NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Monday, November 23, 1998

INCIDENTS

98-720 - Saratoga NHP (NY) - Poaching; Assault on Ranger

Seasonal ranger Robert Swatling responded to the sound of a gun shot near the
ranger station on the park entrance road just after dusk on November 17th and
came upon a man loading a deer into the back of a pickup truck,  When
Swatling approached, the man dropped the deer, jumped into the truck, and
took off at a high rate of speed.  He did not turn the truck's headlights on,
even through it was dark.  Swatling contacted chief ranger Jim Gorman, also
on patrol, and reported that he was pursuing the truck northbound on Route 4
toward Schuylerville.  Swatling called in the plate, got an identification,
and received word that state police were responding.  The truck ended up on a
dead end road; the driver then turned around and headed toward Swatling, who
had partially pulled off the road to avoid a collision.  The truck sideswiped
the cruiser, tearing off its bumper and rear panel.  The collision also
caused the cruiser's fuel pump sensor to shut down, temporarily disabling the
vehicle.  Swatling was not injured.  Shortly thereafter, state police
reported that they'd arrested the driver at his home in Northumberland as he
was removing his seven-month-old son from the child safety seat in the front
of the truck.  Neither the driver nor the child had sustained any injuries. 
Two rifles and a .357 revolver with one spent shell casing were found in the
truck.  The state's wildlife pathology lab is conducting ballistic tests on
the deer to determine if it was shot with the .357.  The suspect is G.D.F.,
a 31-year-old former seasonal protection ranger at Saratoga.  The
incident is being investigated jointly by rangers, state police, and the
county child protective services office.  G.D.F. has been charged by the
state with two counts of reckless endangerment and numerous state motor
vehicle violations.  He has also been charged federally with violations of
the Lacey Act and assault on a federal officer.  Numerous CFR violations are
also pending.  [Jim Gorman, CR, SARA, 11/18]

98-721 - North Cascades NP (WA) - Drug Seizure; Arrests

On November 17th, rangers, Customs agents and local law enforcement officers
arrested M.K. and R.C. in Seattle for possession of
18.5 pounds of high-grade marijuana with intent to distribute.  A vehicle was
also seized.  M.K., a Canadian citizen, had smuggled the marijuana into the
U.S. through the park.  At the time of their arrest, M.K. and R.C.
were on their way to San Francisco, where they intended to sell the marijuana
for $100,000.  District ranger Hugh Dougher was lead investigator.  There is
a thriving indoor marijuana cultivation industry in British Columbia at
present, with the extremely potent "BC Bud" selling for $7,000 a pound in Los
Angeles.  A number of groups utilize backcountry routes through North
Cascades NP to smuggle the marijuana south and cocaine north.  [Dan Walters,
PNRO, 11/18]

98-722 - Zion NP (UT) - Search and Rescue

A 42-year-old woman from Las Vegas, Nevada, became lost and spent the night
in a slot canyon on Saturday, November 14th.  The woman missed several of the
rock cairns marking the trail while returning from a day hike to Cable
Mountain, so instead followed a drainage that she felt would lead her back to
the trail.  She climbed down several pourovers and swam several pools before
becoming too cold and exhausted to continue.  She spent the night soaking
wet, standing on a rock surrounded by water. Her daughter, who was staying at
a hotel in Springdale, reported her missing at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. 
Ranger Jon Anglin was able to make voice contact with the missing woman by
mid-morning.  Anglin and rangers Scott Cooper, Tony Thaler, and Brent McGinn
reached her after swimming through deep pools of 48-degree water that
required the use of drysuits.  When found, the woman's oral temperature was
92 degrees.  She was dried, warmed, and outfitted with warm clothes and a
drysuit.  Her temperature began to rise before evacuation.  Since a vertical
evacuation was impossible, she was helped out on foot.  The evacuation
consisted of technical raisings at four locations, the highest of them 15
feet.  Seventeen park employees from various divisions participated in the
rescue.  The overnight low was 40 degrees.  [Tom Haraden, Assistant Chief
Interpreter, ZION, 11/19]

