NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                              MORNING REPORT
   
   
   To:         All National Park Service Areas and Offices
   
   From:       Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
   
   Day/Date:   Thursday, December 23, 1999
   
   INCIDENTS
   
   98-791 - Padre Island NS (TX) - Follow-up: Hazmat Investigation
   
   In September, 1998, rangers received a tip that a contractor paid to 
   remove hazmat materials from the park several months previously had 
   illegally placed barrels containing the materials on the beach in order to 
   make more money.  Following a lengthy investigation, a federal grand jury 
   month indicted J.S., 37, of Bartlett, Texas, on four counts of 
   false/fraudulent claims (18 USC 287) and one count of illegal management 
   of used oil under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 USC 
   6928(d)(7)).  J.S. subsequently pled guilty to one count of making a 
   false/fraudulent claim.  He was sentenced on December 15th. The judge 
   sentenced him to two months in federal prison, three years of supervised 
   release (including two months of home confinement, possibly with 
   electronic monitoring), payment of $19,000 in restitution in equal monthly 
   installments, and a $100 court assessment.  J.S. was allowed to 
   voluntarily surrender after informing his employer of the sentence and 
   getting his personal affairs in order.  [Phil Young, SA, IMSO, 12/21]
   
   99-617 - Yosemite NP (CA) - Follow-up: BASE Jumping Demonstration
   
   On Friday, October 22nd, professional stuntwoman J.D., 60, was killed 
   when her parachute failed to open while attempting a BASE jump from El 
   Capitan in Yosemite Valley.  J.D.'s jump was part of an organized act of 
   civil disobedience protesting the NPS air delivery regulations (36 CFR 
   2.17(a)), which make BASE jumping illegal in national park areas without a 
   permit. On December 13th, jumpers Henry Boger, Mick Knutson and Joseph 
   Weber pled no contents to charges of illegal air delivery in magistrate's 
   court in the park. Jumper A.B. pled no contest to aiding and 
   abetting the air delivery of others. Under separate plea offers, each 
   defendant agreed to a sentence of one year's probation, a $2,000 fine, and 
   payment of one-fourth of the $6,155 restitution for the cost of recovering 
   J.D.'s body. All parachute equipment used to make the illegal jumps was 
   permanently forfeited. [Dan Horner, SA, YOSE, 12/13]
   
   99-737 - White Sands NM (NM) - Missile Landing; HazMat Spill
   
   A Lance missile being tested on the nearby White Sands Missile Range went 
   awry and crashed in a remote area of the park earlier this week. The 
   liquid-fueled missile, which is about 20 feet long and three feet wide, 
   was travelling at supersonic speed when it struck and buried itself at an 
   undetermined depth in an alkali flat. A crater about 25 feet in diameter 
   resulted and quickly filled with water due to the high water table. 
   Hazardous materials are present. Park and Army personnel are working on 
   mitigation and compliance efforts. [Intermountain Morning Line, 12/22]
   
   99-738 - Olympic NP (WA) - Storm Impacts
   
   Heavy rains on the west side of the Olympic Peninsula on December 15th 
   caused flooding in several areas of the park. In the Mora Subdistrict, 
   located on the coast, flooding led to the evacuation of several people 
   from the LaPush reservation, which is located adjacent to the park.  
   District ranger Mark O'Neill and ranger Cody Cole responded at the request 
   of the Coast Guard and county sheriff's office.  They employed the park's 
   Zodiac to help move people from their residences in the flood area. 
   Several people had attempted to walk through the waters, but were forced 
   to turn back. Waters reportedly were more than two feet deep over LaPush 
   Road, which is the only road access to the reservation. [Bill Frazier, 
   Acting CR, OLYM, 12/17]
   
   RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, PROTECTION AND EDUCATION
   
   Submission pending.
   
   OPERATIONAL NOTES
   
   Study on Women in Law Enforcement - Director Stanton has established a 
   national task force to address allegations of gender disparity in law 
   enforcement positions within the NPS. The task force has been charged with 
   "studying the current working environment for female law enforcement 
   personnel and making recommendations for changes." As part of the study, 
   the group is seeking comments from all women in law enforcement through 
   focus groups and a survey. The focus groups will convene in Philadelphia 
   (January 11th), Atlanta (January 14th), Jackson Hole (January 19th), San 
   Francisco (January 21st), St. Louis (January 26th), and Albuquerque 
   (January 28th). If you're interested in attending, contact Mary Denery 
   immediately via cc:Mail or fax (202-219-2301). Responses are needed by 
   close of business on Monday, December 27th. Send her your name, phone 
   number, the meeting you plan on attending, and preferred session time 
   (there are three at each meeting - 9 to 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 
   and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.). 
   
