INCIDENTS

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Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Armed Threat, Pursuit and Arrest

Rangers from Grant Subdistrict were dispatched to check out a report of a man threatening others with a rifle around 7 p.m. on May 22nd. Before they could arrive on scene, the man fled the area in a Saturn sedan. Witnesses at the scene reported that he'd previously barricaded himself in his trailer; when friends attempted a welfare check, he'd threatened them and driven them away by displaying an SKS rifle and chambering a round. Rangers from surrounding subdistricts and special agents headed to the area. About 55 minutes later, he passed a marked park unit at a high rate of speed on the west entrance road. Other witnesses reported that he'd driven through wildlife jams recklessly and at high speeds. Inbound traffic was controlled near the west entrance by rangers from the Gallatin and Madison Subdistricts and by West Yellowstone PD officers. They also deployed speed sticks on the road, The man stopped near the entrance, got out of his car and taunted rangers and officers, then headed off in the opposite direction in an attempt to evade them. He was stopped again and again got out of his vehicle. This time a standoff took place that lasted about ten minutes. While negotiators and a ranger with a taser headed to the area, rangers Rick Bennett and Tom Schwartz saw an opportunity, tackled the man, and placed him under arrest. He was treated for self-inflicted injuries that had occurred back in Grant Village. The man subsequently assaulted medical personnel while at a hospital in Bozeman. Rangers and agents secured a search warrant for his trailer and recovered the firearm and magazine believed to have been used. On May 24th, he appeared before the federal magistrate judge in Yellowstone on the initial misdemeanor charges. He was remanded to the custody of the US marshal and remains incarcerated pending a detention hearing, and the filing of additional felony charges relating to assault and illegal possession of firearms. SA Chris Fors is the case agent.
[Submitted by Brian Smith, Supervisory Special Agent]

Yosemite National Park (CA)
Drowning in Merced River

Late on the afternoon of May 22nd, M.M., Jr., 22, of Riverside, California, drowned after falling into the Merced River below the Vernal Fall footbridge. The river is in spring run-off and flowing at a very high level. M.M. and three friends were on a large sloping granite boulder that extended out into the river. Witnesses reported that M.M. had gone to the river's edge to take a photograph when he slipped and fell into the raging waters. He was visible in the water briefly, then disappeared down the cataract. A witness called 911 by cell phone and reported the incident to park dispatch. Search and rescue personnel searched the river corridor for several hours that evening but could not locate M.M.. Two dog teams and shore-based searchers continued the effort the following morning. A dog handler spotted M.M.'s body wrapped over a log near the river's edge in an eddy about 400 yards downstream from the point where he slipped into the water. Rescue team members were able to recover the body from shore by staying on top of the log.
[Submitted by Doug Roe, Special Agent]

Amistad National Recreation Area (TX)
Interdiction of Illegal Alien Smuggling Operation

During the night of May 23rd, rangers were working a joint drug smuggling interdiction operation with the Border Patrol in the Rio Grande area of the park when they saw 13 people entering the area on foot from the river (border). Contact was made and nine were apprehended, while others fled back to Mexico. None of the nine had drugs in his possession, but they had all illegally entered the country through the park. After the incident, rangers were driving back to the ranger station when they were contacted by Border Patrol for assistance. A van suspected of the being the pick-up vehicle for the undocumented aliens was seen in the area. The rangers, who were in an unmarked vehicle, saw the vehicle, obtained its registration, and attempted to keep it in sight for responding Border Patrol units. They were advised that the van was reported stolen. The van changed direction twice before pulling off the road. The rangers stopped behind it without activating emergency lights and were then approached by the van driver. Rangers then exited their vehicle and conducted a felony take-down of the vehicle's two occupants. Border Patrol agents arrived and took both subjects into custody. One of the men was found to have a box cutter razor blade concealed in his sock. Further investigation revealed that the van had been stolen van by members of a larger multi-national auto theft and alien smuggling ring. The Border Patrol is the lead agency on all illegal immigration violations and the Val Verde County SO is pursuing the stolen vehicle charges.
[Submitted by Bruce Malloy, Chief Ranger]

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (KY)
Fatal Van Accident

W.S. was driving a small van down Route 988 within the park on May 28th when he lost control of the vehicle in a curve and hit a tree head-on. Passenger J.L.J. was not wearing a seatbelt and died instantly from head and neck injuries. W.S. suffered minor injuries and refused treatment. He was charged with failure to maintain control. Alcohol was not a factor. Ranger Dirk Wiley is investigating.
[Submitted by Charlie Chadwell, Chief Ranger]

