NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Thursday, December 10, 1998

                               *** NOTICE ***

           There was no Morning Report on Wednesday, December 9th.

INCIDENTS

98-749 - Gateway NRA (NY/NJ) - Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; Three Fatalities

On the morning of Monday, December 7th, park dispatch received a call from
M.G. of Easton, Pennsylvania, reporting that his brother and three
other men from Easton had gone to Sandy Hook to fish on Saturday but had
failed to return home.  M.G. thought that the foursome might be camping on a
small island near Sandy Hook.  Rangers met with family members who arrived at
Sandy Hook a short time later and located the camp on Skeleton Hill Island. 
New Jersey Marine Police provided access to the island, where three of the
men were found dead in the tent and a fourth was discovered just outside in
an incoherent state.  Carbon monoxide poisoning from a charcoal grill inside
the closed tent is believed to have caused the deaths of the three men.  A
park EMT provided initial treatment of the survivor, who was taken off the
island by boat and transported to a local hospital.  A local rescue squad
worked into the night with park staff and investigators to recover the
victims from the island.  The deceased were identified as X.G., 27, A.P.L.,
37, and H.N., 34.  A joint investigation into the accident is
underway.  While overnight permits are issued for the purpose of fishing,
camping is prohibited in the park.  Alcohol appears to have been a
contributing factor.  [Bruce Lane, Acting CR, Sandy Hook Unit, GATE, 12/8] 

98-750 - C&O Canal NHP (MD/DC) - Structural Fire; Probable Arson

Local 911 operators received a report of a structural fire in the Two Locks
area of the park on the evening of December 5th.  Several local fire
departments responded.  While on patrol in the area, ranger George DeLancey
saw flames of 50 to 100 feet in the Two Locks area and firefighters attacking
the blaze.  The fire was in the Old Carpenter House, which was completely
destroyed by the blaze.  An investigation of the fire, which has been deemed
suspicious in origin, is currently underway.  [Tom Nash, CHOH, 12/8]

98-751 - USS Arizona Memorial (HI) - Special Event

The National Park Service hosted the 57th anniversary commemoration of the
Japanese attack on Oahu and Pearl Harbor on Monday, December 7th, at the
park's visitor center.  A second ceremony, sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther
King Holiday Coalition, was held on park grounds immediately following the
traditional ceremony, during which participants remembered the 63 minorities
who died in the attack and commemorated 1998 as the 50th anniversary of the
integration of the armed services.  A concert was presented by the Navy's
Pacific fleet band later in the afternoon; it was dedicated to the members of
the Arizona's band, all of whom died in the attack.  The day closed with a
sunset ceremony held by the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association on the
visitor center's back lawn.  About 2,000 visitors and dignitaries attended
the special ceremonies along with the over 3,000 visitors who came to see the
park's regular programs.  Only one incident occurred.  A woman passed out and
was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where it was determined that she was
suffering from dehydration.  She was later released from the hospital. 
[Randy Wester, CR, USAR, 12/7]

                       [Additional reports pending...]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Fish Disease Discovered

Whirling disease has been found in native cutthroat trout taken from
Yellowstone Lake near the mouth of Clear Creek, located on the east side of
the lake.  In three separate independent test procedures, 11 out of 41 of the
fish sampled tested positive for the disease.  Although whirling disease has
been widely identified in streams in neighboring areas and is a major concern
of regional fisheries managers and anglers, previous routine samplings for
the disease in streams and rivers throughout the park were all confirmed as
negative.  Whirling disease is caused by a microscopic parasite that attacks
the cartilage of some fish, such as cutthroat or rainbow trout; the disease
does not appear to affect lake trout.  Although the parasite may not kill the
fish, the fish is unable to feed normally, which can result in starvation and
death.  The whirling behavior of an infected fish also makes it more
vulnerable to predators, such as lake trout.  Once the disease is present in
a fish, it converts to a spore form which is released into the water when an
infected fish dies and decomposes.  Whirling disease spores can survive in
this form up to 30 years or more until another appropriate alternate host,
such as tubifex worms, is infected.  This European disease was first
discovered in Pennsylvania in 1956 and has now been confirmed in 21 states.  
Insufficient data exists about the disease, such as transmission methods, why
some fish are more susceptible than others, alternate host life cycles, or
how the disease can be controlled and cured.  It is unclear what effect
whirling disease will have on the native cutthroat trout population in the
lake, which are already affected by the non-native lake trout first confirmed
in the lake in 1994.  Park biologists plan to test other cutthroat trout
around the lake.  Samples will be by-catch cutthroat trout taken during
gillnetting procedures being done to control and gather data on the lake
trout population.  Park biologists do not know how the disease reached the
lake.  The microscopic spore can be easily transported through water sources
from another area; mud on boats, waders, or other fishing gear; fish
entrails; birds; other live fish from another area; aquatic plants or weeds;
or other unknown methods.  As a precautionary measure, park anglers are being
encouraged to help park staff prevent further spread of the disease by
checking and washing off any mud that might be clinging to any fishing
equipment before departing from one fishing area to another and by not
transporting water, aquatic plants, or other fish from one river basin to
another.  [Cheryl Matthews, PIO, YELL, 12/9]

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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