NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Friday, October 30, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-16 - Hawaii Volcanoes NP (HI) - Follow-up: Volcanic Activity

The eruption of Kilauea Volcano, which began on January 3, 1983, continues.  
The following provides both background on the eruption and a report on
activity this month: The eruptive process is very dynamic, and can change
quickly.  Over the years, a mosaic of countless flows has buried 10 miles of
coastal highway to a depth of up to 75 feet and created nearly one square
mile of new land. Most of the time, lava is confined to tubes which transport
lava directly from the vent into the sea, a distance of about seven miles.  
Deltas of unstable new land are formed at the ocean entries.  The lava tubes
may rupture occasionally, producing surface lava flows, and at the same time
stopping or slowing the flow of lava into the sea. At this time, lava is
flowing into the sea at three points at Kamokuna, three miles east of the end
of the Chain of Craters Road in the park's Coastal District.  The easternmost
entry has been active since August, 1997, and is slowing dying because
ruptures in the main tube have diverted the lava elsewhere.  Such a rupture
in September, 1998, produced a surface lava flow which eventually reached the
sea just west of the August 1997 entry.  The September entry has built a
delta of new land 470 feet wide which extends out 560 feet from the former
shoreline.  Deltas or benches such as this one are notoriously unstable and
collapse without warning.  The largest collapse (25 acres) occurred a few
years ago.  Lava from another rupture reached the sea to the west of the
other entries on October 19th.  That flow has already built a 980 foot wide
bench which extends out 200 feet.  Although three miles distant, this
westernmost delta is now visible from the end of the road.  Red lava is
sometimes visible after sundown.  The Pu`u `O`o vent is producing all the
lava which is flowing into the sea.  The vent area is complex and slowly
changes, with new pits, cracks, and areas of collapse forming.  The plumbing
system is not clearly understood by geologists, but they have determined that
the entire area is unstable and hazardous.  Recent measurements put the
volume of lava erupted at 550,000 cubic yards per day.  [CRO, HAVO, 10/29]

98-700 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - Illegal Hunting 

Rangers made a number of illegal hunting cases on October 3rd, the opening
day for the deer bow seasons in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey (hunting is
permitted in the park):

o     Ranger Mike Fernalld encountered hunters who reported that an
      antlerless deer had been shot in an area where only antlered deer may
      be taken.  Fernalld followed fresh drag marks to a parked vehicle and
      saw an antlerless deer in plain view in the bed of the truck.  The
      driver, N.R., 28, confessed to shooting the deer. 
      N.R. was also cited for failing to tag the deer and for hunting
      with an invalid hunting license.  
o     Rangers Ron Matthews and David Dinger came upon a Jeep Cherokee with an
      antlerless deer on the roof carrier.  They found that the driver,
      J.K., 38, had illegally camped on the Appalachian Trail the
      previous night, then gone hunting in the morning.  He allegedly shot
      the deer on the east side of Kittatinny Ridge, then dragged it five
      miles to his vehicle on the west side of the ridge.  Investigation
      revealed that he had taken the deer at another location where the
      taking of antlerless deer was prohibited.
o     Ranger Fernalld received a report of someone shooting deer with a
      shotgun.  He obtained a description, and soon confronted 25-year-old
      D.W..  When D.W. saw Fernalld, he took off his orange hunting
      vest and concealed his shotgun near a tree.  Fernalld determined that
      D.W. was following a blood trail through the woods.  D.W. first
      claimed he was hunting squirrels, then admitted to shooting a six-point
      buck with bird shot.  He said that his plan was to find the deer, bring
      it back to the car, retrieve his bow hunting license, stick the deer
      with an arrow, then claim it as a bow kill.  Evidence at the scene
      indicated he'd also used one-ounce, 12-gauge slugs rather than bird
      shot.  D.W. denied shooting the slugs, but changed his story when
      confronted with the fact that the primer hits and extractor marks on
      the shell matched the firing pin and extractor on the shotgun and that
      this evidence would be used in court.  A second man hunting with
      D.W., 65-year-old S.S., was also hunting with a gun loaded
      with slugs, though he claimed to be hunting for squirrels.
o     The Pennsylvania District's wildlife enforcement team, acting on
      intelligence gathered by team members, apprehended four men who were
      shooting over bait.  The operation was conducted in conjunction with
      the Pennsylvania Game Commission.  Team members and a state warden
      entered the field before dawn and waited for the men to enter their
      stands, then arrested them for shooting over bait.  There were four
      bait piles in the area, each containing more than 50 pounds of shelled
      corn and sweet feed.  The hunters, all from the New York City area,
      confessed to having baited the area for several days.  Later that day,
      another hunter in a tree stand was cited for having cut down two trees
      to clear a shooting lane.

[CRO, DEWA, 10/19]

98-701 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Car Clout Suspect Arrested

On October 16th, Del Norte county deputies arrested L.K., 24, of
Crescent City, California, when he attempted to cash a check which he'd just
stolen out of a vehicle in that city.  Rangers were notified of the arrest,
as the deputies were aware that they'd been investigating eleven car clouts
that had occurred in the park over the previous three months.  Three rangers
assisted in the writing and execution of a search warrant at L.K.'s
residence.  Evidence located during the warrant will likely solve the
majority of the break-ins on park lands and another 20 county cases.  [Sharon
Hutkowski, PR, REDW, 10/29]

98-702 - Point Reyes NS (CA) - Poaching

A park permittee heard gunshots and saw several men along the road near his
house at 2:30 a.m. on October 18th.  He phoned a ranger at home, who
dispatched several other rangers to the area.  The ranger then heard several
more gunshots and saw a vehicle on the same road.  Rangers and deputies
conducted a felony stop of the vehicle and took three men into custody.  On
the vehicle floorboard were .22 caliber rifle shells, three skinning knives,
a sharpening stone, opened beer cans, and a small amount of marijuana.  A
four-point buck deer, still kicking, was found in the trunk along with a
frozen piece of another butchered deer.  Further evidence was found along the
road, including a .22 rifle that had been thrown into the brush, more .22
shells, and beer cans with bottom coding matching those found in the vehicle. 
The three men were booked on various federal and state poaching charges.  The
incident received extensive media coverage.  [C. Strickfaden, PORE, 10/26]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

PARK DISPATCHES

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

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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