NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, April 28, 1999

INCIDENTS

99-144 - Biscayne NP (FL) - Resource Damage Conviction

On February 8, 1997, M.C. ran his 50-foot vessel aground in
Biscayne Bay.  M.C. had set the vessel's auto pilot, then gone below deck. 
He eventually noticed that the vessel was shuddering and returned to the
bridge to discover that he was on a seagrass shoal.  M.C. continued to
power up the engines until they began to overheat, causing significant damage
to the shoal.  Ranger Steve Stinnet conducted the subsequent investigation,
and marine biologist/ranger Karen Battle completed an injury assessment.  The
damage caused by the grounding extended over 625 meters.  A plea agreement
was entered on April 21st.  M.C. pled nolo contendre to destruction of
natural features, a guilty verdict was entered, and he paid the park $64,125
in restitution.  The money will be used for site restoration and response
costs under 16 USC 19(jj).  [CRO, BISC, 4/23] 

99-145 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - ESA Prosecution, Conviction

On April 26th, R.O., 24, pled guilty in magistrate's court to one
count of unlawfully taking an endangered species (50 CFR 17.82 and 17.84(j))
and one count of possessing/discharging a firearm within a national park (36
CFR 2.4(a)(1)).  The charges stemmed from a March 11th incident in which
R.O. shot and killed a California condor in the park, and marked the first
prosecution undertaken for a violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) at
Grand Canyon NP.  R.O. was fined $3,200, ordered to forfeit the firearm used
in the commission of the violations, placed on a year's supervised probation,
and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service under the direction of
the park's wildlife branch.  The condor that was shot was part of the first
California condor reintroduction effort outside that state.  The bird was
released at the Vermillion Cliffs in March, 1996.  Fishermen reported finding
the dead bird on a rock ledge near the river several miles downstream from
Lee's Ferry.  The case was under investigation by NPS and Fish and Wildlife
Service special agents when R.O. turned himself in to Arizona Game and Fish
wardens in Flagstaff.  He told investigators that he'd gone to the river to
fish with three friends on the evening of March 10th.  They saw some birds
flying the following morning, and R.O. companions encouraged him to see if
he could hit the condor with his .22 rifle.  He did.  Rangers and state
wardens assisted in the investigation.  [Paul Berkowitz, GRCA, 4/26]

99-146 - Buffalo NR (AR) - Drowning

A 29-year-old woman was canoeing with a male companion on Steele Creek on
April 26th when the canoe hit a rootwad, knocking her into the water.  She
was caught in the roots and trapped underwater for 10 to 15 minutes before
she could be rescued.  Repeated efforts were made to resuscitate her, but she
was declared dead yesterday morning at Northern Arkansas Medical Center. 
[Ranger Activities, MWSO, 4/27]

99-147 - Lincoln Home NHS (IL) - Burglary

On the night of April 22nd, a thief removed the hinge pins from and pried
open a padlocked plywood construction door on the park visitor center,
entered the lobby, dragged the park's donation box out the door, broke into
it, and removed $700.  The visitor center intrusion alarm system was armed
and functioning properly.  Due to the construction underway on the building,
a motion detector had been temporarily relocated and mounted in a fashion
that prevented it from activating the system when the burglar entered.  A
Springfield police crime scene technician assisted rangers in processing the
crime scene.  A footprint and several latent fingerprints were collected at
the scene and are currently being examined for quality before being submitted
for computer analysis.  [Kathy DeHart, Chief of Operations, LIHO, 4/27]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Sun       Mon   %   Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident   IMT     4/25     4/26  Con  Con

GA   Okefenokee NWR          Hickory Island   --   12,620   13,797   16  NR 

FL   Florida NFs             Apalachicola Cx  T1    9,389    9,389  100  CND 

                                  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; LSS =
            limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
            strategy
IMT         T1 = Type 1; 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; LPS = limited
            protection status

NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (FOUR DAY TREND)

                    NPS    BIA      BLM     FWS    States   USFS     Total

Friday, 4/23         0     10         1       0      191     10       212
Saturday, 4/24       0      0         0       1       42     18        61
Sunday, 4/25         0      0         0       0      167     16       183
Monday, 4/26         0    110         1       0      267     26       404

TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (FOUR DAY TREND) 

                  Crews     Engines    Helicopters    Airtankers   Overhead

Friday, 4/23         6          9           1             0            10 *
Saturday, 4/24      33         27           5             0           277
Sunday, 4/25        23         49          15             0           215
Monday, 4/26        12         24           9             0            85

* Possibly partial reporting...

CURRENT SITUATION

Favorable weather conditions helped firefighters engaged in suppressing large
fires in the South.  Very high indices were reported in Florida, Georgia,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.  [NICC Incident
Management Situation Report, 1000 MDT, 4/27]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION

No entries.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

Two Oregon State Park Rangers Shot, One Killed - Rangers Danny Blumenthal,
50, and Jack Kerwin, 51, were conducting routine maintenance at Oswald West
State Park yesterday.  One of them went to inspect a bathroom; he emerged
with a man holding him at gunpoint.  According to the Associated Press
report, both rangers were then marched about 400 yards along a trail into
dense forest, where the gunman tried to tie them up.  He apparently became
frustrated at his inability to do so and shot both of them in the head. 
Blumenthal was killed; Kerwin lay motionless on the ground and played dead. 
Larry Cole, 52, was subsequently arrested following a high-speed chase.  He
was driving Blumenthal's truck.  Cole had not yet been charged at the time of
the report.  Police are looking for a second man and another vehicle that may
have been in the park at the time.  According to Bob Meinen, the state's
parks director, rangers are responsible for law enforcement but do not carry
guns.  The park is on the coast, 65 miles west of Portland.  [Associated
Press]

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

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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