NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, August 29, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Southeast/Intermountain Regions
Parks Begin Preparations For Possible Hurricane Arrival
Parks along the Gulf Coast are making preparations for Tropical Storm Gustav, which will likely return to hurricane strength when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, while those in Florida and on the eastern seaboard are keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hanna, which may make landfall somewhere in that region. The three parks most likely to be affected by the former are preparing for closure if necessary:
Jean Lafitte NHP&P/New Orleans Jazz NHP - The parks have activated their hurricane plan and are working together on preparations. The governor of Louisiana has declared a state of emergency, and local officials are discussing the real possibility of evacuating coastal parishes as soon as today or tomorrow. The Louisiana State Police have announced that a “contra-flow” traffic pattern may go into effect as soon as Sunday if needed (this will make all interstate lanes one direction only in southeastern Louisiana, with all lanes being used to handle outbound traffic). The state has put 2,000 National Guard troops on standby. The parks will begin closing on Saturday if conditions warrant and will remain closed until the storm threat passes. Many park employees live in low-lying areas and are likely to be evacuated.
Gulf Islands NS - The park began preparations yesterday morning. Both districts went to a higher hurricane plan preparedness level, as both are within the National Hurricane Center's five-day forecast cone for areas where landfall may occur.
Meanwhile, other parks in the area are in the planning and monitoring phase:
Cane River NHA/Cane River Creole NHP
Natchez Trace Parkway
Big Thicket NP
Padre Island NS
Palo Alto Battlefield NHS
The National Park Service is also preparing to support any potential requests for support from FEMA. [Dean Ross, WASO; Mark Ruggiero, SERO; John Hughes, JELA; Clay Jordan, GUIS]
Cape Hatteras NS
Update On “Operation Consent Decree”
On April 16th, a federal judge issued a consent decree ordering the National Park Service to take specific steps to protect certain nesting shorebirds and sea turtles. In order to meet this objective, the park upgraded its law enforcement capacity and has been closely monitoring its beaches. Although nesting shorebird activity has ended for the season, turtle activity continues. Forty sea turtle nests have successfully hatched to date. There are 112 closures currently in place, all to protect sea turtle nests. Five violation notices have been issued in the last several weeks for closed area violations. With the Labor Day holiday weekend approaching, additional law enforcement personnel have been ordered and the operation is again being managed by a Type 3 incident management team. [Greg Stiles, IC]
Gates of the Arctic NP
Section Of Park Closed Following Bear Mauling
The park has announced the closure to visitor use of an area west of Anaktuvuk Pass after a woman was mauled by a grizzly bear at her campsite in the Okokmilaga River drainage. The woman, whose identity is not being released until she has receives medical attention and family members are notified, was attacked at about 6:30 a.m. on Thursday morning by a lone adolescent bear. The incident was reported by other members of the seven-person group. Her injuries are significant but not life-threatening according to medics who tended to her in Coldfoot, where she was first flown by Coyote Air yesterday morning. She was transferred this afternoon to Fairbanks for additional medical care. The closure was ordered by the superintendent and applies to National Park Service lands. A map of the closed area is posted on the park's web site, HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/gaar" www.nps.gov/gaar, under the “Management” link; it is also available from park offices in Fairbanks, Bettles and Anaktuvuk Pass. Park rangers and an Alaska state trooper were told that the incident began when a bear breached the group's food tent and destroyed one or more water jugs. Food was in barrels and was not reached by the bear. The bear then moved to the victim's tent. Other group members heard the incident in progress and chased the bear off with a mix of bear spray and noise. No firearm was used. Additional interviews are expected to take place with group members, and when possible, with the victim. The Okokmilaga is a very sparsely used and the closure is not expected to displace other visitors. Bear-human incidents are very rare in Gates of the Arctic. An area along the Alatna River was closed three years ago due to an aggressive black bear threatening people along the river. A bear attack in 1996 near the Noatak River was the park's only bear fatality. [John Quinley, PAO, ARO]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Lyndon B. Johnson NHP - August 27th marked the centennial of President Lyndon B. Johnson's birth, and the park celebrated this milestone by opening his home, known as the “Texas White House,” to the public for the first time.
US Park Police - Retired sergeant Relis "Rico" Woods passed away on Sunday, August 17th. Sergeant Woods retired from the Park Police in February 2006 as a sergeant in the Training Branch.
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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
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).
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