NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                               MORNING REPORT

To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices

From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office

Day/Date:   Wednesday, October 27, 1999

                               *** NOTICE ***

Flags lowered to half staff on Monday in tribute to Senator John Chafee will
return to full staff on the morning of Saturday, October 30, 1999.

INCIDENTS

99-621 - Natchez Trace Parkway (MS/AL/TN) - Burglary

On August 3rd, the maintenance facility in the Cherokee District was broken
into and about $10,000 in equipment and tools were stolen.  Rangers and
county officers recovered evidence at the scene, including fingerprints, that
led to the identification of a suspect.  During the investigation, several
similar burglaries occurred in the area and at a TVA site in Muscle Shoals,
Alabama.  On October 9th, a warrant was served on S.H., 29, of
Tuscumbia, Alabama, by rangers, county officers, and TVA officers.  S.H. was
interviewed by ranger Dave Henry and confessed to the burglaries.  He has
been linked to ten felony burglaries, one of which occurred nearly a year
ago.  S.H. led officers to his residence, where some of the stolen items were
recovered.  S.H. has been released on a $50,000 bond.  [Tim Francis, Deputy
CR, NATR, 10/18]

99-622 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Bus Inspections
     
On September 29th and 30th, rangers conducted a commercial bus inspection
operation on the South Rim in conjunction with the Arizona Department of
Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Transportation.  The goal of the
operation was to ensure safety for park visitors by detecting mechanical and
driver violations on tour buses entering the park.  A total of 65 buses were
inspected; eight were taken out of service for serious mechanical violations,
one driver was placed out of service for a license violation, and eleven
citations were issued.  One bus was taken out of service on both days due to
leaking air brakes which had not been repaired as directed.  Another company
was cited for carrying unauthorized hazardous materials after extra bus
batteries were found stored in the baggage compartment of a bus.  NPS
concessions management staff also checked for compliance with incidental
business permit requirements during the inspection.  [David Brennan, DR,
South Rim, GRCA, 10/8]

99-623 - Delaware Water Gap NRA (NJ/PA) - MVA with Fatality

J.L., 79, of Elmhurst, New York, was heading east on Pennsylvania
Highway 739 near Dingmans Bridge on the afternoon of October 18th.  He failed
to negotiate the last curve before the bridge; his car went off the road and
tracked straight into a large tree.  There were no indications of braking or
any skid marks.  An off-duty New Jersey police officer stopped immediately
and rendered aid to J.L., who was wearing a seatbelt and had been further
protected by a deployed air bag.  He was conscious and suffering from only
minor external injuries, but complained of chest pain and tenderness to his
left lower leg.  Rangers and local firefighters and ambulance corps members
extricated him from the vehicle and prepared him for transport to a hospital
in Newton, New Jersey.  J.L. died the next day during emergency surgery for
complications arising from internal injuries suffered in the accident.  [CRO,
DEWA, 10/19]

FIRE ACTIVITY

NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level II

LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY 

                                                     Sun     Mon     %  Est
State      Unit              Fire/Incident  IMT      10/24   10/25  Con Con
 
CA    Shasta-Trinity NF      Big Bar Cx     AC/2T1 133,805  135,152  60 UNK 
      Los Padres NF          Kirk Cx        T2      86,700   86,700  85 UNK 

UT    State                  Beaver         --         300      450  90 UNK
                             Henefer Ledges T2         150      500  25 UNK

NV    Elko FO                Hanks Creek    --       2,000    1,200  70 10/25

TN    Big South Fork NRA     Grand          --         100      175 100 CND  

MT    Flathead Agency      * McDonald       --           -      500 UNK UNK

OR    Vale District        * Battle Creek   --           -      150  90 UNK

                                  Heading Notes

Unit        Agency or Area Office = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA
            state resource or ranger unit; RD = CA state ranger district;
            Region = CA state region; FO = BLM field office; District = BLM
            district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
Fire        * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex 
IMT         AC = Area Command; T1 = Type I Team; T2 = Type II Team; T3 = Type
            III Team; ST = State Team; FUM = Fire Use Management Team
% Con       Percent of fire contained: UNK = unknown; NR = no report
Est Con     Estimated containment date: NEC = no estimated date of
            containment; CND = fully contained; UNK = unknown; NR = no
            report; RBF = resource benefit fire, no containment action being
            taken; LR = last report unless significant activity occurs

CURRENT SITUATION

New fires were reported in the Northwest and northern Rockies on Monday, but
there was little activity elsewhere.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Oregon, California,
Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming.

