Editor's Desk
No Reports
No incident reports have been submitted for today's edition.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Washington Office
Eye Street Voice Mail Systems Down
The voicemail system for the National Park Service's office at 1201 Eye Street in Washington has been down since last Thursday. Efforts are being made to bring it back on line, but no specific date has yet been specified for restoration.[Submitted by Dennis Burnett]
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
New NPS Type I LE Credential Cards
The new National Park Service Type I credential cards are currently being shipped to park units from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. These cards must be signed and returned to FLETC for processing. A hologram laminate is being added to the new credentials to bring the NPS into compliance with strict national security policies. If you have not supplied FLETC with color photographs as has been requested by memorandum, please do so at this time.
As with any Type I commission, the new NPS credential will be issued only to those employees who have on record an adjudicated background investigation (BI). If the employee's BI has expired, but an update has been initiated, the credential will still be issued. However, if the BI has expired and an updated BI has not been initiated, a credential will not be issued. For these employees, please begin the process of submitting the proper forms to initiate the BI as soon as possible. Remember that we must have verification that the BI is current or that the proper paperwork has been initiated and that OPM has begun processing the update. Therefore, please ensure that JJ Martin at FLETC is notified and that she has copies of the necessary documentation. Only then will the new NPS credential be issued. Please note that verification can be obtained through your regional contacts.
Your cooperation, assistance and patience are appreciated. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact JJ at 912-267-3554 or via email.
[Submitted by Don Coelho, Chief]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Fire Island National Seashore
Passing of Dave Spirtes
Fire Island National Seashore staff and park partners were deeply saddened to hear that highly regarded superintendent, David Spirtes, had succumbed to cancer early last Thursday morning.
Dave had been at FIIS for less than a year, but his contributions were monumental. Almost everyone who dealt with Dave professionally—park staff, Fire Island residents and other park neighbors and stakeholders—respected his quiet forthright nature and honesty, and his determination to arrive at agreeable solutions without sacrificing the integrity of the resources he was entrusted to protect and preserve.
Dave Spirtes, a native New Yorker, began his NPS career thirty-one years ago as a seasonal park ranger at White Sands National Monument. He spent several more seasons at national parks including Grand Canyon, Everglades, and Glacier, before committing to a career job at Gulf Islands National Seashore in 1977. Spirtes was promoted to a subdistrict ranger position at Yellowstone National Park, then to chief ranger at Glacier Bay National Park. He also served as chief ranger at North Cascades National Park. In 1994, Spirtes first rose to the rank of superintendent at Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, then became superintendent of Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, Alaska. Dave was selected as superintendent of Fire Island National Seashore in May, 2003.
The recipient of numerous awards for wilderness management, assisting with the Exxon Valdez oil spill response, managing search and rescue operations and safety, Spirtes was honored with the Secretary of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award in 2000. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science (1970) prior to joining the NPS, he served as a pathfinder and infantryman with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.
Dave's illness appeared suddenly and advanced quickly. He leaves behind wife, Kathy, and their young daughter Alexandra, two brothers, Richard and Peter, a sister, Judy, and a bereaved staff from his National Park Service family.
The family is planning a private memorial service. Memorials, in lieu of flowers, may be sent to: Friends of Fire Island National Seashore, David Spirtes Memorial Fund, P. O. Box 504, Patchogue, NY 11772-0504, or the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society, David Spirtes Memorial Fund, 4640 Captree Island, Captree Island, NY 11702-4601.
[Submitted by Paula Valentine, Paula_Valentine@nps.gov, 631-289-4810 ext 228] More Information...
Mesa Verde National Park (CO)
Marta and Charlie Peterson Leaving NPS
Marta and Charlie Peterson will be leaving the National Park Service on April 30th.
Marta, the superintendent's assistant and Charlie, the chief ranger at Mesa Verde National Park, have lived in and enjoyed ten national parks over their 35-year career: "We will always treasure the many experiences and exciting challenges we have shared with so many of the NPS staff we have worked with."
Marta started as a seasonal tour guide and Charlie as a firefighter in the late 60s. While working as NPS seasonals, they found their life's calling and set on a direction that changed their life: "We had a mission — the NPS mission. A part of us will always be with the Park Service. However, life moves on, and so must we."
The Petersons are moving to the high desert of southwestern Utah, where they have built a desert home west of St George, complete with a geo-thermal HVAC system and design studio. The "R" word (retirement) is not in the Peterson's vocabulary and they soon hope to leave the "W" word (work) behind also. he Petersons will be doing some projects for local conservation groups and starting a business with their free time.
Charlie reports that there are plenty of hiking and mountain biking trails close by and his sailboat Ranger is rigged and ready: "So if you see red sails on the horizon, a glint from hikers on a mountain pass, or a whitewater raft disappearing around a river bend - that will be us - living on sunsets and finding new adventures."
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (TX)
Supervisory Park Ranger
The park is seeking a qualified individual who is up to the challenge of being a supervisory park ranger on the high plains of Texas. This position offers a variety of ranger skills, supervisory development and resource stewardship experiences involved in protecting the natural and cultural resources of Lake Meredith NRA and Alibate Flint Quarries NM.
Rangers patrol in 19-foot, 22-foot and 26-foot vessels, on ATV's (the park has two new Polaris ATV's) and in individually-assigned 4x4 patrol units. Patrols cover the park's 46,000 acres, which include two off-road vehicle areas, 750 ARPA sites and a national monument), and the lake. The supervisor will lead an empowered, field-based law enforcement program, dedicated to protecting the resources and visitors of these unique park units. Federal and state Laws are enforced in a heavily visited area (over a 1,000,000 visitors per year) which has a workload that includes, on average, investigation of over 450 case incidents, issuance of 250 citations, dozens of custodial arrests and several felony investigations. This is a concurrent jurisdiction park, which provides rangers with the chance to work with Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, three county sheriff's offices, the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, and an interagency anti-crime unit, just to name a few. Opportunities also exist to work closely with resource managers in the fields of vegetation, wildlife, oil and gas, ARPA and wildland fire. Program supervision includes the coordination of staff collateral duty assignments associated with the specialized areas of defensive tactics, firearms training, search and rescue, marine enforcement, dive team operations, water safety, hunting and wildlife field support, and resource stewardship.
The park is located in the Panhandle of Texas. Park headquarters are in the small city of Fritch, population approximately 2,200. The cost of living is low! Housing ranges from $30-40,000 in the older section of town, up to $60,000 and more in the newer section of town. The Sanford-Fritch Elementary School has approximately 75 kindergarteners and the high school has approximately 86 seniors. Fritch is 35 minutes from Amarillo, which offers frequent flights to the Denver, Dallas and Houston hubs, a variety of shopping opportunities, and Amarillo College. The park is also within commuting distance to West Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University. Fritch is just 15 minutes from Borger (population 15,000), which has Frank Phillips Community College, grocery stores, a Wal-Mart, hardware and lumber outlets and many specialized shops. The elevation averages 3,000 feet. The climate is semi-arid with average precipitation of 21 inches. The average temperature is 58 degrees with summer extremes in the 100-degree range and winter extremes around 0 degrees. Severe thunderstorms with high velocity winds and with the potential to develop into tornados are potential dangers associated with spring and early summer.
If interested in this position please contact chief ranger Bill Briggs at (806) 857-0302 or bill_briggs@nps.gov.
[Submitted by Bill Briggs, 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.