Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Significant Drug Arrests
On April 9th, NPS special agent Chris Fors and a Park County deputy
stopped a commercial vehicle for traffic violations inside the North
Entrance. During the contact, they discovered a substantial amount of
high-grade marijuana, all pre-packaged for sale. A Bozeman man was
arrested and faces federal felony drug charges. Related arrests occurred
in the Mammoth Hot Springs area and in Bozeman. In the Bozeman arrest, a
man was booked on three felony counts and officers seized seven pounds
of marijuana, a half ounce of mushrooms and a gram of hash. Additional
drug conspiracy charges are pending in the Gardiner/Mammoth Hot Springs
area and in Old Faithful. Mutual assistance continues among officers and
rangers from the park, the Park County SO, and the Missouri River drug
task force.
[Submitted by Brian Smith, Supervisory Special
Agent]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Friday, April 18, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was light everywhere on Thursday. There were 247 new fires, with six of them becoming large fires. Another seven large fires were contained. The fire danger dropped in many states.
The commitment of IMT's to the Columbia Response remains the same.
Fire Danger
| State |
4/10 |
4/11 |
4/14 |
4/15 |
4/16 |
4/17 |
4/18 |
| Arizona |
EX |
VH |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
| Colorado |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VH |
| Connecticut |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
-- |
| Illinois |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
-- |
| Indiana |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
| Minnesota |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
| Missouri |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
VX |
-- |
-- |
| New Mexico |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
| New York |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
| North Dakota |
-- |
VH |
-- |
VX |
VX |
-- |
-- |
| Ohio |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
VX |
-- |
| Pennsylvania |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
| Wisconsin |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VX |
-- |
-- |
-- |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme VX — Very high to extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
4/10 |
4/11 |
4/14 |
4/15 |
4/16 |
4/17 |
4/18* |
| Crews |
161 |
149 |
157 |
149 |
172 |
155 |
155 |
| Engines |
17 |
84 |
65 |
71 |
132 |
62 |
62 |
| Helicopters |
1 |
7 |
14 |
11 |
8 |
8 |
8 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,395 |
2,419 |
2,319 |
2,099 |
2,149 |
1784 |
1784 |
* Numbers did not change from Thursday to Friday.
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Bennett |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T2 |
Crisman |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Morcum |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Raley |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Gray |
" |
" |
" |
" |
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
Update on Respirator Medical Clearances
To date, over 300 rangers have submitted medical information and have been cleared for PPE quantitative fit testing. The turnaround time on medical clearances has generally been under 48 hours. Officers can speed up the process and reduce the need for follow-up submission of information if they will provide explanatory information on the section regarding past pneumonia, respiratory illnesses, hospitalization, or fractured ribs. Explanations should include dates of injury/disease and present medical status, i.e.: "fractured two ribs in auto accident in 1995; completely healed with no deficit." If you have any questions, please call Pat Buccello, 202-513-7131.
[Submitted by Pat Buccello, Chief, Health and Fitness Division]
Director/Deputy Directors
Guidance on New LE Ranger Badge
On April 14, Deputy Director Murphy issued a memorandum directing that all NPS law enforcement rangers begin wearing the US Park Ranger Badge on their uniform shirt and outerwear, effective immediately. The memorandum also approved the use of the Department of Interior credentials for all law enforcement rangers and special agents. WASO Ranger Activities Division has been asked to issue some guidance in this effort.
WASO Ranger Activities Division has authorized the purchase of a second badge and will cover the cost. The second badge will be ordered with a clip to put in their credential case. The second badge must have the same number as the initially issued badge to ensure authenticity. Some parks have already purchased a second badge for their rangers. However, there are a number of rangers that have not received a second badge. In these instances, the ranger will have to remove their badge from their shirt when not wearing it and place it in their credential case until the second badge has been ordered and received by the ranger. To order a second badge for their law enforcement rangers, the park should do so following these instructions:
- On park letterhead paper from the superintendent or chief ranger authorizing the purchase, fax a memorandum listing the names of the rangers and their badge number to Bob Reid WASO-RAD at FLETC # (912) 267-3188 for approval. If you need to talk to Bob he can be reached at (912) 261-3758 or email.
- FLETC will ensure that the badges listed on the memorandum are the same as initially issued to the rangers and will forward it to V.H. Blackinton.
- Once the badges are produced they will be sent to FLETC who will prepare and send the badge(s) with property receipt form(s) to the park for issuance to the listed ranger(s). The ranger(s) will sign the property receipt form and return it to FLETC to be placed in the rangers commission file.
- The ranger is responsible for immediately returning both of the badges to the Superintendent FLETC when they leave their law enforcement position or retire.
- Permanent rangers that are carrying a Type II commission while waiting to attend the NPRI FLETC training will be issued their permanent badge. The park should send a list of these rangers (including full name, DOB and social security number) to the Superintendent FLETC. FLETC will assign and send a badge to the park along with a property form. The property form must be signed by the ranger and returned to FLETC. A second badge will be ordered and sent to the ranger once it is produced.
- Seasonal Type II rangers will be issued badges from the Superintendent FLETC. These badges must be returned to FLETC when the seasonal employee leaves the law enforcement position at the end of their season The Park Superintendent should send a list of these rangers (full name, DOB and social security number) to the Superintendent FLETC. FLETC will assign and send one badge to the park for each seasonal ranger along with a property receipt form. The property receipt form must be signed by the ranger and returned to FLETC.