Blue Ridge Parkway
Auto Accident with Fatality

On May 25th, ranger Ted Morlock learned of a vehicle off the road near MP 284. He found a car 150 feet below the parkway in a steep and heavily-vegetated area. The body of J.D.B. of Wilkesboro was found inside. The coroner has placed the time of death as some time on May 23rd, which matches J.D.B.'s known travel plans.
[Submitted by John Garrison, Staff Ranger]

Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Two-Car Accident with Fatality, Injuries

A two-car MVA occurred in the early morning hours of May 23rd near MP 253 in the Tupelo District. An Oldsmobile sedan driven by S.N. failed to yield to oncoming traffic and entered the parkway directly in front of a northbound Mitsubishi Montero. A five-year-old girl in the Oldsmobile was killed in the collision, and the remaining four occupants of the Oldsmobile were taken to North Mississippi Medical Center. The driver of the Mitsubishi did not have to be taken to the hospital.
[Submitted by Jackie Henman, Assistant Chief Ranger]

FIRE MANAGEMENT

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National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Tuesday, June 3, 2003

Preparedness Level 2

A total of 198 fires were reported yesterday. Two escaped initial attack. Only the Tok River Fire in Alaska has drawn substantial resources, with 358 firefighters and overhead committed.

Fire Danger

State	5/29	5/30	5/31	6/1	6/2	6/3
Alaska	VX	VX	VX	--	VX	--
Arizona	VX	VX	VX	VX	--	VX
California	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Colorado	--	VX	--	--	--	VX
Minnesota	VX	VX	--	--	--	--
Nevada	--	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
New Mexico	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Oklahoma	VX	VX	VX	--	--	--
Texas	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX	VX
Utah	VX	VX	VX	--	--	VX

VH — Very high

EX — Extreme

VX — Very high to extreme

Fire Weather Watches and Warnings

No warnings or watches have been posted for today.

National Resource Commitments

Day	5/29	5/30	5/31	6/1	6/2	6/3
Crews	50	68	64	39	46	49
Engines	73	76	77	35	30	49
Helicopters	11	12	13	8	9	8
Air Tankers	1	0	0	0	1	1
Overhead	525	579	483	473	491	522

National Team Commitments

State	Type Team	Team IC	Fire	Acres	Percent Contain	Est Full Contain
AK	T2	Reed	Tok River/State lands	5,760	40%	6/10

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HI)
Luhi Fire - Tuesday, June 3

Lava from Kilauea Volcano started the Luhi Fire, which is burning in grass, brush and rain forest. The fire has burned 4,980 acres (no change from Monday) and is still 70% contained. Full containment is expected by tomorrow. Crews are mopping up hotspots along the perimeter. Three helicopters and 75 firefighters and overhead are committed.

OPERATIONAL NOTES

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NPS History
Yellowstone: Soldier Rangers

This month, a new book will be published on National Park Service rangers. The book, entitled National Park Ranger: An Informal History, was written by Butch Farabee and will be published by Roberts Rinehart Publishers (ISBN 1-57098-392-5, $18.95 in paper). Through permission of both the author and publisher, excerpts will appear in the Morning Report and InsideNPS over coming months.

The first excerpt appeared on May 15, 2003.
The second excerpt appeared on May 21, 2003.

The Soldiers

The United States Army played a pivotal role in the early protection and administration of the first four national parks: Yellowstone, Sequoia, General Grant, and Yosemite. This country owes these men a great deal of gratitude for helping to preserve these areas for future generations.

For more than a decade after Congress established Yellowstone, the park was under serious threat from those who would exploit its resources. Vandals and souvenir seekers chipped away at geyser cones and mineral springs. Animals were slaughtered. Developers erected ramshackle camps for tourists without always having permission.

Five civilian superintendents were hired to guard this land from 1872 to 1886, but they lacked experience, funds, and manpower. These men were unable to protect the vast park, and in 1886 Congress finally refused to appropriate any further money for such ineffectiveness and incompetence. Since no one was willing to serve without pay, Yellowstone now lacked any semblance of protection. Invoking the Sundry Civil Act of 1883, the Secretary of the Interior called upon the Secretary of War for assistance.

