Virgin Islands National Park (VI)
Influx of Illegal Immigrants
On Friday, October 22nd, rangers received a phone call reporting that several dozen illegal immigrants had landed in the park. Rangers responded along with Virgin Islands PD and the Coast Guard. Five people were taken into custody, two of them former Haitian police officers; the others fled into thick brush. All five were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There have been dozens of such landings — usually 20 to 30 people per landing — within the park's boundaries over the past several months. Nationalities include Chinese, Haitians and other down-island countries.
Last month, a woman in a group of Haitians dropped off in the park in the middle of the night gave birth to a baby boy at daybreak. The father was present for the birth and used a stick to sever the umbilical cord. Police took the baby and parents and other illegal immigrants to the police station, where medical treatment was provided. The baby was dehydrated, although the father had made several attempts to give it water via a damp rag.
The NPS continues its efforts to work alongside ICE and Coast Guard
officials to curb the ever-growing smuggling of illegal immigrants into
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
[Submitted by Stephen M. Clark, Chief
Ranger]
Everglades National Park (FL)
Migratory Bird Treat Act Violations
While on patrol along the park's boundary in East Everglades on October 17th, ranger David Pharo discovered three songbird traps containing two adult female indigo buntings and an adult male painted bunting.
While Pharo was preparing to setup remote surveillance equipment, the people who'd set out the traps returned to the site to retrieve the traps and birds. Pharo decided to follow them to gain additional information about other possible traps, and requested assistance from Florida Wildlife Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service officers.
Rangers and officers followed the suspects to a residence in Hialeah, then contacted them and recovered the traps and birds. They determined that the three birds had been placed there as bait to bring in additional birds, a common practice. Additional information was gained which may lead to further investigation.
Rangers have long suspected that collectors have been using the
area along the park boundary near the East Everglades to trap protected
species for profit — a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act.[Submitted by Allen Ethridge, District Ranger, Northeast
District]
Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River (NY,PA)
Possible Suicide
The body of C.W. of Damascus, Pennsylvania, was found by a fishing guide under the Callicoon Road bridge around noon on October 17th. She was found in about a foot of water approximately five feet from the Pennsylvania shoreline.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the cause of death was head trauma and drowning due to a fall. Suicide is suspected.
A joint investigation by the NPS and Pennsylvania State Police is
underway.
[Submitted by Al Henry, Chief of Protection]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Preparedness Level 1
There were 28 new starts yesterday. None escaped initial attack. No areas reported either very high or extreme fire indices.
Weather Forecast
A cool and wet weather system will move into southern California today, providing plenty of rain and high elevation snows. Light showers can also be expected today over the northern parts of the Great Basin. Conditions will remain dry along the Southeast coast.
Warnings and Watches
No warnings or watches have been issued for today.
NPS Fires
For a brief supplemental narrative on each fire, click on the bar with the arrow. Internal NPS readers can link directly to full reports on each fire by clicking on the notepad icon; public readers of the Morning Report can obtain similar information by going to http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
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National/State Team Commitments
No national or state teams are in the field.
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
|
Date |
10/21 |
10/22 |
10/23 |
10/24 |
10/25 |
10/26 |
10/27 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crews |
28 |
24 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
|
Engines |
25 |
13 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
Helicopters |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Overhead |
155 |
68 |
162 |
88 |
80 |
9 |
11 |
Further Information
This report is meant to present just highlights of the current fire situation. Two other NIFC sites provide much greater detail:
Full NIFC Situation Report (PDF file) — http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf
National Fire News — http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
Information on NPS Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) and on park fires can be found at:
FAM — http://www.nps.gov/fire
Park fires — http://www.nps.gov/fire/news
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Wilderness Stewardship
Tim Devine Named New Wilderness Training Program Manager
Tim Devine, currently the wilderness program specialist for Rocky Mountain National Park, has been selected as the new wilderness training program manager and NPS representative at the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center.
"Tim brings both breadth and depth of experience to this important job," said Rick Potts, national wilderness program manager. "His academic education blends ecological and social aspects of wildland management, and his professional and avocational accomplishments include more than 25 years of a rich mixture of resource management, law enforcement, interpretation, environmental education, training, emergency medicine/SAR, wildland fire, and other aspects of wilderness stewardship."
Tim has demonstrated his willingness and ability to work collaboratively with NPS, sister agencies, and the public to pursue excellence in wilderness stewardship, having successfully lead the development, approval, and implementation of the backcountry/ wilderness management plan for Rocky Mountain National Park. Tim authored the minimum requirement decision guide (MRDG) that has been adopted throughout the NPS, and was used as the model for the Carhart Interagency MRDG.
Tim will begin his new position on December 12th.
[Submitted by Rick Potts, rick_potts@nps.gov, 202-513-7090]
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.