[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 10/26]

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION 

Yellowstone NP (WY) - Snowmobile Air Pollution Study

A report has been completed by the NPS Air Resources Division that details
concerns over air quality stemming from snowmobile usage in national parks
across the United States.  The report is a compilation of studies completed
by a number of organizations, primarily in Yellowstone, including the Montana
Department of Environmental Quality, the Southwest Research Institute, the
University of Denver, the U.S. Geological Services, and the NPS.  The
studies, conducted over a four-year period, confirm the park's concerns over
the health effects of snowmobile emissions on park visitors and employees and
environmental impacts on the Yellowstone ecosystem.  Motor vehicles emit
several pollutants that EPA classifies as known or probable human
carcinogens, such as benzene and hydrocarbons.  The EPA estimates that mobile
sources account for as much as half of all cancers attributed to outdoor
sources of air toxics.  For a number of reasons, snowmobiles, which have
two-stroke engines, are much more polluting than automobiles, which have
four-stroke engines:

o     Up to one-third of the fuel delivered to the engine goes straight
      through without being burned.  
o     The lubricating oil is used once and is then expelled as part of the
      exhaust.  
o     The combustion process results in high emissions of air pollutants,
      including hydrocarbons or volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides,
      particulate matter, and carbon monoxide.  When compared to automobile
      emissions, snowmobiles can emit 100 times more carbon monoxide and 300
      times more hydrocarbons.
     
Although the number of snowmobiles that enter the park during a three-month
time period is much lower than the number of automobiles that enter the park
year-round (on average, one snowmobile for every 16 vehicles), snowmobile
emissions dominate the total annual emissions for carbon monoxide (78
percent) and hydrocarbons (94 percent) when compared to other mobile sources,
such as cars and RVs.  On a peak day (2,000 snowmobiles entering the park),
32 tons of hydrocarbons and 88 tons of carbon monoxide can be emitted. 
During a single winter season, as much as 1,200 tons of hydrocarbons and
2,400 tons of carbon monoxide can be emitted.  The study also found that
snowmobiles contribute approximately three percent of the annual nitrogen
oxide emissions and 37 percent of the particulate matter emissions.  One
study conducted in 1996 showed that concentrations of ammonium and sulfate in
snow positively correlated with snowmobile and oversnow vehicle use, as
levels of these pollutants generally declined a short distance from
snowpacked roads.  It was noted that there is a potential for these
pollutants to affect nearby surface waters during snowmelt and spring runoff. 
A study was conducted this year at the park's West Entrance to monitor
personal exposure for particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.  The
maximum time-weighted concentration of particulate matter on the 13th and
14th of February showed concentrations of 116 and 122 particulate matter,
respectively; the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for acceptable
particulate matter concentrations is 60.  To put this in perspective, the
maximum 24-hour particulate matter concentration in the Los Angeles suburb of
Azusa in 1997 was 68.  Under the Clean Air Act, the Service has an
affirmative responsibility to protect air quality related values - including
visibility - from the adverse effects of air pollution in areas that are
designated as "Class I."  As directed by Congress, Class I areas are to be
afforded the greatest degree of air quality protection and are permitted to
have only very small amounts of air quality deterioration from new or
modified major stationary sources.  Notwithstanding an area's designation
under the Clean Air Act, NPS areas that have documented adverse effects due
to air pollution must seek to mitigate or eliminate these impacts.  Some
steps have already been taken in the park to address these problems.  The
park uses biodegradable lubricants gasohol (an oxygenated fuel made by
ethanol splash-blended with regular or premium gasoline; this fuel can reduce
carbon monoxide emissions by 20-25 percent in automobiles) in its
administrative fleet, and the state of Montana has directed that its
administrative snowmobiles use low smoke or biodegradable lubricants. 
Longer-term goals for reducing snowmobile emissions are being addressed in
the winter use plan/draft environmental impact statement for Yellowstone and
Grand Teton National Parks and John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway. 
Those documents are out for public review until December 1st.  [PAO, YELL]

OPERATIONAL NOTES

No entries.

MEMORANDA

No entries.

INTERCHANGE

No entries.

PARKS AND PEOPLE

No entries.

                                *  *  *  *  *

Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please address requests
pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your servicing hub
coordinator.

Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.

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