On August 17, 1886, Troop M, First United States Cavalry, Fort Custer, Montana Territory, under the command of Medal of Honor recipient Captain Moses Harris, rode into the park. With him were two lieutenants, twenty enlisted men, fifty-six horses, seventeen mules, three army wagons, and one ambulance. Erecting six temporary stations throughout the park, the soldiers were initially based in interim frame buildings at the foot of the Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces. After the men endured five harsh winters in what was called Camp Sheridan, Congress provided $50,000 for a more permanent post at what is now park headquarters.

Renamed Fort Yellowstone, the first structure was finished in 1891, and the final one, a chapel of native sandstone, in 1913. Nine different Army units served the park over the next three decades — the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Cavalries. At the height of the Army's presence, there were 324 soldiers, plus some families and civilian employees. They were quartered in fifteen stations and nineteen snowshoe cabins in many of the isolated corners of the park.

Paid $13 per month, plus food and clothes, troopers occupied themselves fighting fires, protecting natural features, assisting visitors, building roads and related infrastructure, and patrolling the vast backcountry for poachers.

During the military's occupation of Yellowstone, hundreds of miles of roads were surveyed and then constructed by the Corps of Engineers, including the still-used "loop" road. Largely orchestrated by Captain Hiram Chittenden, these roads, he believed, should be kept "as nearly as possible in their natural condition, unchanged by the hand of man."

Regulations were written and posted conspicuously, with detachments guarding the major attractions. Until 1914, no law had real force to protect the park, but the Army evicted trouble makers and forbade their return anyway. Their first success came in early 1887 at Norris Junction when a patrol discovered William James, a local teamster, trapping beaver in the meadows along the Gibbon River. Captain Harris gladly expelled James from the park.

One of the park's most important events took place in 1894, when soldiers on patrol arrested Ed Howell for slaughtering bison. Emerson Hough, a prominent journalist, happened to be present and generated national interest in the problem. Within two months Congress responded to the pressure, and the Yellowstone Protection Act (Lacey Act) became law, finally safeguarding Yellowstone and other parks subsequently.

In 1897, George Anderson, the third military superintendent of the park, wrote: "As a consequence of their good work, the beauties of the park are no longer defaced; no fires have ravaged the forests; poaching has diminished to a small percentage of what it was ten years ago, and more than all, order exists everywhere."

S. B. M. Young served as Acting Superintendent of Yosemite in 1896 and then went to Yellowstone in 1897 and 1898. After commanding a division in the Spanish-American War, in 1898 he became the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, serving President Theodore Roosevelt. Colonel Young was not as impressed as Captain Anderson had been with the idea of soldiers being the ultimate guardians of Yellowstone. President Roosevelt had instructed the retired Army officer to design a plan to replace the military in the park. Young recorded the following in a 1907 report:

"Two years experience in governing the park with troops and comparing the results of enforcing due observance of all rules, regulations, and instructions through the troops, and through the few (civilian) scouts that in reality are civil guides, leaves no doubt in my mind about the superiority of a trained and well-governed civil guard for this particular and difficult duty. While I found some excellent, intelligent, and conscientious noncommissioned officers and privates who have taken interest in carrying out their instructions in park duties, the majority are indifferent and appear to resent being required to subserve both the military interest and the interest of the park, on their small pay."

Young proposed a Yellowstone National Park Guard. He recommended the area be divided into four districts, with a chief inspector, four assistant inspectors, and twenty civilian guards constituting the entire protection force. During the busy period, this was to be increased with seasonal assistance. Roosevelt lost interest in the effort, however, and Interior was unwilling to implement change, so nothing happened until 1916.

In 1916 Congress created the National Park Service, and on October 24 a civilian organization arrived to ease Yellowstone away from the Army; twenty-one soldiers (at $100 per month each) elected to remain and become park rangers. On the following June 26, however, the Army had to dismiss these very same rangers because Congress failed to provide funds for the new agency; the Army then returned to Yellowstone. For the next year, Acting Supervisor Chester A. Lindsley of the Department of the Interior and Lieutenant Colonel E. M. Leary of the Seventh

Cavalry ran the park and were responsible for law enforcement and protection. Yellowstone National Park served three masters—the roads were under the Corps of Engineers, the cavalry under control of the Secretary of War, while the park's military acting superintendents reported to both the Departments of the Army and the Interior.

Next: The Army in Sequoia, Yosemite and General Grant National Parks
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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.