NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Tuesday, January 27, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

98-35 - Blue Ridge Parkway (VA/NC) - Employee Fatality, Probable Suicide

At approximately 10 p.m. on Sunday, January 25th, D.P., a long-time
employee of the park's maintenance and engineering division, sustained an
apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at his residence near
Lynchburg, Virginia, and was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital. 
The fatal shot apparently was fired from an NPS-owned 9mm pistol assigned to
his wife, ranger P.W.P.  The investigation is continuing under
the lead of county sheriff's deputies.  [CRO, BLRI, 1/26]

98-36 - Point Reyes NS (CA) - Oil Spill

The second mysterious oil spill in as many months has come ashore in the form
of tar balls on several of the park's main beaches over the past week.  Some
520 birds, primarily common murres, have so far been affected by the spill. 
Park employees have recovered 351 dead oiled birds and 169 live oiled birds
since the oil was initially discovered on January 17th.  The source of the
spill is unknown; the Coast Guard and the state of California's oil spill
response team have collected samples and have sent them to laboratories for
testing.  The spill comes at a time when elephant seals are at Point Reyes
Headlands for breeding and pupping of young.  On January 25th, park
biologists observed 32 elephant seals with spots of oil on their skin.  Park
clean-up and wildlife monitoring efforts will continue throughout the week. 
[Don Neubacher, PORE, 1/26]
      
98-37 - Little River Canyon NRA (AL) - Kayaking Fatality

D.A., 49, of Birmingham, Alabama, was kayaking the Little River with
six friends on January 24th when he failed to negotiate the "Road Block"
rapid, struck a large boulder, and was knocked from his kayak into a large
hydraulic within the rapid.  His friends threw him a line, but D.A. was
unable to grasp it.  D.A. was soon overcome by the cold water and became
unconscious.  He was eventually washed from the rapid and taken to shore,
where his friends began CPR.  Rangers and local rescue squads with paramedics
were on scene quickly, but were unable to revive D.A..  A technical haul
system was employed to lift him to the rim of the canyon.  D.A. wa an
experienced kayaker with previous runs down the Little River.  This is the
second drowning of a kayaker on the river within a month.  A rainy winter has
contributed to more days of high water, which is required for navigation of
the river.  It is not uncommon to see 40 to 45 kayakers on expert class water
on weekends.  [Dwight Dixon, CR, LIRI, 1/25]

98-38 - Lake Meredith NRA (TX) - Attempted Suicide

Ranger Carl Dyer discovered J.M.W., 50, lying near the lake's edge at
Harbor Bay on the afternoon of January 22nd.  J.M.W. was breathing, but
unconscious and unresponsive.  She was flown by medevac helicopter to a
hospital in Amarillo, where she is recovering from a drug overdose.  J.M.W. had
been reported missing by her family the day before.  She recently lost her
job as a mental health therapist.  [Dale Thompson, CR, LAMR, 1/23]

98-39 - Presidents Park (DC) - Demonstration

Pro-life demonstrators gathered on the Ellipse on January 22nd to commemorate
the 25th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that
legalized abortion.  The group rallied on the Ellipse, then marched up
Constitution Avenue to the Capitol and the Supreme Court building.  "Refuse
and Resist," a New York-based abortion rights group, held a small
counter-demonstration near the Ellipse.  There were no significant incidents.
[Bill Lynch, RLES, NCRO, 1/23]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Bryce Canyon NP (UT) - Forest Health Survey

In 1995, park staff contacted the Department of Agriculture's Forest Health
Protection Office (FHPO) to seek assistance in establishing a baseline of
insects and disease agents in forested areas of the park.  In August of that
year, FHPO personnel conducted a systematic survey of same both in the park
and on neighboring Forest Service lands.  The survey documented the
percentage of trees affected by insects and disease agents, and found that
there was dwarf mistletoe in 50% of the Douglas fir in the park and 45% of
the Douglas fir in the national forest.  The report also made recommendations
for prescribed fire to address forest health issues.  The survey and report
were produced at no cost to the park.  This baseline information has over 50
data attributes on items such as tree density, basal area and disease
presence by type.  The information will be incorporated into the park's GIS
system.  [Richard Bryant, CRM, BRCA, 1/26]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

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 Jan
Kirwan at Everglades NP: 

"The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond
reach, it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the only home we
shall ever know and the only paradise we ever need - if only we had eyes to
see."

Author Edward Abbey

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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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