NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, February 5, 1998

Broadcast: By 1000 ET

INCIDENTS

98-17 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MI/AL/TN) - Follow-up on Homicide

The investigation continues into the murder of T.L., 39, whose
body was found by visitors along the side of the road next to a wayside
exhibit in the Tupelo District on January 12th.  The coroner's report
indicated that the cause of death was strangulation, and that T.L. had
been involved in a fight.  Ranger Robert Winkles and an FBI agent are leading
the investigation, which is making good progress.  [Tim Francis, ACR, NATR,
2/3]

98-55 - Whiskeytown NRA (CA) - Drug and Weapons Possession Conviction

In July, 1997, the park's criminal investigator stopped a truck after one of
the occupants through a beer can from it.  A search of the truck led to the
discovery of marijuana and a 12 gauge, pump action, police-type shotgun.  The
driver, G.I., 24, was arrested; a juvenile was also arrested and
later convicted of drug possession.  G.I.'s case was to go to trial, but he
pled guilty to possession of a firearm as a convicted felon immediately
before the trial was to begin.  G.I. also admitted to felony burglary and
drug possession charges made by Redding police, and agreed to a two-year
sentence on the weapons charge.  Samantha Ross, 19, another passenger in
G.I.'s truck, was arrested in January on a warrant from federal district
court after an investigation revealed that she had provided false information
as an alibi for G.I.  [Larry Carr, CR, WHIS, 1/26]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Wolf Update

As of January 15th, close to the third anniversary of restoration of wolves
to the park, there were at least 85 gray wolves in the greater Yellowstone
population, including 22 adults, 15 yearlings, and 48 pups less than a year
old.  Free-ranging wolves made up nine packs.  Four wolves remained
temporarily penned following an incident of livestock depredation last fall;
plans are to release the captive wolves in the spring.  The largest family
continued to be the Rose Creek pack, which numbered 15 wolves living in the
western part of the Lamar Valley, although two wolves evidently left the
group recently.  Fish and Wildlife Service agents are investigating the
illegal shooting of two males from the Druid Peak pack east of the park last
December.  A federal district court judge, ruling in December on consolidated
lawsuits filed by James R. and Cat D. Urbigkit, the National Audubon Society,
and the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, found that the wolf reintroduction
program in Yellowstone and central Idaho violated the intent of section 10(j)
of the Endangered Species Act because of the lack of geographic separation
between fully protected wolves already existing in Montana and the
reintroduction areas in which special rules for wolf management apply.  The
judge wrote that he was "especially mindful of the concerted efforts of the
Government and wolf-recovery advocates to accommodate the interests of
stockgrowers and others who may be adversely affected by the wolf recovery
program," and reached his decision "with the utmost reluctance." He ordered
the removal (and specifically not the killing) of reintroduced wolves and
their offspring from the Yellowstone and central Idaho experimental
population areas, but immediately stayed his order pending appeal.  The
Department of Interior has asked the Justice Department to appeal the case;
meanwhile, until a final court order is issued, wolves will be protected and
managed as they have been to date.  In January, park staff arranged for the
capture and radio-collaring of 17 wolves from five packs as part of
long-standing plans to continue monitoring the progress of the recovery effort. 
The capture operations were completed without injury to either human handlers
or wolves.  Helicopter Wildlife Management, the organization which conducted
the operation, donated the equipment, personnel, and helicopter time used to
net-gun the wolves, and radio-collars were purchased with private donations. 
Another attempt to collar wolves from the remaining packs may occur in
February.  [Sue Consolo-Murphy, RMS, YELL, 2/3]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Employee Accidents and Illnesses - Reminder: The safety management
information system (SMIS) should now be fully implemented in all areas and
used to record all employee accidents, injuries and illnesses.  SMIS is
designed to produce a CA-1 form ("Federal Employee's Notice of Traumatic
Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation"), and, if the employee
so desires, file a worker's compensation claim.  SMIS can be accessed through
the Internet at www.nps.gov/riskmgmt, or www.smis.doi.gov.  If you do not
have direct access to the Internet but have a modem on your computer, set it
to dial 303-231-5982 or 5984.  If you have any questions, contact your
regional risk manager.  [Dick Powell, Chief, Risk Management, WASO]

PHS Update - The Public Health Service (WASO) will be providing the Morning
Report with periodic updates on important health issues which should be of
concern to some or all NPS employees.  Today's is on bats and human rabies.
Although rabies is a rare disease in humans, 35 cases in the U.S. since 1980,
it is almost always fatal unless the victim receives prompt medical
attention.  Dogs and wild animals, including raccoons, skunks and foxes, are
usually thought of as being the primary carriers of this disease.  But over
half of the human cases since 1980 (20 of 35) were associated with bats.  
This statistic was determined after testing the blood of human rabies
victims.  Twenty of the 35 human cases were infected with a rabies virus
strain associated with bats.  In over half the cases, the victims weren't
even aware of having contact with a bat.   In less than half the cases, the
victims recalled seeing a bat, but weren't aware of being bitten or scratched
by a bat.  These animals have small, needle-like teeth and claws. Bites and
scratches therefore easily go undetected.  Rabies also can be transmitted
when saliva or blood from an infected animal gets into mucous membranes -
eyes, nose or mouth - or comes in contact with open cuts or wounds.  Inhaling
bat excretions in caves and laboratories has also caused the transmission of
rabies.  Rabid bats have been reported from all 48 contiguous states, at
least once in Alaska, and once in Hawaii from a bat that had been
inadvertently transported from the mainland.  Rabies has been isolated from
at least 30 of the 39 North American bat species found north of Mexico.
Although the percentage of rabid bats is low, all bats encountered should be
considered rabid unless the bat is captured and found to be rabies free.  To
avoid contracting bat rabies, observe the following precautions:
     
Never handle a bat with your bare hands. 

