- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Thursday, September 11, 1997
- Date: Thurs, 11 Sep 1997
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Thursday, September 11, 1997
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
97-550 - Organ Pipe Cactus NM (AZ) - Labor Day Weekend Checkpoint
A multi-agency task force which included the NPS, Customs and INS
participated in a four-day checkpoint operation at the Lukeville border
crossing over the Labor Day weekend. Over 30 officers and rangers checked
north and southbound traffic. A performance by a gangster-rap singer in
Puerto Penasco, Mexico, drew numerous gang members from the Tucson and
Phoenix area. Southbound traffic lines extended to as long as two-and-a-half
miles into the park during the first two days of the weekend. Enforcement
actions included nine warrant arrests, three DUI arrests, 30 cases of
possession of alcohol by minors, 13 arrests for possession of narcotics,
eight seized vehicles, and numerous citations for concealed weapons, reckless
driving, speeding and failure to obey traffic orders. No accidents or major
EMS incidents occurred within park lands. [Aniceto Olais, CR, ORPI, 9/10]
97-551 - National Capital Parks East (DC) - Homicide Conviction
L.M., 20, of Washington, DC, was convicted in August in the death
of R.M. R.M.'s body was discovered along the shoulder of Suitland
Parkway on January 5th. The trail for co-defendant E.M. is scheduled
for October. [Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 8/21]
97-552 - Glen Canyon NRA (AZ/UT) - Drowning
L.M., 23, of Milan, Italy, was reported missing at the Coves on the
afternoon of August 30th. He was last seen in the water by his three
companions about 15 minutes before they became concerned and sought help.
Responding rangers were on scene within five minutes and divers arrived only
minutes later. L.M. was found 42 feet below the lake's surface about 30
feet from shore 30 minutes later. The underwater topography at that
locations consists of a series of sloping shelves with a sudden plunge to
depths of up to 120 feet. The victim was transported to Page Hospital and
was not pronounced dead until about an hour later. The incident is being
investigated by ranger Will Lebon. [Tomie Patrick Lee, CR, GLCA, 9/2]
[Additional reports pending...]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
Tue Wed % Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 9/9 9/10 Con Con
ID Boise District Blue Gulch -- 1,000 1,000 100 CND
OR Vail District * Wiser Creek -- - 200 100 CND
Burns District * Biscuitroot -- - 500 100 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
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
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FIVE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Saturday, 9/6 0 0 12 0 28 38 79
Sunday, 9/7 1 2 3 0 28 15 49
Monday, 9/8 6 4 5 0 59 33 107
Tuesday, 9/9 2 1 12 0 88 34 137
Wednesday, 9/10 2 3 19 0 23 72 119
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FIVE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Saturday, 9/6 92 82 11 4 39
Sunday, 9/7 60 31 9 7 0
Monday, 9/8 59 99 12 4 32
Tuesday, 9/9 23 65 8 2 2
Wednesday, 9/10 20 87 13 3 3
CURRENT SITUATION
Initial attack and large fire activity increased in the Northwest yesterday;
minor initial attack was reported elsewhere. Areas of the Great Basin,
northern Rockies, Southwest and California are reporting very high or extreme
fire indices.
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for strong gusty winds associated with a
cold front for central and southern Nevada.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 9/11]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Deputy Directors - Deny Galvin, who has been acting deputy director of the
NPS for several months, and Jackie Lowey, who has joined the NPS following
service as deputy chief of staff at the Department of Transportation, have
been confirmed by OPM as deputy directors of the National Park Service.
Their respective responsibilities are being worked out at present and will be
announced in the near future. [David Barna, Public Affairs, WASO]
Special Park Uses Update - There have been several significant developments
recently in the arena of special park uses:
o NPS-53 - The revised special park uses guideline will be available for
review some time this month. A procedure will be put in place whereby
you will be able to send a message to a computer in WASO Ranger
Activities and automatically receive a copy. A notice will appear in
the Morning Report when it is available. It is being sent this way
rather than delaying it in order to divide it into the level II and III
documents mandated by the new "director's orders" system. Comments
will be due back in by the beginning of June, 1998.
o Telecommunications Antenna Sites - The only section which will not
appear in the revised NPS-53 will be the subchapter on tele-
communications antenna sites. Comments from the Federal Register
notice are still being incorporated into the guideline and director's
orders and procedures. These revisions should be finished by next
month and out to the NLC for final comment. Once this is returned and
incorporated into relevant documents, a final, signed director's order
and procedures will be made available via cc:Mail for insertion into
the subchapter on same in NPS-53.
o Sale of Merchandise in Parks - It has been some time since the
publication of the special directive on sale of merchandise in parks
(95-11) and the subsequent explanatory memo. Both have been absorbed
in NPS-53. There are reports, however, that some people are repeating
actions that got the Service into trouble previously. The following is
a short preview of the entry in NPS-53 (approved by the solicitor) on
special events, dealing with this subject:
-- "In general, the sale of merchandise in the parks is prohibited
by 36 CFR 5.3, except for the sale of printed material as defined
in 36 CFR 2.52, and Special Directive 95-11 or in 36 CFR 7.96(k).
The sale of food in the parks is allowed, when permitted and
managed under a permit, and not in conflict with an authorized
concession. The sale of all other merchandise on park land,
including but not limited to T-shirts, clothing, and arts and
crafts, is prohibited.
-- "The possibility that the event is co-sponsored by the park or is
an athletic event does not alter these prohibitions. Further,
these prohibitions do not allow money to be collected or
solicited in exchange for prohibited merchandise because this
constitutes an impermissible sale of prohibited merchandise. The
charging of parking fees by a permittee for use of NPS property
is also prohibited.
-- "The sale of all merchandise and food in the parks that is
authorized under a concession contract or agreement with a
cooperating association remains permitted, provided the sale of
these items are made from indoor facilities, centers or similar
structures set aside and designated for the concessioner or
cooperating association."
o Special Park Use Instructor Training - A significant special park use
instructor trainer course will be held in mid-November. If you haven't
seen the announcement and would like to be considered, please contact
Chuck Anibal at Harpers Ferry. The course, which will be held on the
week of November 17th, is the first offered since the original NPS-53
was written in 1985-86. A second course may be offered in January, but
that's not yet certain. You must be fully occupied with special park
uses to qualify; a maximum of 25 people will be accepted.
o SPU Bulletin Board - Several people have requested that a WASO-based
bulletin board be established for special park use information. Many
of the issues that currently need to be addressed will be dealt with in
NPS-53. If, however, enough people are interested in a bulletin board,
further inquiries into the possibility will be made. Send your vote
along to me at the cc:Mail address below.
If you have any comments on these or other issues, please contact me at
Colonial NHP; my address is Dick S. Young at NP-COLO. [Dick Young, RAD/WASO
@ COLO]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
OBSERVATIONS
This section, which appears intermittently in the Morning Report, contains
observations regarding the National Park Service, the System and the several
professions of park employees.
Today's observation has been excerpted from a collection of quotations
entitled "John Muir: In His Own Words," compiled and edited by Peter Browning
(Great West Books, 1988).
"No dogma taught by the present civilization seems to form so insuperable an
obstacle in the way of a right understanding of the relations which culture
sustains as to wildness, as that which declares that the world was made
especially for the uses of men. Every animal, plant, and crystal controverts
it in the plainest terms. Yet it is taught from century to century as
something ever new and precious, and in the resulting darkness the enormous
conceit is allowed to go unchallenged."
John Muir, April, 1875, from an
article in "Overland Monthly"
* * * * *
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office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
pertaining to receipt of 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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