Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
Serious Vandalism to Park Caves
On November 7th, assistant cave specialist Shane Fryer discovered
significant damage to Standup and Overhang Caves. Vandals apparently
took hammers to several cave formations, breaking off curtains and other
features. The broken formations were scattered about both caves. The
vandals left most of the damaged features on the ground; it appears that
they took little or none of the crystalline formations which they broke
off. They also scratched graffiti into the walls and left a large amount
of trash strewn about. Each of these caves is fairly close to a road in
the remote South Fork area of Sequoia National Park. It's believed that
the vandalism occurred within the two to three week period prior to its
discovery. Earlier this summer, a similar act of vandalism occurred at
the well-known Crystal Cave. Formations at the entrance of Crystal Cave
were destroyed, but the vandals were fortunately unable to get past the
metal cave gate into its interior. The National Speleological Society
has assisted the park in setting up a hotline to receive information and
has offered a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the
arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the damage. Ash
Mountain subdistrict ranger Dave Walton is the investigating officer.
[Submitted by Gregg D. Fauth, Acting Chief Ranger]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Assault on Officer
Just after 1 a.m. on November 11th, a Floyd County deputy sheriff was
patrolling a remote section of the county, investigating reports of
illegal night hunting of deer, and continued his patrol on the parkway.
He came upon a pickup truck parked at the Devil's Backbone overlook and
contacted the two occupants. The deputy checked the license plate, which
came back as wanted. The man and woman then attempted to flee, with the
woman placing the truck in reverse and trying to hit the deputy. He drew
his weapon and fired one round into the truck's left rear tire. A
pursuit ensued in which the truck went off the parkway and wrecked. Both
occupants fled. Follow-up investigation revealed that the truck had been
stolen in North Carolina and the license plate had been stolen in
Virginia. Items in the pickup indicated that the pair had been using
secondary roads and perhaps public lands for a time and were living out
of the truck. This section of the parkway is under concurrent
jurisdiction with Virginia. An internal investigation by the sheriff's
office and review by the commonwealth attorney have confirmed that the
deputy's use of force was justified.
[Submitted by John Garrison,
Acting Chief Ranger]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
GS-025-14 Chief Ranger
The park has issued an announcement for a GS-14 chief ranger. It closes on December 10th. The person selected will serve as chief of the Division of Fire and Visitor Management, with responsibility for directing operations in law enforcement, SAR, EMS, wilderness management, fee collection, and the parks' extensive fire management program. She/he will supervise seven full-time employees, including operational branch chiefs and support staff, and be responsible for working with a wide variety of internal and external cooperators, including the military, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, local communities, and special interest groups. He/she will serve on the parks' senior management team, with responsibility for determining short and long-term park direction, and will manage the division's fiscal program with oversight of base, project, and donated funds. Please see www.usajobs.opm.gov for the detailed vacancy announcement. There are special requirements for the position, so please read the vacancy announcement thoroughly. For additional information contact Pacific West Human Resources at 510-817-1343, or the parks.
[Submitted by Gregg Fauth, Acting Chief Ranger]
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.