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Subject: NPS Morning Report: Ops Summary (3) - 5/9/99
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Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 16:25:57 -0400
9.3 Fire Management - Sue Vap
The Federal Fire and Aviation Leadership Council (FFLAC) formed an
interagency fire program management qualifications task group in 1997.
Their objective was to complete staff work on minimum qualification
standards for key fire management positions which would be acceptable to
all federal agencies with wildland fire management responsibilities and
to OPM. A draft interagency fire program management qualifications
guide is currently out for review, with a reply due date of June 1st.
In early March, Fire Management Program Center (FMPC) staff met with the
regional fire management officers (RFMOs). We agreed to establish a
fire management leadership board, which will be composed of the RFMOs
and the FMPC program leads. The board intends to primarily focus on
long-term strategic issues. Their purpose will be to frame issues,
establish broad objectives, and develop a strategic approach to meeting
those objectives. The board will likely be involved in some tactical
decisions on some issues, such as critical fire resource allocations.
9.4 Other Actions - Bob Marriott, Sue Vap
Other divisional actions include the following:
o DO-9, the new directors order on law enforcement, is moving
forward. The draft DO and resource manual are currently in the
Solicitor's Office and the Department's Office of Managing Risk
and Public Safety for final reviews. The DO should be out this
summer.
o DO-57, the directors order on health and fitness, has been
completed. The resource manual is being released in sections -
part one on medical qualifications was disseminated in mid-April,
part two, which will cover the occupational health and fitness
program, will be out in May. Information appendices will follow.
o DO-41, a new DOr on wilderness management, is currently in the
Policy Office for review and is due out this summer.
o DO-22, the directors order on fee management, is on hold, awaiting
final fee legislation.
o DO-51, which deals with emergency medical services, is being
revised by Sherry Collins at the Grand Canyon.
o The five-year NPS uniform contract expires this fiscal year. The
contracting officer at Harpers Ferry Center is overseeing
development of a request for proposals for a new contract.
o Gary Johnson has been selected as the aviation operations and
safety specialist at the Fire Management Program Center in Boise.
He comes to the NPS from BLM. Tim Sexton, formerly the wildland
fire specialist at IMRO, was selected for the fire ecologist
position here at the center. Both came on duty in April.
10.0 APPALACHIAN TRAIL PARK OFFICE - Pamela Underhill
On July 12th and 13th, the Appalachian Trail Park Office will sponsor a
meeting of federal Appalachian Trail land managers at Radford College in
Radford, Virginia, in conjunction with the 32nd biennial meeting of the
Appalachian Trail Conference. Meeting participants will include the
park superintendents and forest supervisors of the six national parks
and eight national forests crossed by the trail. The discussion will be
based on the premise that the A.T. derives benefit from diversity, but
that visitor satisfaction also requires that there be some consistency
in management policy across jurisdictions. Topics for discussion
include appropriateness of commercial use on the A.T., management of the
A.T. in designated wilderness areas, the trailwide visitor survey,
education/ interpretation initiatives, and integration of planning
efforts.
11.0 INTER-DIVISIONAL/INTER-DIRECTORATE PROJECTS
This section reports on significant projects that are underway either
partly or wholly within Park Operations and Education and affect more
than one division and/or directorate (i.e., operations, natural
resources, cultural resources, admin, etc.).
11.1 Environmental Leadership Initiative - Shawn Norton
The National Park Service is in the process of beginning a significant
new environmental leadership effort. Current representatives for the
AD/Operations and Education are Shawn Norton (FMD), Dee Highnote
(Concessions), and Bob Huggins (Interpretation). The objectives of this
effort are to improve NPS environmental performance, to strive to attain
sustainable practices in the construction, management and operation of
the parks, and to build working relationships with others to meet these
ends.
The specific goals for the NPS are:
o to meet or exceed all applicable environmental laws and
regulations in a cost effective manner, and to provide leadership
in working with suppliers, vendors and contractors to comply with
these same regs;
o to incorporate sustainable environmental considerations into the
agency's planning process and to work with others to address
mutual environmental concerns;
o to foster the sustainable use of natural resources;
o to measure agency progress in protecting the environment by
establishing internal control systems, with all employees
responsible for meeting these goals;
o to endeavor to use or reuse historic structures to conserve
materials and reduce waste, and
o to ensure that the public will learn that the NPS is an
environmental leadership organization when coming to parks.
A number of specific actions are underway or planned:
o A Servicewide coordinator will be hired who will be responsible
for implementation of the effort and for coordinating existing
programs to assure their success. The target date is the summer of
1999.
o A servicewide environmental audit program will be officially
"rolled out" in May. The program will evaluate NPS environmental
performance, including compliance with regulations and the use of
pollution prevention practices. Audits will also look at water
and energy conservation issues, among others.
o NPS concessions policy, concessions evaluation criteria, and
contract language are being updated. These will mandate that
concessioners operate and maintain their facilities in an
environmentally friendly manner. The target date is the fall of
1999.
o Development of hands-on information on specific environmental
problems, such as waste oil, waste pesticides, and waste
batteries, and on generic concessions operations, such as food
services and gas stations. These environmental fact sheets will
be available in May.
o Development of environmental leadership training for employees in
all career fields (probably a 40-hour course) which will be taught
by team instructors at various points around the country. The
target date for pilot training is October.
o Development of a new directors order on environmental leadership
and the integration of environmental leadership language in the
NPS management policies. The target date is June.
o Development of a Servicewide educational plan which will include
tools to reach visitors and employees.
An environmental leadership summit meeting was held in January and
attended by Director Stanton and by most members of the National
Leadership Council. Also attending was Assistant Secretary for Fish,
Wildlife and Parks Don Barry, who is a strong proponent and supporter of
this effort. The group endorsed the above and also came up with some
actions that need to be taken to make the NPS an environmental leader.
These included development of a three-year implementation plan and
setting GPRA-based goals. Participants also developed lists of
short-term and long-term actions that the agency will undertake.
Specifics will be distributed to the field through an all-employees
memorandum in May.
11.2 Leasing Regulations - Lars Hanslin
The National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 provided the National
Park Service with broad new authority to lease agency-owned properties
to the public. A work group will be meeting on May 11th to begin
drafting regulations implementing this authority. The new regs will
also incorporate and revise existing historic leasing regulations. The
work group will be comprised of representatives from the parks, regions
and Washington Office. The first meeting will likely take place in May,
and draft regulations may be ready within two months. They will then go
out in the Federal Register for comment for 60 days, and may be
completed and issued in final by late fall or early winter. The work
group will also prepare guidelines, model leases, and other directional
information.