NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                           MORNING REPORT

To:        All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:      Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:  Thursday, June 4, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-218 - Glacier NP (MT) - Follow-up on Concession Employee Fatality

Efforts are underway to remove the three grizzly bears - an adult female with
two cubs - believed to have scavenged at the scene where concession employee
C.D.'s body was found on May 20th.  Although the park is still awaiting
the results of DNA tests to confirm the identity of the bear or bears
involved in scavenging on the body, the removal was deemed an appropriate
preliminary action.  The decision was made following review of the park's
bear management plan and consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, and international grizzly bear experts. 
The adult female has had a history of habituation to people and of
frequenting trails and developed areas.  She was trapped last year just
outside the park on Blackfeet tribal lands after approaching people and
licking barbecue grills in the area.  [Amy Vanderbilt, PAO, GLAC, 6/2]

98-223 - Denali NP (AK) - Follow-up on Search for Missing Volunteer Ranger

Extensive ground and aerial searches are continuing for missing NPS volunteer
mountaineering ranger Mike Vanderbeek.  Ranger Billy Shott and his patrol
team at the 14,000-foot camp on Mount McKinley have been able to search the
area where he disappeared with the high-altitude Lama helicopter.  A ground
search has also been conducted in areas where there's a high probability of
finding his body.  Several articles of clothing and equipment belonging to
him were recovered in this search.  Efforts will continue as weather permits. 
On June 2nd, a private memorial service was held on Mike's newly-purchased
land at Talkeetna.  A reception followed at the mountaineering center.  A
fund in his honor has been established by the family.  The Mike Vanderbeek
Alaska Outdoor Scholarship Fund will provide financial aid to students who
are pursuing careers outdoors.  Contributions can be sent to the National
Bank of Alaska, Wasilla Branch, 581 Parks Highway, Wasilla, AK 99645.  Those
wishing to express condolences and best wishes may write to Mr. and Mrs.
G.V. at 3290 Otero Circle, Littleton, CO 80122.  The staff at
Denali would like to express its sincere appreciation for the words of
encouragement that have been expressed by people from throughout the National
Park Service.  [Tom Habecker, Acting CR, DENA, 6/3]

98-255 - Gulf Islands NS (MS/FL) - Barge Grounding

A tanker barge carrying 280,000 barrels of petroleum, primarily gasoline and
jet fuel, ran aground on the western tip of Petit Bois Island.  The barge and
tug were actually in the channel at the time of the incident, but shoaling
from the tip of the island has reduced the depth of water in the channel. 
The fuel barge was built prior to the institution of current construction
standards and had only a single wall, which meant that any rupture to the
outer skin would have caused the immediate release of fuel into the water. 
The barge was moving when the accident occurred and some structural damage
may have occurred to its bow.  The barge grounded near low tide, though, so
the rising tide lifted it off the shoal.  None of the fuel leaked into the
ocean, and the barge continued to port for off-loading and further
inspections.  The incident was managed under the Coast Guard's version of ICS
in conjunction with the state of Mississippi, the barge's owners, and the
park.  A modified unified command system was employed (the incident occurred
just six days after a meeting between the park and Coast Guard port captain
regarding unified command of incidents affecting the park).  The incident
underscored the problems that occur when a ship channel is developed
immediately adjacent to an offshore island that gradually migrates with water
currents.  [Mark Lewis, DR, Mississippi District, GUIS, 6/3]

98-256 - Shenandoah NP (VA) - Ginseng Poaching

A park neighbor called on the evening of June 2nd and reported seeing a
person with ginseng roots in his possession near the Hazel River trailhead. 
Investigation revealed that the culprit was a resident of Etlan, Virginia. 
Ranger John Kinde and a park criminal investigator interviewed him and
obtained a full confession.  A total of 178 roots weighing about two-and-a-
half pounds were turned over along with a homemade satchel and digging
implement.  Misdemeanor Lacey Act charges are pending.  Rangers are working
with resource management staff on experimental replacement of ginseng roots
taken from the park in previous incidents.  [Ginny Rousseau, CR, SHEN, 6/4]

