NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Denali NP&P

Iditarod Champion Found Guilty Of Moose Poaching

On October 24th, a federal magistrate found J.K. of Denali Park, Alaska, guilty of moose poaching in the park. J.K., a four-time champion Iditarod sled dog racer, was found not guilty on a second count of driving his ORV into the park to retrieve the moose. During the trial, J.K. testified that it was his college-age daughter who drove the ORV across the park boundary, and she was not charged in the case. The decision brings to an end over a year of investigation, trial preparation, and court testimony by Denali rangers. Ranger John Leonard and Alaska state trooper Thomas Lowy first contacted J.K. and his daughter in a hunting camp near the northern boundary of the park in September 2007. At that time, J.K. said that he had harvested a bull moose southwest of his camp, and all appeared to be in order during the camp and license check. On a subsequent patrol of the same area two days later, rangers Leonard and Scott Pariseau found a pile of fresh moose bones southeast of J.K.'s camp, the opposite direction from what J.K. had stated. The investigation connected the bone pile to a kill site within park boundaries by genetically matching a meat sample collected from the kill site to meat seized under a search warrant of J.K.'s residence. Although J.K. mounted several defenses, including that the park had not properly marked its boundaries, the magistrate's decision found that the park had met both legal and practical standards in marking its boundary (the text of his decision can be found at HYPERLINK "http://media.newsminer.com/docs/jeffking1024.pdf" http://media.newsminer.com/docs/jeffking1024.pdf). Sentencing for J.K. is scheduled for December 4th. [Maureen McLaughlin, Mountaineering Administration and Public Information]

C & O Canal NHP

Seriously Injured Volunteer Rescued From Park Trail

Park volunteer Russ Kennedy was badly injured in a fall while patrolling Billy Goat Trail, Section A, in the Great Falls Tavern area of the park on the afternoon of November 2nd. Ranger Brad Sones and volunteer Steve Delanoy responded. Kennedy was treated, then moved to Purple Horse Beach, where he was evaluated by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue EMTs. Park Police sergeants Kenneth Burchell (pilot) and Mark Varanelli (rescue technician) flew to the location in ‘Eagle,' the Park Police helicopter, landing on a sandbar between the Maryland and Virginia chutes at Difficult Run. In order to do so, Burchell had to hover the helicopter on the sandbar to keep it from sinking into the soft terrain. Kennedy was loaded onto ‘Eagle,' then flown to a hospital. He is currently being treated at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Cards may be sent to him care of Suburban Hospital, 8600 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. [Robert Lachance and Bill Justice]

OTHER NEWS

Among the stories in today's edition are the following:

Servicewide - The first annual National Park Service National Scout Day took place on September 27th as part of National Public Lands Day. Nearly 250 Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops participated, completing over 145 service projects.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7059" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7059

Mississippi NR&RA - Over the three days from October 14th to October 16th, park superintendents in the Midwest and Southeast regions gathered in the shadow of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial to explore how the Mississippi River connects their places and stories.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7049" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7049

San Francisco Maritime NHP - On October 17th, the 19th anniversary of the Bay Area's devastating Loma Prieta earthquake, San Francisco Maritime hosted a Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) training session.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7031" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7031

Fort McHenry NM&HS - Former supervisory exhibit specialist John R. (Jack) Harthousen, Sr. passed away on October 31st after a long battle with cancer.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2127" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2127

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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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