   MEMORANDA
   
    "Implementation of Resources Careers," signed by the director on December 
   17th and sent to the directorate, field directorate, WASO office and 
   division chiefs and all superintendents. The text follows:
   
   "I am proud to announce the immediate implementation of the Resources 
   Careers program.  Resources Careers is a cornerstone of the National Park 
   Service's Natural Resource Challenge and our commitment to stewardship of 
   the cultural and natural resources within our care as well as the human 
   resources that comprise our workforce.  The Resources Careers initiative, 
   begun in 1994 by the Careers Council of the Vail Agenda, has the purpose 
   of defining and implementing a human resources development program for 
   resources management careers that will meet the stewardship needs of the 
   National Park Service.  
   
   "With this memorandum, I endorse the establishment of a career ladder of 
   GS-5/7/9/11 for 24 professional cultural or natural resources management 
   benchmark positions that include 5 interdisciplinary positions.  This 
   professional career ladder will be the norm for resources management 
   positions throughout the Service.  In addition, benchmark positions were 
   developed for 9 technician series at the GS-5, GS-6, and GS-7 grade 
   levels; however, service-wide career ladders were not established for 
   these positions. Professional GS-12 resources management position 
   descriptions are also provided for optional use and must be classified 
   locally by the servicing personnel office.  
   
   "The Resources Careers program is comprised of several components that 
   include position descriptions, evaluation statements, position management 
   guidance and implementation instructions, and the professional development 
   program guide.  The components of the Resources Careers program have been 
   developed by park managers, professional resources managers in cultural 
   and natural disciplines, and human resources professionals.  All 
   components have undergone thorough field review and testing.  
   
   "The dissemination of these materials is made available on the NPS 
   Intranet (www1.nrintra.nps.gov/careers/).  Each park and central office 
   will also receive the Resources Careers Manual, a notebook in which to 
   store Resources Careers materials downloaded from the web or copied from 
   the CD-ROM that will be included with the manual. 
     
   "To ensure the effective implementation of the Resources Careers program, 
   all NPS units and offices must conduct a review of the positions and 
   organizational relationships of all employees at or below the GS-11 grade 
   level who are assigned substantial resources management responsibilities.  
   Reviews and implementation must be completed by May 2000.
   
   "To assist parks with the implementation, each Regional Director and the 
   Associate Directors for Natural Resource Stewardship and Science and 
   Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships should designate at least 
   one person to be a collateral Resources Careers contact person.   Regions 
   should consider a human resources person as the primary contact augmented 
   by one or more experienced cultural and/or natural resources program 
   managers.   Names and telephone numbers of these individuals should be 
   provided to Kim Lewis, Personnel Management Specialist, WASO by email 
   Kim_Lewis@nps.gov or telephone (202) 208-7891.  Contacts should be 
   submitted no later than January 31, 2000.   Ms. Lewis will serve as the 
   lead Washington Office Human Resources contact on the implementation of 
   Resources Careers.
   
   "The foundation for effective natural and cultural resource stewardship in 
   the National Park Service is a fully professional staff of trained 
   resource managers and other NPS employees.  Leadership must have unimpeded 
   access to advice from resource professionals.  We must also ensure that 
   natural and cultural resources staffs have opportunities to advance and 
   achieve upper level management positions.  The full implementation of 
   Resources Careers is a critical step toward that end. 
   
   "I look forward to hearing a report on the implementation progress from 
   each Regional Director at a National Leadership Council meeting in early 
   2000.  Thank you for your support."
   
   INTERCHANGE
   
   No submissions.
   
   PARKS AND PEOPLE
   
   Harpers Ferry NHP - The park has advertised a GS-025-7/9 park ranger 
   (protection) position.  Job duties include resource and visitor 
   protection, emergency medical services, search and rescue (including river 
   and technical rescue, boat operations,  and technical climbing), and 
   wildland and structural fire suppression.  The park includes the Mather 
   Training Center and Harpers Ferry Center, and also provides emergency 
   response for 17 miles of the Appalachian Trail. Numerous training and 
   educational opportunities are available within commuting distance.  The 
   area features outstanding boating, river rafting, horseback riding, 
   hiking, bicycling, and rock climbing opportunities.  The position falls 
   within the Washington, D.C. area locality pay and is a required occupancy 
   position.  The vacancy announcement closes on December 27th and can be 
   found on USAJobs. Please contact chief ranger Larry Johnson at 
   304-535-6232 for more information.
   
   Crater Lake NP - Chief ranger George Buckingham is retiring on December 
   31st after 35 years of service with the NPS. His career included tours at 
   Mesa Verde, Tumacacori, Chaco Canyon, Glen Canyon, Dinosaur, Rocky 
   Mountain, Bryce Canyon and Crater Laek.  There will be a dinner at 6 p.m. 
   on January 13th at Grey Gull Restaurant in Klamath Falls. Send or call in 
   your reservations and/or scrapbook memories to Carolyn Hescock via cc:Mail 
   or at 541-594-2211 x 101. 
   
                               *  *  *  *  *
   
   Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by 
   park, office and/or regional cc:Mail hub coordinators.  Please address 
   requests pertaining to receipt of the Morning Report to your servicing hub 
   coordinator.  The Morning Report is also available on the web at 
   http://www.nps.gov/morningreport
   
   Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation 
   and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
   
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