Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Search and Short-Haul Rescue
On the morning of December 29, X.X., 30, began a day hike down
the Hermit Trail, advising his wife that he'd return by 5 p.m. As X.X. was
returning to the rim that afternoon, a severe winter snowstorm blew in
and he became disoriented and lost the trail. X.X.'s wife camped overnight
in their vehicle at the trailhead awaiting him; when he failed to return
by the following morning, she reported him as overdue. An incident
investigator was immediately assigned and personnel were positioned at
the trailhead in case X.X. emerged. A hasty search was begun by searchers
in the park helicopter and on the ground, interviews were conducted with
backcountry hikers, and attraction techniques were employed. At 4 p.m.,
X.X.'s tracks in the snow were spotted from the helicopter and he was
found stranded several hundred feet below the rim near Pima Point. X.X.
was standing on a small ledge where he had bivouacked overnight. The low
temperature that night had been three degrees below zero. X.X. was wearing
only minimal clothing, which had become soaked, and did not have
adequate gear for the situation. Fearing that he would not survive
another night in sub-freezing temperatures, search managers decided to
extract X.X. immediately via helicopter short-haul. The operation was made
difficult by the limited remaining daylight, steep terrain with loose
rock, and snowy and icy conditions. Ranger Bil Vandergraff was lowered
to X.X.'s location via short-haul. X.X. was lifted out and taken to an
ambulance at Pima Point. He was evaluated and found to be in extremely
good condition considering the conditions he'd endured. X.X. was located
about three-quarters of a mile from the point where he'd deviated from
the trail. Hunter Bailey was IC; Marc Yeston was ops chief.
[Submitted by Ken Phillips, SAR Coordinator]
Chickasaw National Recreation Area (OK)
Search; Apparent Drowning
A 15-foot motorized canoe overturned in the Rock Creek arm of the
Lake of the Arbuckles around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 28,
spilling its two occupants into the water. According to D.W.,
the boat's operator, he and K.W. were heading north up the
arm to go deer hunting when their unsteady boat capsized during a turn.
K.W. slipped under the surface of the 47 degree water and did not
reappear. Neither K.W. nor D.W. was wearing a life jacket at the
time, though they had them onboard. D.W. yelled for help and tried to
swim to shore with the boat. Mark Uhles, who was hunting nearby, heard
the calls and took his boat to their location, arriving about 20 minutes
after the canoe overturned. Uhles telephoned Sulphur PD dispatch; the
dispatcher in turn notified a park ranger. Rangers responded in a park
boat and began looking for K.W.. Air, surface, sonar, dragging and
diver searches were conducted without success. The search continued
through Sunday, but was hindered by bad weather on Monday. On Tuesday
morning, park staff recovered K.W. body about 100 yards from the
point where the canoe overturned.
[Submitted by Mark Foust, Chief
Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Bryce Canyon National Park (UT)
Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection Branch Manager)
Vacancy Announcement # Zion-Merit-BRCA-03-03P
Supervisory Park Ranger (Protection Branch Manager)
Bryce Canyon National Park
Open: 12/24/2002
Close: 01/10/2003
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah is seeking applicants for its GS-025-11 Protection Branch Manager position. This is a great job in a great area. The park emphasizes balanced and traditional protection programs, including: law enforcement, complex structural fire and EMS programs, backcountry, campgrounds, high angle SAR, winter operations, concessions issues, prescribed fire activities,etc. Program is supported with excellent infrastructure, equipment and operational planning/procedures. Park is located in a semi-remote area with moderate travel distances to shopping and other support facilities. Required occupancy consisting of excellent three-bedroom mission 66 style home available. Area schools are good and recreational activities outstanding. Contact Rob Danno, Chief of Visitor Services (435) 834-4800 for more information.
Full announcement can be found on http://www.usajobs.opm.gov
[Submitted by Rob Danno, rob_danno@nps.gov, (435) 834-4800]
Joshua Tree National Park (CA)
GS-5/7/9 Rangers in Two Districts
The park is seeking candidates for permanent GS-9 protection ranger positions in both the Cottonwood and Lost Horse Districts. The positions are currently advertised on USA Jobs under announcement number JOTR-02-30. Although they are advertised at the GS-025-5/7 level, full performance candidates are highly encouraged to apply and may be considered for lateral transfer. Incumbents will be responsible for the full range of frontcountry and backcountry law enforcement and all risk management operations, including EMS and high angle search and rescue. Both positions are required occupancy. Housing will be in the Cottonwood housing area or the Indian Cove housing area. One may be selected to be the park EMS coordinator. Joshua Tree National Park is one of the world's premier climbing areas. Over 18 million people live within three hours of the park. More than 75% of the park is designated wilderness. Rangers have the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities, including backcountry patrol, resource management, and proactive frontcountry law enforcement. The park is about 50 miles north east of Palm Springs and about 140 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Shopping, medical facilities and schools are available in surrounding communities. Skiing, California Beaches and Disneyland are within a one to three-hour drive. More information about the park is available at http://www.nps.gov/jotr. For more information on the jobs, please contact Cottonwood DR Jeff Ohlfs at 760-367-5548, or Lost Horse DR Patrick Suddath at 760=367-5547.
[Submitted by Patrick Suddath, District Ranger]
Cape Cod National Seashore (MA)
GS-0028 Environmental Protection Specialist
The park has issued vacancy announcement # CACO DEU MD 03-02 for an environmental protection specialist. The announcement opens on USA Jobs on Monday, January 6, and closes on January 24. This is a term position, not to exceed two years. The position is classified in the GS-0028 environmental protection specialist series, but the person in the job will have a significant amount of responsibility for both environmental and occupational health and safety programs. Cape Cod National Seashore is designated as both a Park Service pilot park for the development of a comprehensive environmental management system (EMS) and as an pilot park for the NPS-OSHA partnership program. The person in this new position will play a key role in the park's progress and participation in these two initiatives. The job will be filled at either the GS-9 or GS-11 level, depending upon the qualifications of the candidate selected. Contact Mike Murray, deputy superintendent, at 508-349-3785, ext. 201, for additional information. [
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.