NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Southeast Region

Parks Recover From Gustav, Others Prepare For Sequels

Several parks in the region remain closed and are making damage assessments following Hurricane Gustav's passage (below), while others are keeping an eye on the Atlantic. With four named storms going at once - Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and Josephine - the tropics are exceptionally active today. The last time there were four named systems present on the same day was on August 24, 1999. The National Park Service is also supporting FEMA by providing 30 boat crews in conjunction with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The group is staged in Austin, Texas; some of them will be released today, but 14 boats will be held pending a FEMA mission assignment for Hurricane Hanna. The National Park Service has also been tasked with a second FEMA mission assignment for boat crews with the assistance of USFWS and USGS. Many of these crews are in Texarkana. Some will be released today, but three will be held for an assignment to Hanna.

Cane River NHA/Cane River Creole NHP - The park is closed. Power and both regular and cellular phone service are out. Assessments are underway.

Natchez Trace Parkway - The parkway is now closed from mile marker 0 to mile marker 87. Two campgrounds in the southern districts are also closed. There appears to be only a modest amount of debris needing clearance. Assessments are underway.

Gulf Islands NS - The Mississippi District is closed. The island between Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens has been breached, with a full damage assessment now underway. Preliminary assessments indicate minor damage to Davis Bayou; sand across roadways and parking areas may delay opening the area. Assessments are underway.

Jean Lafitte NHP/New Orleans Jazz NHP - The parks are closed. All utilities are out in Eunice, Louisiana, and it will likely take five to seven days to restore them. Sites in Lafayette have water and electricity. There are several large trees down and debris needs to be cleared. The assessment will continue.

[Dean Ross, Emergency Services Coordinator, WASO]

Cape Hatteras NS

Update On “Operation Consent Decree”

The park increased its staffing and law enforcement profile over the Labor Day weekend due to the anticipated spike in visitation. There were a number of incident responses and arrests over the weekend. Although most were unrelated to the closure, four enforcement actions pertained to the consent decree - two were for driving on the beach at night and two more for turtle nest site closure violations. One new closure was put into effect on Saturday to protect a new turtle nest, but seven others were lifted because turtles had hatched. A number of turtle closure areas were damaged by an unusually high tide Sunday night but were repaired by the monitoring crew. A total of 37 people - including a Southeast Region SETT team - were committed to the incident as of Monday. The SETT and the IMT were demobilized yesterday. [Greg Stiles, IC]

Glen Canyon NRA

Woman Charged With Theft, Forgery And Money Laundering

In late November of 2006, Brian O'Dea, the NPS special agent at Glen Canyon, received a complaint of possible violations of park regulations associated with commercial use. Through a review of billing statements, emails, interviews, and a preliminary investigation, he determined that G.I., 42, of West Jordan, Utah, was conducting a business operation on Lake Powell involving the houseboat Desert Ruby without a permit. The investigation showed that a person was being paid $1800 per year and allowed to use the houseboat in return for managing it under a company called Desert Ruby LLC. During the investigation, O'Dea also learned that G.I. had managed three different houseboats on Lake Powell and had embezzled an estimated $65,000 from the three multiple-owner boats. Without the knowledge of the approximately 75 owners of the three boats, she obtained debit cards and bought personal items with them, then made up false documents when the owners asked to see them. Once the authentic bank records were obtained, it was apparent that she had forged and issued 23 checks totaling $230,815.71 from her then current employer, Interior Development of Midvale, Utah. The checks were laundered through Desert Ruby Inc. O'Dea took the case to the United States Attorney's Office, then, upon their direction, to the Utah Attorney General's Financial Crimes Unit. It was agreed that the prosecution would be handled by the state. The victims reported that G.I. spent $238,150.88 in unauthorized expenditures, with an additional $26,346.97 in unknown expenses. G.I. had made $188,340.04 in unauthorized deposits into the victim's bank account. The investigation also showed that G.I. had been convicted of stealing American Express travelers' checks from her employer, American Express, in 1998. The company lost $220,000 and she was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison, but ultimately didn't do any jail time and was placed on 36 months' probation. On August 26th, the Utah Attorney General's Office filed a 21-page criminal information against G.I. on eight counts of felony theft, 14 counts of felony forgery, three counts of felony money laundering, and one count of a “pattern of unlawful activity,” also a felony. Second degree felonies in Utah carry a one to 15 year sentence and a penalty of up to $10,000 on each count. Third degree felonies carry a zero to five year sentence and up to a $5,000 penalty on each count. G.I. in this case had eight second degree felony counts and 18 third degree felony counts filed against her. The August 26th filing of the criminal information in Salt Lake City effectively released the case facts and charging document worldwide via the internet. The filing of the charges via information is the Utah state equivalent to a federal grand jury indictment. While this case is being prosecuted by the Utah Attorney General's Office, the investigation was led by the NPS Investigative Services Branch and by O'Dea, with critical assistance provided by NPS crime analyst Joan Yorkey and Utah Attorney General's Office special agent Steven Sperry. The case is pending arraignment and plea agreement or trial in Salt Lake City. [Brian S. Smith, IMR Special Agent in Charge]

Blue Ridge Parkway

Ginseng Poaching Arrest And Conviction

On Sunday, August 24th, ranger Joe Darling found a vehicle parked off the side of the parkway in an area that has no trails but is known for illegal harvest of ginseng. When Darling entered the woods, he discovered signs of recent digging and eventually contacted S.A. of Asheville, North Carolina. Upon investigation, S.A. was found to have 34 freshly dug ginseng roots in his possession and admitted to digging them up on park property. On Friday, August 29th, S.A. appeared before the a federal magistrate and pled guilty to digging and removing ginseng. He received 18 days in jail, was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines, and banned from the parkway and adjacent federal or US Forest Service lands for two years. S.A. further admitted to previously removing ginseng from other locations along the parkway and adjacent USFS areas and subsequently surrendered 481 additional roots, which when dried renders about two pounds of ginseng. Ginseng is presently bringing in more than $1,000 per pound, resulting in an increase in violations. [Tim Francis, Pisgah District Ranger]

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:

NPS Centennial - The fourth in the George Wright Society's series of essays on the National Park Service's centennial is now out - an article by Janet McDonnell, the NPS bureau historian from 2000 to 2007, on the last three decades' many conferences and reports on the Service's future and what can be learned from their findings. A link is provided.

In The Media - A weekly digest of news stories about or of consequence to the NPS, with links to the articles. Today's summary includes stories on a new trend in ‘off-road rage' on trails, disappearing glaciers in Glacier NP, the impacts of climate change in Yosemite, some possible new Pacific marine protected areas, Lake Powell's unexpected rebound this year, the 20th anniversary of the Yellowstone fires, and touring the ancient mounds of the Midwest.

Northeast Region - Martha Bogle has been selected as the new superintendent of Shenandoah NP. She follows Chas Cartwright, who left Shenandoah earlier this year to become superintendent at Glacier NP.

Redwood N&SP - In recognition of his outstanding contributions in the fields of park management, research and resources management for the National Park Service, Terry Hofstra has been awarded the Meritorious Service Award of the Department of the Interior.

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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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