NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, January 4, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Mesa Verde NP
Illegal Commercial Tour Operation Conviction
On a Saturday last July, rangers were alerted to the possibility of a commercial tour company operating illegally in the museum area. Four visitors were contacted and told rangers that they'd paid for a tour provided by Scott Sorenson of Ranger Led Tours LLC. Sorenson had a luxury limousine certificate, which he said allowed him to conduct tours for hire throughout Colorado. He also clamed to have been a park ranger at the Grand Canyon and said that he was unaware of any permits needed to conduct business within the park. Investigation revealed that Sorenson hoped to make over $35,000 through bookings on his website, RangerLedTours.com, which stated that “each tour is Ranger Led and each guide has over 20 years of experience in National Park tours, guiding, and customer service.” Rangers also determined that Sorenson was both the company's owner and its sole employee, that the tours he was leading originated within the park, where funds exchanged hands, and that he'd never been a park ranger, was using his National Parks Passport to gain commercial entry to the park, and did not have a concessioner contract, as required. On Friday, December 21st, Sorenson pled guilty to failing to pay required fees, engaging in business operations in park areas without a contract, and providing false information in his claim of having been a National Park Service ranger. Sorenson was sentenced to sixty days in jail, suspended, with conditions; banned from Mesa Verde for three years and all other NPS areas for one year; ordered to write a letter to the local Cortez Journal, explaining what he had done at the park; complete twenty hours of community serve at the local Red Cross chapter; and personally deliver a copy of the judgment to the Verde Valley (Arizona) justice court (Sorenson was under probation and deferred prosecution in Arizona for criminal damage, endangerment, and disorderly conduct). Had Sorenson's scheme succeeded, he stood to make about a thousand dollars per day during the four month summer season. This was the second illegal commercial use case prosecuted by the park in as many years. In both cases, tour operators made extensive use of internet web sites to advertise and book illegal tours. [Glenn Yanagi, Park Ranger]
Guadalupe Mountains NP
Staff Assist At Major Propane Spill Near Park
On December 27th, a tanker loaded with over 9,000 gallons of liquefied propane failed to negotiate a curve near the park and overturned, killing the driver. The accident closed state highway FM 652 for over 30 hours while a hazmat team removed the propane. The park provided personnel, equipment and technical expertise to the response operation. Low temperatures, winds over 60 mph and the remote location hampered the response. The accident is under investigation by the Texas Highway Patrol. [Peter Pappas, Park Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories (among others) can be read on InsideNPS (internal) or NPS Digest (external):
Yellowstone NP - National Parks Magazine article: “A migration route north of Yellowstone is being pinched by human development, and the park's pronghorn antelope are feeling the squeeze.”
HYPERLINK "http://www.npca.org/magazine/2008/winter/going-nowhere-fast.html" http://www.npca.org/magazine/2008/winter/going-nowhere-fast.html
Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by both the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added this week are a TEL station course on DO-21 on donations and fundraising in January, a training session on firefighter/LE retirement in Philadelphia in February, and a basic technical rescue training session in Canyonlands in April.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=775
Events Calendar - Today's listing of upcoming NPS and NPS-related events across the nation. New on this week's calendar is a centennial rededication ceremony at Pinnacles NM later this month.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Conferences&id=776
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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-686-3828).
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