Big Thicket National Preserve (TX)
Successful Search for Missing Oil Worker
On March 28th, rangers received a report of an oil worker lost in the
park's Corndance Unit. The worker left his airboat in the morning and
became lost during a several mile walk. He then used his cell phone to
contact co-workers and seek help. According to the co-workers, the man
was in his mid-60s, had no food, water or shelter, and needed his
medications. They reported that he was cold, wet and ready to give up.
Severe thunderstorms and several tornadoes adjacent to the park hampered
initial search efforts. Shortly before dark, the park pilot and an
accompanying ranger located the lost man from the park helicopter. He
was a few miles from his airboat. They landed and supplied him with
food, water and dry clothes, then flew him to his vehicle.
[Submitted by Lila Mohesky-Roybal]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Sentencing for Drug Conviction
On April 25, 2002, ranger Les Brunton investigated an accident on
Highway 191 within the park and arrested the operator for DUI, careless
operations, driving while suspended and possession of methamphetamine.
He was subsequently convicted on all charges and sentenced to a year in
prison, two years probation and a $1,000 fine. All but 15 days of the
jail term were suspended. Rangers and special agents suspected that he
was involved in transportation of methamphetamine. During the fall of
2002, special agent Dan Kirschner developed information indicating that
the man was living in Bozeman, that he was both using and selling
methamphetamine, and that the passenger in the vehicle had fled the
scene of the accident with a significant amount of methamphetamine in
his possession before rangers arrived. Working with the area drug task
force and Bozeman PD, Kirschner was able to obtain information on the
man's continued drug use and sales. Kirschner secured an arrest warrant
from the federal magistrate in Yellowstone for a probation violation and
had Bozeman PD serve both the federal warrant and an outstanding state
warrant on the man. On March 20th, he was sentenced to serve six months
in federal custody and remanded to the U.S. marshal. Additional state
and federal felony charges are pending.
[Submitted by Brian Smith,
Supervisory Special Agent]
Colonial National Historical Park (VA)
Suicide from Park Bridge
A park visitor reported what appeared to be a manikin on Tobacco Road
under the footbridge from the Yorktown VC to the town at 7 a.m. on March
21st. She also saw a rope hanging from the bridge, which is about 50
feet above the road. Ranger James Redford investigated and found the
body of a Grafton, Virginia, man under the bridge. The man had parked
his vehicle in the VC parking lot sometime the previous night; a ranger
checked it just after 11 p.m., but was unable to find the driver.
Evidence indicated that the victim had hung himself from the bridge,
then fallen to the ground. York County SO deputies and rangers
investigated.
[Submitted by Hiram A. Barber, Assistant Chief
Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Monday, April 1, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
A total of 164 new fires were reported on Monday. Eleven new large fires were reported — nine in Oklahoma and one each in Tennessee and Arkansas. All but two were quickly contained.
Three Type 1 teams and two Type 2 teams are now committed to the Columbia Response recovery effort. A total of just under 400,000 acres have been searched to date; 48 agencies are participating in the effort.
Fire Danger
| State |
3/24 |
3/25 |
3/26 |
3/27 |
3/28 |
3/31 |
4/1 |
| California |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| Colorado |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
| Indiana |
-- |
VH |
-- |
VH |
VH |
-- |
-- |
| Missouri |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VH |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/24 |
3/25 |
3/26 |
3/27 |
3/28 |
3/31 |
4/1 |
| Crews |
174 |
172 |
176 |
160 |
161 |
160 |
176 |
| Engines |
50 |
29 |
68 |
59 |
37 |
15 |
49 |
| Helicopters |
4 |
4 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,296 |
2,308 |
2,147 |
2,241 |
2,618 |
2,594 |
2,572 |
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Studebaker |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T1 |
Anderson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Gelobter |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Houseman |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Gray |
" |
" |
" |
" |
Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL,MS)
Two Prescribed Burns Completed
The park completed two prescribed burns in the Naval Live Oaks Area of the Florida District on March 26th and 27th. A total of 70 acres were burned for habitat restoration and to eliminate hazardous fuels. Firefighters were assembled from the Cumberland Gap and Great Smokies fire use modules, from Southeast Regional Office, and from both districts of the park. Little River supplied an engine. Midway Fire Department was on scene with its brush truck, and a private contractor supplied a dozer with plow for back-up. Both fires went well, with occasional flare-ups due to elevated fuel loading from decades of fire exclusion. One of the burns was the park's first ever re-burn of a previously treated area. It was first burned in February, 1999. This block was the recipient of 22 gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), a fire dependent species, in the summer of 2002. They were relocated from an area of the park that is currently being developed. None of the tortoises were sighted out of their burrows during the burn. While their surrounding cover has been temporarily removed by the fire, new shoots of grass have already been observed in the block at just 48 hours post-burn. This new growth will provide cover as well as nutrient rich material on which the tortoises can forage.
[Submitted by Mark Nicholas]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
New River Gorge National River (WV)
Duncan Hollar Wins National Harry Yount Award
Duncan Hollar, the assistant chief ranger at New River Gorge NR, has been selected as this year's national Harry Yount Award winner. Duncan's nomination, prepared by the park's rangers, follows. The award will be presented at a reception and dinner in Washington tonight. A list of regional Yount Award winners appears after the citation.
The resource and visitor protection staff of New River Gorge National River nominates Duncan Hollar for the Harry Yount Award. For over 28 years, Duncan has emerged as a leader and an innovator, yet has remained true to the traditions of rangering in a field that is ever- changing. Duncan brings to New River Gorge National River (NERI) the values and skills gained while performing the entire spectrum of ranger duties in parks such as Everglades, Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains.
