NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, January 8, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

97-776 - Death Valley NP (CA/NV) - Search and Rescue

S.B. of New York City began a 14-mile round trip day hike to
Telescope Peak - the highest peak in the park at 11,049 feet - at 9:30 a.m.
on the morning of January 4th.  The park was notified when he failed to
return to the trailhead for a scheduled pickup at 4:30 p.m.  Ranger John
Anderson began a hasty search for S.B. at 3:40 a.m. on January 5th. 
Representatives from the California Highway Patrol, Inyo County Sheriff's
Office and California Army National Guard soon joined the search.  S.B.
was located in Jail Canyon below the mountain's snow line just after 10 p.m.
that evening by a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) device.  Ranger Dave
Brenner was first to make voice contact with S.B., who was flown out by
helicopter.  At his debriefing, S.B. said that he'd attempted to take a
shortcut back to the trailhead when he realized he couldn't make the full
circuit and get back to the trailhead on time.  He was in good medical
condition despite being dressed in light clothing and carrying limited food
and water.  S.B. added that he thought the helicopter ride out was
"neat."  Ranger Ed Derobertis was the incident commander.  [Scot McElveen,
ACR, DEVA, 1/6] 

97-777 - Arches NP (Utah) - BASE Jumping

Ranger Kyle Nelson overheard BLM radio traffic about two parachutists jumping
from a cliff located within Arches NP and along the Colorado River on
November 11th.  The BASE jumpers landed in a clearing in a campground being
developed by BLM.  Nelson asked that the BLM employees witnessing the
incident detain the jumpers, which they did; rangers Nelson and Jim Webster
arrived shortly thereafter.  Investigation and interviews with the two
jumpers - B.C., 29, of Long Beach, California, and Dr. M.C.,
33, an emergency room physician from Lexington, Kentucky - revealed
that they had jumped from a high cliff facing the Colorado River called
Arches Point.  Both claimed that they did not know that the take-off point
was located within a national park.  Their equipment was immediately seized
and citations were issued two days later for air delivery (defined in CFR as
"delivering or retrieving a person or object by parachute, helicopter, or
other airborne means...").  Both paid their fines on December 12th and had
their equipment returned to them on January 3rd.  This is the first time that
BASE jumping activity has been confirmed at Arches NP, although several
reports have been taken in that area over the past three years.  BASE jumping
is occurring more frequently in the Moab area, and was broadly publicized by
an organized event on BLM lands last spring, with at least one more event
scheduled for later this year.  [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 1/7]

98-07 - Arches NP (UT) - Rescue

On January 2nd, M.C., 75, of Moab, Utah, was hiking with friends
in a side canyon off of Courthouse Wash, a major drainage running through the
park.  She slipped and fell on ice on a talus slope, breaking the head of her
right femur.  One person in her group went for help, while the rest found a
better location for her to rest, built a fire, and awaited rescue.  A large
rescue crew comprised of NPS personnel from all park divisions and from
nearby Canyonlands NP responded.  The extended carryout was hampered by
rugged terrain, cold, darkness, and multiple stream and ice crossings. 
M.C. is a fit woman and was in training for an upcoming local half
marathon.  Ranger Karyl Yeston was IC.  [Jim Webster, CR, ARCH, 1/7]

98-08 - Death Valley NP (CA/NV) - MVA with Fatality

G.M.C. of Weldon, California, was ejected from a Jeep Cherokee and
killed in the early morning hours of January 1st when the driver, R.C.,
failed to negotiate a sharp turn.  The Jeep went off the road and
rolled at least five times.  An ambulance crew responded and transported
G.M.C. to a medevac helicopter, but she died from her injuries
during the flight.  Rangers David Brenneer and Beth Meyers collected and
marked evidence at the scene for a later California Highway Patrol
investigation.  Speed and impairment from alcoholic beverages are thought to
have been contributing factors.  [Scot McElveen, ACR, DEVA, 1/6]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Update on Overflight Issues - There have been several significant
developments recently on overflight issues:

National rule development - The National Parks Overflights Working
Group's (NPOWG) recommendations on an FAA rule to manage commercial air
tourism over units of the system have been endorsed by both the
National Parks Advisory Board and the Aviation Rules Advisory
Committee.  Over the next two months, a rule will be drafted, with June
established as the tentative date for publication of a notice of
proposed rulemaking. 

Haleakala tour helicopter agreement - A letter of agreement, which
provides interim operating authority, has been signed by the park and
Maui Helicopter Tour Operators.  The letter delineates how and where
the operators will fly in the vicinity of Haleakala NP. The agreement
is consistent with NPOWG recommendations for the national rule for 
regulating commercial air tourism.  It is anticipated that the
agreement will be superseded by a formal air tour management plan once
the national rule goes into effect.  For further information, contact
Don Reeser at 808-572-9306 or Wes Henry at 202-208-5211.

Grand Canyon airspace rule development - Director Stanton and FAA
administrator Jane Garvey met recently to discuss the Grand Canyon
airspace rule development.  They have agreed to an independent
third-party review of noise modeling, and have agreed to explore a
different approach to setting noise standards for national parks.  It
is anticipated that a public meeting/workshop or other forum will be
held in the near future to allow stakeholders to discuss air tour
routes, notably in the western end of the Grand Canyon.  For further
information, contact Ken Weber at 520-638-7753 or Wes Henry at
202-208-5211.

Quiet helicopter for Grand Canyon - As was noted in a previous edition
of the Morning Report, the park has acquired a new helicopter, a Boeing
MD Explorer 900.  This helicopter is equipped with NOTAR system
technology, which makes it one of the quietest and safest helicopters
in the world.  The NOTAR system uses air from a controlled circulation
system in an enlarged tail boom for anti-torque and directional control
instead of a conventional tail rotor.  Inauguration of the use of this
helicopter puts the park at the forefront of the on-going effort to
restore natural quiet to the Grand Canyon.  For further information,
contact Mike Ebersole at 520-638-7878.

Additional information on these issues can be obtained by contacting Wes
Henry in Ranger Activities.  [Wes Henry, RAD/WASO]

MEMORANDA

No entries.

EXCHANGE

No entries.

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 submission was sent along by Amy
Vanderbilt at Glacier NP: 

"To look out on Glacier National Park's alpine beauty is to want to preserve
it and to protect it for our children and for our children's children.  That
is a responsibility that President Clinton and I take very seriously, not
only here in Glacier, but in all of America's special places...President
Clinton and I believe that preserving America's special places isn't just
good public policy, it really is a moral obligation... The parks and forests
and wilderness preserves can never be replicated in this country.  Our
responsibility to this land is one of the most profound and sacred
responsibilities we have.  And it really is a responsibility not only to each
other, but a responsibility that we owe to future generations."

Vice President Al Gore, Glacier NP,
September 2, 1997

                          *  *  *  *  *

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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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