NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Wednesday, January 28, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

98-40 - Big South Fork NRRA (KY/TN) - ARPA Violation

Ranger Tim Grooms was on patrol in the Cat Ridge area of the park on January
24th when he came upon a vehicle which he believed might belong to a known
resource violator.  He staked out the vehicle and soon saw two men coming out
of the woods on an ATV with shovels, screens and other digging tools.  The
two men - J.S. and S.M. - admitted to digging in a rock
shelter.  They were escorted back to the shelter by rangers Grooms and
Melloan, where they confessed to digging two trenches totalling 27 feet in
length, three feet in width, and a foot in depth.  The park's archeologist
prepared a damage assessment the next day.  Felony charges are pending. 
[Frank Graham, CR, BISO, 1/27]

98-41 - San Antonio Missions NHP (TX) - Structural Fire

On the evening of Monday, January 26th, the parish priest who resides at
Mission Espada contacted the fire department after observing smoke issuing
from the historic church, which was founded in 1731.  Although it is still
operated by the Catholic Church and is not administered by the park, it is
the most significant resource at the site.  The interior of the church
suffered significant smoke and water damage; three religious statues dating
back to the 1700s were also damaged.  Preliminary investigation indicates
that the fire was caused by an electrical short.  Church and park officials
are still assessing the damages.  Local media coverage has been extensive. 
The park's staff has assisted with media contacts and logistical support at
the site.  [Dan Steed, CR, SAAN, 1/27]

98-42 - Fort Matanzas NM (FL) - Assist to Agency; Boat Beaching

Rangers received a call for assistance from the Florida Marine Patrol on the
afternoon of January 19th.  One of their 25-foot patrol boats had run aground
on the sandbar at the south end of Matanzas Inlet about a mile seaward of the
old fort.  Ranger Andrew Rich traveled to the sandbar in his 17-foot patrol
boat, but determined that he would not be able to manage a tow in the
prevailing four- to six-foot seas and 25-knot plus winds.  He radioed park
ferry boat operator D.O., who employed the facility's 26-foot boat to
tow the marine patrol boat clear of the bar.  D.O. credits his success in
this effort to the 40 hours of training he recently received in a motorboat
operator instruction certification course held at Biscayne NP.  [Bob Fliegel,
Chief of Administration, CASA, 1/27]

98-43 - Fort Laramie (WY) - Assist to Agency; Drug Arrest

During the early morning hours of January 18th, park guard Paul Joy saw a
suspicious vehicle adjacent to the park's boundary on a county road.  He
contacted the police chief in Fort Laramie, who subsequently stopped the
vehicle for a traffic violation.  A ranger from the park provided backup. 
The driver failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a foil pouch
with about a gram of methamphetamine in his possession.  Questioning led to
the discovery of significant inconsistencies in his statements and to the
suspicion that the vehicle contained contraband.  The vehicle was searched
and a quarter kilo of marijuana, scales, packaging material, a firearm,
$1,000 in cash and an address book listing the phone numbers of the driver's
local contacts were found and seized.  The driver also had a counterfeit
social security and a resident alien card in his possession.  It's believed
that he was serving as one of many "mules" for a major drug-running operation
in the eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska area.  Felony drug trafficking
charges are pending.  A joint investigation is underway.  The county road
running parallel to the park is evidently being increasingly used as a route
for drug shipments to the area.  [James A. Mack, Superintendent, FOLA, 1/22]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Badlands NP (SD) - Bighorn Sheep Restoration Program Update

Research conducted on the park's Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep population
between 1991 and 1995 resulted in a management decision to restore sheep to
areas of unoccupied but suitable habitat.  A dozen ewes and four young rams
were translocated to the area from the park's Pinnacles herd in October,
1996.  All 16 sheep survived the transplant and subsequent harsh winter. 
Three of the four young rams returned to bachelor groups in their original
herd during the spring.  By the end of last May, nine ewes had given birth to
ten lambs; during the period between mid-July and the first week of December,
six of those ewes died.  Although three fully intact carcasses were
recovered, only one animal was positively diagnosed with epizootic
hemorrhagic disease (EHD), a virus more often associated with white tail
deer.  Infected gnats are disease carriers.  The present population of the
translocated Cedar Pass herd is six ewes, six lambs (four female, one male,
one of unknown gender), one young ram, and a variable number of from one to
five mature rams.  Although the Pinnacles herd was through to be an
appropriate source population, it became apparent during capture operations
that a change in status in this herd had occurred.  A ground and air count
last October led to the discovery of fewer than five lambs, with a skewed
ewe-ram ratio of about 1:5.  While the population decline may be as much as
50%, no reason for the attrition has yet been established.  [Bruce Bessken,
RMS, BADL, 1/24]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

EXCHANGE

No entries.

                             *  *  *  *  *

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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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