If you find a dead bat on your property, use thick gloves, tongs or a
shovel to throw it away. 

If you find a bat in your house, catch it and contact your local health
department to have it tested for rabies. 

If your pet plays with a bat, contact your veterinarian and local
health department. 

Keep bats out of the house or other buildings by plugging holes into
the attic or other dark sheltered areas.  Put screens on windows. 

If there is even a possibility that you have been exposed to rabies,
talk to your medical provider about the need for rabies vaccination.
     
What to do if you get bitten or scratched:
     
Immediately cleanse the wound thoroughly to flush out the virus. 

Try to capture the bat to have it tested for rabies by your local
health department.

See a doctor immediately for follow-up and possible post-exposure
immunization.
 
Vaccination is strongly recommended if your work involves handling bats.  It
consists of a series of three injections.  Vaccination is also recommended
for those who are travelling for extended periods (>30 days) to rabies
endemic areas in Asia (except Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong), Africa and Latin
America.   If you have any questions, please contact your regional public
health consultant or park sanitarian, or call WASO PHS for more information
at 202-565-1120.  [Jerry Johnson, PHS/WASO]

MEMORANDA

"Responsibility for Cost Control of Line-Item Projects and the Servicewide
Line-Item Construction Program," signed by the director on January 29th and
sent to the directorate, field directorate, DSC and all superintendents.  An
informational copy follows:

"In my memorandum to the Directorate on October 17, 1997,I made a personal
commitment to design and construction of facilities within national parks
that are of high quality, incorporate sustainable practices, and that are
appropriate to their setting.  Critical decisions about each and every park
development project must be based on an assessment of associated costs and
benefits by comparison with other proposed work on a systemwide basis.

"Given the recent oversight and direction given by Congress to the National
Park Service to become a more fiscally responsible organization, I believe it
is critical to reiterate the responsibilities of each of you in the line-item
construction program.  These responsibilities are outlined in the 1995
Department of the Interior Report to Congress titled, 'Opportunities for
Improvement of the National Park Service Line Item Construction Program:
Definition, Control and Priority Setting.'

Overall responsibility for coordination of the line-item construction
program is vested in the Associate Director, Professional Services.

The role of the National Leadership Council is (a) to generate a
comprehensive development strategy, and (b) to help monitor planning
efforts of individual line-item projects through the Servicewide
Development Advisory Board.

The role of the Regional Directors is (a) to participate in the
National Leadership Council; (b) support preparation of clear,
well-grounded statements of park need; (c) hold accountable park
superintendents for their part in development of line-item projects;
and (d) provide the Associate Director, Professional Services, with
timely information about the scope, status, and costs of their
respective line-item construction projects.

The role of the Superintendent is to prepare high quality 10-238's and
to provide park input into the design process.  Superintendents will
closely monitor design efforts to ensure that only essential needs are
being met and that solutions are appropriate within Servicewide
development parameters.

The role of the Denver Service Center is to provide technical support
for line-item projects by qualified professionals.  As the senior
manager responsible for the line-item program, I will be actively
involved in decisions regarding projects with high cost/benefit ratios
and will hold accountable the Regional Directors, the National
Leadership Council and the Associate Director for Professional Services
for their efforts in this area.

"It was evident in the recent review conducted by the Servicewide Development
Advisory Board that many of the line-item construction projects lack
sufficient formal value analysis to justify the scope of the project in terms
of desired results and appropriate cost parameters.  I expect each of you to
work collaboratively to ensure that formal cost and benefit analysis is
conducted on all line-item projects.  Objective assessment of project costs
and benefits allows for rational consideration of design alternatives and
defensible cost conscious decisions.

To assist superintendents in their responsibility to choose cost-effective
solutions, I am directing that each line-item project package will be
designed to include one or more options that are 10 percent less than the
class C estimated amount and at least one alternative that is 25 percent less
than the class C estimate.  Without specific justification no alternatives
will be developed for the full budgeted amount.

"The National Academy for Public Administration (NAPA) will begin the
Congressionally mandated study of the Service's construction program this
month.  NAPA will be looking at the cost of constructing facilities in
national parks and making recommendations to improve the cost-effectiveness
of our facility development program.  As stewards of the National Park
System, each of us has an affirmative responsibility to look carefully at our
decisions and to make certain that we are developing the most cost-effective
quality facility that can be designed, constructed and maintained in the most
cost-effective way possible.  We will all be held accountable for our actions
toward this end.

"I appreciate your personal attention and cooperation in this critically
important program of the National Park Service."

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.  

"[Academics] must take at least some of the blame for having largely
abandoned, until recently, the importance of story-telling as the elementary
condition of historical explanation.  Story-telling...lies at the heart of
historical teaching and ought to be as much a part of the training of young
historians as the acquisition of analytical skills."

Simon Schama, from an article on
historical interpretation, "The New
Yorker," January 19, 1998

                            *  *  *  *  *

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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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