NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, January 2, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Boston NHP

Firefighters Knock Down Small Blaze On USS Cassin Young

Rangers spotted thick black smoke issuing from the stern upper deck on the USS Cassin Young, a World War II destroyer, around 10 p.m. on December 30th. An engine from Boston FD responded; upon seeing the thick black smoke, firefighters summoned additional support. At least three ladder trucks, four engines, two EMS vehicles, four Boston FD SUV's, two Boston PD cruisers, and three boats - one each from Boston FD, Boston PD and the Coast Guard - all responded. Firefighters sprayed about 200 gallons of water on the area of the ship from which the smoke was emanating and knocked down the fire. The smoke was found to be issuing from the boiler room. Boston FD investigators and NPS personnel determined that one of the boilers had failed due to age and was the cause of the smoke. The damage has been estimated at about $25,000. The USS Constitution, berthed nearby, was not affected. To see a short news video of the response, click on the link below. [Sean Hennessy, Public Affairs Officer]

HYPERLINK "http://wn.whdh.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=3293105&h1=Small%20fire%20put%20out%20on%20Boston%20national%20park%20ship%20%2812/30/08" http://wn.whdh.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=3293105&h1=Small%20fire%20put%20out%20on%20Boston%20national%20park%20ship%20%2812/30/08

Pacific West/Intermountain Regions

ARPA/NAGPRA/Wildlife Conviction

In early 2003, a joint investigation was begun by the NPS, FBI, BIA, BATF, USFWS and Collville Confederated Tribes into the purported trafficking and possession of illegal artifacts and wildlife by an individual in eastern Washington. This covert investigation revealed that K.M., 68, of Newport, Washington, possessed archaeological resources taken from Glacier National Park, Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, and the Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and Nez Perce Indian Reservations. Additionally, K.M. possessed prehistoric Native American human remains from at least one adult and several children and a variety of prohibited wildlife, including a fully mounted golden eagle. In the fall of 2003, K.M. agreed to sell his entire collection to an undercover NPS agent for $750,000. This collection included nearly 1,500 artifacts from the federal and Indian lands listed above. Additionally, K.M. agreed to sell items that would violate NAGPRA, the Lacey Act, the Eagle Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). A buy/bust operation followed by the service of search warrants was completed in November 2003. The BIA archaeologist working on the case subsequently wrote a damage assessment report that valued the federal and tribal archaeological resources at $58,500. K.M. was indicted by a grand jury in September 2008 on four felonies (two ARPA counts and one count each for MBTA and Lacey Act violations) and two misdemeanors (NAGPRA and Eagle Act). In October 2008, K.M. pled guilty to two felony ARPA counts, a NAGPRA count and a felony MBTA count. He was sentenced on December 17th to three years of probation and six months of home confinement with electronic monitoring, ordered to pay over $17,000 in restitution and other costs, and directed to pay for three anti-looting ads in regional newspapers. The artifacts and human remains will be returned/repatriated to their appropriate parks and tribes. [Todd Swain, Special Agent]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Boston NHP - On December 18th, Drydock 1 in the Charlestown Navy Yard was flooded and the caisson (the floating gate) was removed for the first time in 13 years - all part of preparations for the upcoming drydocking and rehabilitation of the USS Cassin Young.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7222" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7222

Death Valley NP - James T. (JT) Reynolds, superintendent at Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada, is retiring on January 2nd with nearly 40 years of federal service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2191" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2191

US Park Police - Lieutenant George F. Wallace is retiring from the United States Park Police on January 3rd with over 29 years of distinguished service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2190" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2190

WASO Workforce Management - Alex Young, senior advisor to the assistant director for workforce management and a longtime NPS manager in Denver, is retiring on January 2nd after over 28 years of dedicated service to the NPS.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2192" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2192

Yellowstone NP - The 2008 Tactical Operator of the Year Award has been given to district ranger Matt Vandzura, acting team leader for the park's Special Response Team.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2189" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2189

Servicewide Training Calendar - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added today are the following - a seminar on working in archive collections at Morristown, this year's offering of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History summer seminars, TEL courses on the hiring process and interviewing skills for supervisors, a concessions management course at Mammoth Cave, a structural firefighter course at Glen Canyon, an Eastern high angle rescue training course at Blue Ridge, and a basic technical rescue course at Canyonlands.

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

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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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