98-257 - Golden Gate NRA (CA) - Rescue; Attempted Suicide

On May 18th, ranger Matt Ehmann responded to a report of a fully-clothed
woman actively trying to drown in the ocean 100 yards off of Fort Point,
which is adjacent to Golden Gate Bridge.  Ehmann put on a wetsuit and rescue
fins, swam to the 45-year-old woman, and secured her in a rescue buoy.  The
woman kept attempting to roll over and turn her face down into the ocean and
screamed continually at a high pitch.  She became very combative when Ehmann
turned her face up out of the water.  Ranger Sam Eddy and Presidio fire
paramedics assisted Ehmann in hauling the woman out of the water.  She was
taken to a hospital for psychiatric observation.  Further investigation
revealed that she had a recent history of attempted suicide.  [Steve Prokop,
GOGA, 5/20]

98-258 - Blue Ridge Parkway (VA/NC) - Suicide

The body of 25-year-old S.M. of Thomasville, Georgia, was found at the
base of a 175-foot cliff just downstream from the Roanoke River Bridge on
June 2nd.  S.M. left his vehicle parked in the Roanoke River overlook parking
area on S.M. 28th.  Georgia officials advised that S.M. had not been home since
early April and that they had identified him as "an endangered missing
person."  A suicide note was found among items of personal property recovered
at the top of the cliff.  The terrain in the area made location and removal
of the body extremely difficult.  The operation was carried out jointly by
rangers and county deputies and fire and rescue personnel.  Ranger Ed Clark
was IC.  [CRO, BLRI, 6/3]

98-259 - Ozark NSR (MO) - MVA with Fatality

On the evening of May 30th, rangers were notified of an overturned vehicle
over the edge of a steep embankment on Highway 19 a quarter mile south of
Round Spring.  They found the body of C.K., 42, of Kansas City,
Kansas, at the scene of the accident.  He had been ejected from his vehicle
and fatally injured when it landed on top of him.  The Missouri Highway
Patrol is investigating.  [Tim Blank, Unit Manager, OZAR, 6/3]

98-260 - Lake Mead NRA (NV/AZ) - Drowning

Park dispatch received a report that a child had disappeared underwater at
Government Wash on the evening of June 1st.  The seven-year-old boy, a non-
swimmer, had been in the water with family members and had reportedly been
under for five minutes.  Rangers, a park ambulance, and a Flight for Life
helicopter responded.  Rangers Ryan Regnell and Paul Crawford, both divers,
arrived within minutes, geared up, and entered the lake.  Regnell found and
recovered the boy in 15 feet of water about 35 feet from shore within two
minutes.  Crawford and the volunteers aboard the ambulance led the
resuscitation effort and transferred patient care to the two flight nurses on
board the helicopter.  The boy was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas, where he
was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.  [Paul Crawford, LAME, 6/2]

               [Additional reports pending...]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Tue      Wed    %   Est
State      Unit             Fire/Incident     IMT    6/2      6/3   Con  Con

FL   Apalachicola NF        Holiday           T2    2,450    3,292   70  6/4
     Osceola NF           * Oak               T2        -      800   NR  NR

TX   State                * Allen Road        --        -      500  100  CND

MI   Huron NF               Tuttle Marsh      --      200      200   95  6/3

AK   Fort Greely            Carla Lake        T1   41,800   42,530    0  NEC 

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 I; 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 (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Sunday, 5/31         0      1         3       0        9      9        22
Monday, 6/1          0     14         3       0      200     19       236
Tuesday, 6/2         0      3         0       1       47      3        54
Wednesday, 6/3       0     16         5       0       57     11        89

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Sunday, 5/31        43         24          16            57*          175
Monday, 6/1         26         18          11             1            23
Tuesday, 6/2         3         16           5             1           217#
Wednesday, 6/3      28         58          18             1           405

This total is as it appears on the 5/31 situation report.

Figures do not include totals from Alaska.  

