Everglades National Park (FL)
Attempted Suicide
On the afternoon of Friday, April 15th, entrance station VUA Augustin
Diaz reported to park dispatch that a woman had passed through the
station with an open wine bottle on the front seat of her car. Rangers
from both Pine Island and Flamingo Districts began a search for the
vehicle. Ranger Paul Taylor soon found it at the Long Pine Key day use
area. The lone female in it was reclined on the front seat. The engine
was running, the windows were closed, and a hose was attached to the
exhaust pipe and had been routed into the passenger compartment. Taylor
quickly removed the woman from the vehicle. She told Taylor that she was
looking for a peaceful place to die. The woman was transferred to
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and transported to the hospital, where she was
admitted overnight for observation and psychiatric evaluation. Had
entrance station personnel and rangers not responded so quickly, the
outcome would have undoubtedly been much graver.
[Submitted by Bill
Wright, Chief Ranger]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation Management
National Fire Situation Highlights — Thursday, April 28, 2005
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
No updates on National Park Service fires have been received since yesterday.
National Situation Report
The full NIFC Incident Management Situation Report for today can be obtained at http://www.nifc.gov/news/sitreprt.pdf. NIFC's national fire news is at http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Law Enforcement and Emergency Services
Detailer Sought to DOI Watch Office
The NPS is seeking a detailer to the DOI Watch Office due to a prospective detailee canceling out. The rotation starts now and continues through May 16th. Detailees are also sought for future rotations. A commission is not required. Base eight salary will be paid. If you're interested, please contact the Emergency Incident Coordination Center at Shenandoah NP at 540-999-3412.
[Submitted by Brenda Ritchie]
GS-025-11 Park Ranger (LE)
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP has an opening for a GS-11 lead park ranger (LE). The vacancy announcement is INDE /FRSP-05-06. Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP consists of four separate battlefields and three other detached sites encompassing 8,000 plus acres. Rangers work cooperatively with enforcement and emergency service agencies of four counties and one city in areas of exclusive, concurrent and proprietary jurisdiction. Special emphasis is placed on archaeological resource protection and lands issues, such as encroachments, rights-of-way, easements and boundary surveys. The announcement closes on May 9th. For further information please contact chief ranger Keith Kelly at 540-654-5535. For a copy of the announcement, click on "More Information" below.
More Information...
Midwest Region
James Northup Named Pictured Rocks NL Superintendent
Jim Northup, a 25-year career veteran of the National Park Service has been selected as the new superintendent of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Currently the chief ranger at Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina, he will begin the new assignment on May 1st. Northup succeeds Karen Gustin, who has been selected as the new superintendent of Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida.
In announcing the change in leadership, NPS Midwest Regional Director Ernie Quintana stated, "Karen Gustin has done an excellent job at Pictured Rocks and we will miss her. We welcome Jim Northup to the Midwest Region. Jim has a proven track record of effective leadership in many different positions and parks and we will be glad to have him at Pictured Rocks."
For the past four years, Northup has been serving as the chief ranger at Great Smoky Mountains, where he has been a key member of the park management team and led a division of over 70 employees in America's most visited national park. Previous NPS assignments have included Grand Canyon, Big Bend, Grand Teton and Shenandoah National Parks, Fire Island and Cape Hatteras National Seashores, and Buffalo National River. Northup has also served as acting superintendent at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and as the incident commander for the NPS National Incident Management Team. His background includes work in the full spectrum of ranger activities, wildland fire management, resource management, and interpretation.
Northup holds a bachelor of science degree in environmental education from the University of Maryland and has completed graduate level work in environmental law and policy and public administration. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School's Executive Potential Program.
In accepting the position, Northup said "I am thrilled to have an opportunity to work with the park staff, the NPS partners, and the community to continue to preserve and protect Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, a very special place".
Northup will relocate to Pictured Rocks in early May. His wife Phyllis, an artist and art teacher will join him in June following the end of her current teaching contract. The Northups' have two daughters -Erin is a senior at Colorado State University, and Amy is in her freshman year at Virginia Tech University.
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was authorized in 1966. The 73,235-acre park has 40 miles of Lake Superior shoreline with multicolored sandstone cliffs, towering sand dunes, hardwood and coniferous forests, wetlands, inland lakes and waterfalls, and a variety of wildlife. Hiking trails run the length of the park, connecting 13 backcountry hike-in campsites. Three vehicle-accessible campgrounds are available. Lake Superior boat tours operate from nearby Munising. Winter activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Park gateways are Munising on the west and Grand Marais on the east.
[Submitted by Patty Rooney, Patty_Rooney@nps.gov, (402) 661-1532]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found by clicking here. 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 Visitor and Resource Protection, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.