The process of issuing the new Department of Interior credentials is in the beginning stages of ordering the new cards. Ranger Activities Division has been tasked with ordering the new identification cards through the U.S. Treasury, Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Once they are received, the Superintendent FLETC will be responsible for the distribution of the new cards to all law enforcement rangers and subsequent control and monitoring of the NPS law enforcement credential. A new credential case will also be issued at the time of the new card distribution.
- Parks will provide a list of their Type I and Type II law enforcement rangers along with two (2) passport size photographs to the Superintendent FLETC. The photographs should have a white background with the ranger in uniform shirt and tie. Special Agents identification should have a red background with the agent in civilian shirt and tie.
- The Superintendent FLETC will prepare an identification card for each of the rangers and agents, attach the photograph and laminate the cards before returning them to the park for distribution.
- A property receipt will also be sent with the identification cards. The property receipt will be returned to the Superintendent FLETC to be placed in the rangers commission file.
Once the new credential cards and cases are received by the ranger, the old cards should be collected by park management and sent to the Superintendent FLETC. These cards will be kept in the rangers commission file.
Any questions, please contact Bob Reid at FLETC at 912-261-3785.
[Submitted by Dennis Burnett, Ranger Activities Division]
Servicewide Training
Weekly Listing of Operations Training Opportunities
This calendar appears every Monday as an addendum to the Morning Report and a separate entry for InsideNPS. It is not meant to be replace the Learning Place; rather it is a quick summary of available training with links (as available) to relevant Learning Place pages. Please note:
- New entries are in bold face.
- Submissions for other training courses should conform to the style used here.
- Please include the URL to the web sites where readers can obtain the requisite forms and/or find out additional information about the training course. If a URL is not specifically listed, the announcement can likely be found on the Learning Place, the NPS training page found at http://www.nps.gov/training/announcements/index.doc.
- Closing dates for applications are underscored.
**********************************************************************************************
April
April 24: Terrorism Training for NPS Personnel, Anacostia Operations Facility, Washington, DC. Training via Powerpoint presentation on terrorism threats for NPS maintenance employees, interpretive rangers, supervisors and other staff with frequent public contact. Participants will be trained to discern suspicious activity and report it. Presented by Capt. Kevin Hay. Superintendents and other managers are asked to collect the names of participants and send consolidated lists to Captain Hay via email or fax (202-610-6999). Closes on April 21st. [Scott Fear, USPP]
April 29 - May 1: Basic EMT Refresher, Zion NP, UT. Taught by Tod Levesh, a former parkmedic and current paramedic and FEM/A urban SAR team member. Tuition: $75. Lodging is at the Driftwood Lodge, 435-772-3262. For more information, contact Cody Cole, EMS coordinator, Zion NP, at 435-772-0163. [Randy-Coffman@nps.gov]
May
May 5 - May 9: High Angle Rope Rescue Training, New River Gorge, WV. THE COURSE HAS BEEN POSTPONED, PROBABLY UNTIL THE FALL. The course will focus on basic to advanced high angle rope rescue techniques. All participants must be in good physical condition and be able to spend extended periods of time on fixed ropes. Climbing ability is not necessary. For more information, contact ranger Rob Turan at 304-763-3145 ext. 14. [Rob_Turan@nps.gov]
May 12: Park Medic Refresher, University Medical Center, Fresno, CA. Twelve hours of advanced life support continuing education. The course will cover a large portion of the NREMT mandatory core refresher requirements for EMT intermediates. To register, contact Donna Armijo at UMC (559-459-5105); for general information, call Debbie Brenchely at Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP (559-565-4334). [Randy-Coffman@nps.gov]
May 27 - May 30: Instructor Training for Non-Lethal Training Ammunition, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 22nd. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June
June 2 - June 13: Technical Investigative Equipment Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 29th. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June 9 — June 10: Root Cause Analysis for Incident Investigation, Phoenix, AZ. Root cause analysis is a critical element of the incident investigation and reporting management system. This course, presented by Apollo Associated Services, Inc, is designed to establish a cadre of practitioners within each region. Participants will learn to understand, and apply the problem solving and decision making process of root cause analysis to their "real world" problems by developing clear and quantified problem definitions, establishing the cause and effect relationships for the problem, and, most importantly, developing creative solutions that attack and eliminate the causes of the problems. Closes on May 9th. For further information and a nomination form, contact Shirley Rowley via email or at 303-969-2536. [Shirley_Rowley@nps.gov]
June 11 — June 12: Root Cause Analysis for Incident Investigation, Phoenix, AZ. Same as above.
June 9 - June 20: Firearms Instructor Training Program, FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on April 29th. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June 10 — June 19: Basic Law Enforcement for Supervisors, FLETC, Glynco, GA. This program provides trainees with the opportunity to develop and refined their supervisory abilities. The instructors are all current or former supervisory law enforcement professionals. Closes on April 29th. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
June 17 — June 19: NFPA 101 — Life Safety Code Seminar, Reno, NV. The course will provide a better understanding of the life safety code and applications of the code to NPS structures. It will provide a bridge between NFPA 101 and other related NFPA standards. Applications myst be submitted to Shirley Rowley in Risk Management (303-969-2536) by May 12th. For further information, contact either Shirley Rowley or Hal Spencer at NIFC (208-387-5245). [Shirley Rowley, WASO]
June 24 — October 3: Basic Law Enforcement Training (NPRI-306), FLETC, Glynco, GA. Closes on May 19th. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
July
July 14 — July 18: Archeological Resource Protection Training (XP-ARPTP-301), Juneau, AK. Closes on June 2nd. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
August
August 11 — August 15: Archeological Resource Protection Training (XP-ARPTP-301), Milwaukee, WI. Closes on June 26th. [Wiley_Golden@nps.gov]
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.