditolla, LES, NESSO; Boston Globe]

96-673 - Joshua Tree NP (California) - Rescue

On November 4th, rangers received a report of a climbing fall near the Echo
Rock area.  M.K., 24, of Telluride, Colorado, was lead climbing
when he lost his grip; his protection failed, and he fell about 35 feet,
coming to rest at the base of the rock wall.  He was treated for a possible
fractured wrist and abrasions, then brought to the ground via a 100-foot
belayed scree evacuation and taken to a waiting helicopter that flew him to a
hospital in Palm Springs.  [Judy Bartzatt, CR, JOTR]

96-674 - Joshua Tree NP (California) - Rescue

A.S., 22, of Pomona, California, was set to rappel back to the
ground following a climb of the Spiderman route when his webbing unraveled
from his carabinier and he fell 80 to 100 feet, landing in a crevice at the
base of the rock wall.  He was treated for possible neck, back, leg and
abdominal injuries, then raised to the top of the rock wall and flown to a
hospital in Palm Springs.  As of last week, he was in stable in condition and
improving.  A.S. has so far undergone surgery twice, once each for his
ankle and back injuries.  [Judy Bartzatt, CR, JOTR]

96-675 - San Antonio Missions NHP (Texas) - Special Event

About 200 people participated in the filming of a portion of the television
mini-series "The Rough Riders" at Mission Espada on November 13th. 
Participants included a troop of mounted "Buffalo Soldiers" and a contingent
of Teddy Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" encamped in the mission compound.  The
series features actors Tom Berenger, Sam Elliott and Gary Busey.  Park staff
monitored all activities and worked closely with local law enforcement
officers.  [Dan Steed, CR, SAAN]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Badlands NP (South Dakota) - Fossil Discovery

The first fossil specimen of a mosasaur was found in the park on October
24th.  Part of the jaw and some vertebrae were recovered.  This marine lizard
lived in a sea about 75 million years ago and fed on fish.  Dr. Gordon Bell,
visiting professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and an
expert on mosasaurs, was a member of the field team.  The remains found are
from a juvenile that was about 15 feet long - perhaps half of adult size. 
It's hoped that additional fossil material and more stratigraphic information
will be revealed during subsequent field work.  While the park is world
famous for its assemblage of Oligocene/Eocene mammalian fossils and is the
birthplace of North American paleontology, older rock formations are slowly
yielding additional glimpses into the past.  Under the direction of park
paleontologist Rachel Benton, the understudied Pierre Shale formation of the
Late Cretaceous period has been subject to considerable scrutiny during the
last two years.  [Bruce Bessken, RMS, BADL]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Weapons Shipments to FLETC - Parks have been sending shipments of handguns
COD to the NPS office at FLETC.  The weapons are those being turned in by
permanent rangers who have received weapons of their choice.  Once checked
out by FLETC, they will be reissued to seasonal rangers.  FLETC has NO
mechanism for accepting items sent COD; shipments sent in that manner have
been returned to sending parks.  FLETC needs these weapons, but asks that you
pick up the mailing costs at the park.  [Paul Henry, NPS/FLETC]

National Park Week - The fourth annual National Park Week will be held from
April 21st to the 28th next spring.  The network of 1996 field coordinators
will soon be reactivated and will be provided with information on the event
as soon as it is available.  If you'd like to be a park coordinator or have
any questions, call Sue Waldron at 202-208-5477.  [Sue Waldron, WASO]

GPRA Implementation - As part of the NPS implementation of  the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the final draft of the National Park
Service Strategic Plan is now being sent out for Servicewide review.  Because
of GPRA's requirements, this version of the Strategic Plan looks quite
different from the 1994 edition.  It focuses on measurable outcomes, which
are results, rather than efforts or activities.  In order to finalize the
Strategic Plan so that parks and partnership programs will have it for use by
next March, all comments (written only, and referencing the title and
paragraph in the text rather than the page number) must be received by the
Strategic Planning in WASO by January 13, 1997.  Hard copies are now being
distributed servicewide; a WordPerfect 5.1 file (text only) is available on
the WASO: Strategic Planning bulletin board; an Internet version will be
available soon.  Please send your written  comments to WASO Strategic
Planning.  For more information on NPS and GPRA, see the WASO:Strategic
Planning bulletin board.  [Heather Huyck, Strategic Planning, WASO]

MEMORANDA

No submissions.

EXCHANGE

No submissions.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR

Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, conferences and events, and a second, which contains
workshops and training courses.  If you know of a conference, meeting,
workshop or training session with Servicewide interest and implications,
please send the information along.  Entries are listed no earlier than FOUR
months before the event, EXCEPT in instances in which registration dates
close much earlier.  Asterisks indicate new entries; brackets at end of entry
indicate source of information.  Brevity is appreciated.

11/21-23 -- "Presenting Ourselves: Interpretation of Community Issues and
Local Culture," American Association of Museums, Cincinnati, OH. 
Contact: 202-289-9114 (phone); 202-289-6578 (fax).  [Diane Vogt
O'Connor, CSD/WASO]

1/3  -- Papers due for 1997 Rocky Mountain Symposium on Environmental
Issues in Oil and Gas Operations, to be held July 14-17 at the
Colorado School of Mines.  The Geological Resources Division will
again co-sponsor this conference, now in its fourth year. 
Session topics will include pollution prevention, ecosystem
management, air and water quality, visual impacts and pad siting
and reclamation.  Contact: Bruce Heise at NP-WASO-GRD (cc:Mail)
or 303-969-2017 (phone).  [Bruce Heise, GRD/WASO]

1/8-12 -- "Seaports, Ships, and Central Places," 30th Annual Conference on
Historical and Underwater Archeology, Omni Bayfront Hotel, Corpus
Christi, TX.  Pre-conference heritage resource management
training seminars will also be offered.  Contact: Dr. David L.
Carlson, Texas A&M, 409-847-9248 (phone) or dcarlson@tamu.edu
(Internet).  [Vergil E. Noble, MWAC]

1/13-17 -- Use of Force Conference, Lindenhurst, NY.  Conference on use of
force in law enforcement.  Topics include use of force theory,
legal and practical aspects of police use of force, courtroom
testimony, and field tactics and practices.  Also includes off-
site practical simulation training and firearms training and a
police expo.  Contact: Deborah Girard via cc:Mail or at 717-828-
2321.  [Deborah Girard, DEWA]

2/5-8* -- "Monitoring Our Wildlife Heritage: What Do We Have, How Do We
Know?", Annual Meeting, Western Section, Wildlife Society, San
Diego, CA.  Contact: Dr. Reginald Barrett, 145 Mulford Hall,
Berkeley, CA 94720-3114; 510-642-7261 (phone); rbarrett@
nature.berkeley.edu (Internet).  [Kathy Jope, CCSSO]

2/17-20* -- "Integrating Spatial Information Technologies for Tomorrow," GIS
'97 Conference, Vancouver, BC.  Contact: Michael Rauscher, Forest
Service, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, 1577 Brevard Road,
Asheville, NC 28806; 704-667-5261 x 102 (phone); fswa/
s=m.rauscher/ou=s29a@mhs.attmail.com (Internet).  [Kathy Jope,
CCSSO]

                                *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
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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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