CURRENT SITUATION

Initial attack increased yesterday in the Southwest and the Rockies.  Large
fires continue to burn in Canada, Mexico and Central America.

Very high and extreme fire indices were reported in units in Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.  Park reporting fire dangers were as
follows: Extreme - Carlsbad Caverns NP; very high - Lake Mead NRA, Hawaii
Volcanoes NP; high - Big Cypress NP, Everglades NP.

NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for continued low humidity and sustained
winds of 25 mph or higher for New Mexico.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 6/4; NPS Situation Summary
Report, 6/3]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Cape Lookout NS (NC) - Pygmy Killer Whale Beaching

A young, seven-foot-long, 300-pound pygmy killer whale swam ashore and
beached itself on Shackleford Banks on May 30th and was greeted by a flood of
weekend beach-goers.  The whale was kept moist until a ranger and marine
stranding personnel could arrive.  After an initial assessment was completed,
the whale was put on a stretcher and transported by park boat across Beaufort
Inlet to the Duke University Marine Lab.  Pygmy killer whales are a rare
sight in North Carolina, and rarely seen even in their native tropical and
subtropical habitat.  This was the first one seen at the Duke lab.  It's
believed that the whale came in from the Gulf Stream.  Because of this and
the animal's apparent good condition, it was shipped off for rehabilitation
to Gulf World in Panama City, Florida, on a Coast Guard C-130.  The whale is
currently on antibiotics and Tagamet for stomach ulcers.  It's hoped that the
whale can eventually be returned to the wild.  [Jim Zahradka, SPR, CALO]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

"Status Report on Joint NPS Ranger-U.S. Park Police Relationships," signed
jointly on May 28th by the chief of US Park Police and the associate
director, park operations and education, and transmitted to the director,
deputy directors and regional director.  The full text follows:

"We thought it timely to give a brief update on our continuing endeavors to
effectively accomplish the NPS law enforcement program.  While we recognize
that the program is being accomplished by two separate organizational
entities who, for the most part, operate independent of each other, with
distinct missions, we are united in the fact that our goals and objectives
are the same - an outstanding law enforcement program which adequately
addresses the needs and demands of the public we serve and the resources we
protect.

POLICY:  We have drafted and circulated for review in headquarters and the
U.S. Park Police a single, general law enforcement management policy
statement which conforms with the provisions of DM-446.  When internal review
has been completed, this policy statement will be circulated consistent with
the provisions for review of other NPS Management Policies.

COMMUNICATIONS:  In addition to the periodic meetings between the Associate
Director, Park Operations and Education, and the Chief, U.S. Park Police,
WASO-RAD (Chief Ranger and Deputy Chief Ranger) and the Deputy Chief, Field
Offices Division,  U.S. Park Police will meet on a regularly scheduled
bimonthly basis.

REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT SPECIALISTS/SPECIAL AGENTS:  Two ad-hoc meetings
between these groups have been held following the initial joint meeting in
May 1997.  Deputy Chief Ben Holmes and former Deputy Chief Ranger Rick Gale
have tasked the servicewide law enforcement specialist and the law
enforcement program manager to develop a more formalized process for these
meetings with clear goals, objectives and products identified.

ROLE AND FUNCTION OF U.S. PARK POLICE/LAW ENFORCEMENT RANGERS:  WASO-RAD,
with the input from U.S. Park Police, is developing an orientation module on
the history, role and function of the U.S. Park Police which should be
presented as a part of NPS orientation courses.  Similarly, WASO-RAD is
reviewing the information regarding the history, role and function of NPS law
enforcement Park Rangers presented to new U.S. Park Police officers as part
of their orientation on the National Park Service.

"We believe we are making considerable progress in moving toward a more
unified and seamless National Park Service law enforcement program which
acknowledges the unique contributions of each of the law enforcement
components.  We ask your continued support for these and future initiatives
and welcome suggestions to improve this process and its products."

EXCHANGE

No entries.

                           *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
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.

                           --- ### ---