98-723 - Redwood N&SP (CA) - Search; Vehicle Break-In

On the evening of October 24th, two 13-year-old boys burglarized a house in
Hiouchi, a small community adjacent to the park, taking jewelry, a gun, and a
car.  One of the boys' parents spotted them near a trail in Jedediah Smith
Redwoods SP, but the boys fled from them.  A search was begun by NPS and
state rangers and county deputies.  While the search was underway, the boys
broke into a recreational vehicle in the state park campground and stole food
and camping items.  They were spotted, but again fled into dense vegetation. 
Two NPS rangers and a county deputy finally apprehended the pair near the NPS
park housing area just before dark.  [Sharon Hutkowski, PR, REDW, 10/29]

98-724 - Chickasaw NRA (OK) - Suicide

B.H., 27, shot himself after an argument with his ex-girlfriend in
a park picnic area on the afternoon of October 29th.  While sitting at a
picnic table, B.H. raised his shirt and showed her that he had a gun in
his waistband.  She screamed and ran for help, as B.H. had threatened
suicide in the past.  When she left, B.H. returned to his vehicle and shot
himself in the head with the revolver.  Responding rangers provided life
support until an ambulance arrived.  B.H. was flown to a hospital in
Oklahoma City, where he later succumbed from his wound.  [John Bandurski,
Acting DR, CHIC, 10/30]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

Guadalupe Mountains NP (TX) - Resource Management Burn

A multi-agency fire team of 58 individuals has been conducting a 400-acre
management burn in the heavily forested Bowl area of Guadalupe Mountains NP.
This is the first management burn in the relic forest of Douglas fir,
ponderosa and white pine, pinon, oak and juniper. The team has been igniting
and monitoring the understory since Sunday, November 15th.  Since the park
was established 26 years ago, fire has been excluded from the forest
ecosystem, causing unnaturally high accumulations of thick understory plants
and dead and down fuel.  The reduction in fuel resulting from this burn will
lower the probability of catastrophic natural fires in the future.  This burn
also establishes an anchor point for additional fuel reduction burns in other
parts of the Bowl. [CR, GUMO, 11/17]

PARK DISPATCHES

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND EVENTS CALENDAR

Two calendars alternate in the Morning Report on Mondays - this one, which
contains meetings, seminars, conferences and events, and a second, which
contains workshops and training courses.  If you know of a conference,
meeting, workshop or training session with Servicewide interest and
implications, please send the information along.  

Entries are listed no earlier than FOUR months before the event, EXCEPT in
instances in which registration dates close much earlier.  Asterisks indicate
new entries; brackets at end of entry indicate source of information. 
Brevity is appreciated.

Dates:      December 8 - 12
Meeting:    Association of National Park Rangers' Rendezvous XXIII
Location:   Holiday Inn City Center Hotel, Tucson, AZ
Details:    Invited keynote speakers include Director Stanton, Assistant
            Secretary Barry and Senator McCain.  Panels and workshops will be
            held on current NPS issues of interest to all employees.  Hotel
            reservations can be made by calling 520-624-8711.
Contact:    Bill Wade
Phone/fax:  520-615-9417; ---
E-mail:     jwbillwade@aol.com
Submitter:  Same

Dates:      January 13 - 16 *
Conference: America's Parks - America's People, A Mosaic in Motion
Location:   Fort Mason Conference Center, Golden Gate NRA, CA
Details:    National Parks and Conservation Association conference on race
            and diversity in our national parks.
Closes:     Registration closing date: Not given.
Contact:    Iantha Gantt-Wright
Phone/fax:  800-628-7275; ---
E-mail:     www.npca.org
Submitter:  Laura Loomis, NPCA

                                *  *  *  *  *

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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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