Duncan transferred to NERI in 1989 when the park was in its infancy. As one of NERI's first District Rangers, Duncan worked to build a resource and visitor protection program from the ground up. At a critical time in the park's development, Duncan took on a leadership role in developing a full performance staff by molding a group of young, inexperienced park rangers. Since that time, he has continued to be a leader in the visitor and resource protection field. As an example, Duncan served as the Incident Commander for the World Rafting Championships held September 21 to 25, 2001, just after the September 11 terrorist attacks. The regional incident management team scheduled for the event was called away for homeland security following the attacks. On extremely short notice, Duncan was asked to assemble a new team, serve as incident commander, and manage the World Rafting Championships event. He did an outstanding job of organizing the park's response to this event, the first international sporting event to be held in the USA after the terrorist attacks. The event proceeded without incident due to Duncan's insightful planning and outstanding leadership.
As a result of a reorganization of the park's resource management and visitor protection division, Duncan developed and led a new and innovative resource stewardship unit. Duncan worked with the rangers and other park staff to complete a multitude of resource protection projects including cleanup of several hazardous materials dumpsites, removal of underground storage tanks left over from the mining era and several park-wide river clean-ups where tons of debris were removed from the New River Gorge. While serving as the Resource Stewardship Unit Leader, Duncan secured three-year funding for an SCA project crew to work in the park. Duncan personally oversaw the planning, orientation and project completion for each crew assigned to the park. In addition, Duncan began what was to become the foundation of the park's GIS program. Duncan was aware that proof of land ownership and marking boundaries was critical to the protection of park resources. A land protection initiative started and supervised by Duncan included contracting with the BLM for permanent boundary surveys and the organization of a field crew of park rangers that permanently marks and signs the boundary. The work completed by this unit will stand for years to come.
In 2002, the protection division's operations supervisor transferred to another park. Seeing a critical need and staffing shortage, Duncan volunteered to take on the operations supervisor's duties. As a result, Duncan now supervises most of the resource stewardship unit as well as the Canyon and Sandstone District protection operations. This places a significant workload and responsibility on Duncan, especially during the busy summer and fall seasons. He never fails to give each person and situation his undivided attention. Even though Duncan serves as Assistant Chief Ranger, he performs traditional ranger duties in the field. With NERI rangers continuously assigned to homeland security, Duncan goes out of his way to pick up the slack by conducting law enforcement patrols, contacting visitors and filling in as a field ranger as needed. Duncan's ability to take on roles from acting Chief Ranger to Field Ranger with equal competency makes him a credit not only to the ranger profession, but to the park as well.
Duncan has excelled in a career of traditional ranger duties in a variety parks. Many rangers still remember Duncan riding up on horseback dressed as a continental dragoon to present an interpretive living history program to a wide-eyed school group at Guilford Courthouse. When stationed at Great Smoky Mountains and Kings Canyon National Parks, Duncan not only performed mounted horse patrols of the backcountry, he performed farrier duties keeping the rangers' horses shoed. At Kings Canyon, Duncan made extended patrols leading a pack train into the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he would stay for weeks at a time. While stationed at Everglades National Park, Duncan was in charge of the park's structural fire brigade and actively participated in the park's prescribed fire program. To this day, Duncan still maintains his wildland firefighter red-card and crew boss rating. When Duncan worked as a sub-district ranger in Yosemite National Park his duties included leading EMS, and search and rescue operations in a variety of front and backcountry situations. Duncan's District included the Tioga Road a tans-Sierra route over the mountains where motor vehicle accidents included some of the most horrific and complex rescue/EMS situations in the service. Duncan always handled these incidents with a professional and calming demeanor that was reassuring to all around him.
The mission of the National Park Service is paramount in Duncan's approach to a project. He looks toward the reasons behind it and how it relates to the mission of the park. As Chairperson for the park's Trail and Sign Committee, Duncan worked to protect park resources while providing for an enjoyable visitor experience and, at the same time, meeting the mandates for which the park was established. When funding was not available for trail development or improvement, Duncan initiated volunteer trail projects that involved diverse cooperating organizations. These projects have expanded the recreational opportunities within the park while enhancing the protection of natural and cultural resources.
Over the years, Duncan has always gone out of his way to develop a rapport with park neighbors. This has resulted in an improved relationship between all of the park employees, park visitors and the surrounding communities that we serve. Duncan has used his interpersonal skills to gain the trust and cooperation of the local people, many of whom have been suspicious of the government's intentions since the establishment of the park. An example of Duncan's willingness to go above and beyond occurred at New River when the park acquired new lands in the Keeny's Creek area and prepared to close them to off-road vehicles. Duncan, armed with a box of park brochures and books on the history of the area, went to the local pool-hall in the near by community of Winona where he spent days contacting hunters and fisherman who traditionally used the area. Duncan's efforts helped to develop a greater understanding for the historic resources of the area and the need to limit off-road vehicle use.
Although Duncan's park duties are demanding, he makes time to be involved in the community. He continues to work with a variety of youth groups including leadership roles with the Boy Scouts of America as an Assistant Scout Master and previously as a Cub Scout Pack Leader. In this way, Duncan is taking his rangering skills and knowledge of natural resources and is passing it on to future generations. It is nearly impossible to summarize a career of dedication, hard work and superior performance like Duncan's in two pages. He has done an outstanding job of furthering the mission of the National Park Service and bringing honor to the ranger profession.
Regional winners of the award - along with Duncan - were Jay Liggett, regional chief ranger in Alaska; Rick Kirschner, ranger at Mount Rainier; Fred Patton, ranger at Mesa Verde; Chuck Remus, ranger at Voyageurs; Sally Griffin, ranger at Catoctin; and Larry W. Johnson, ranger at Mammoth Cave. Sally Griffin was the recipient of the Servicewide Freeman Tilden Award in 1998.
[Submitted by John Townsend, MWRO]
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.