NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, January 12, 2008

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INCIDENTS

Rocky Mountain NP

Rangers Rescue Lost Snowmobilers

On the evening of Tuesday, December 30th, staff on the park's west side were asked to assist the Grand County Sheriff's Office with a search tor two snowmobilers lost in the Arapaho National Forest. The pair - J.R. 49, of Cold Spring, Minnesota, and his 20-year-old son, T.R. - had gotten stuck in deep snow on the south side of the Bowen Gulch drainage. The two men had sent text messages to their family saying that they were stuck and lost and that they had started a fire to keep warm. On Wednesday, using a map made after the text signal pinpointed the pair's location, district ranger Mark McCutcheon and two other rangers from the park skied three miles to the general area and located the lost snowmobilers, who were hiking through three feet of snow. The two men were in an area of the Never Summer Wilderness Area in the Arapaho National Forest that is officially closed to snowmobilers. They said that they had become disoriented. Rangers gave the pair snowshoes, food and water, and assisted them in walking out. Snowmobiling is allowed on the North Supply access trail in J.R. Mountain National Park, a two-mile-long trail which provides access between Grand Lake and 100 miles of snowmobile trails on the adjacent national forest. Rangers often are called to assist with snowmobile-related incidents outside of the park. On Saturday, December 27th, two snowmobilers from Colorado were killed in an avalanche in Grand County. Rangers assisted with the recovery efforts. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

Lake Mead NRA

Two Men Drown In Lake Mohave

On Friday, January 9th, the park received a report that two men were overdue from a boating trip to Lake Mohave. The two men - J.M., 70, and F.B., 74, both of Parhump, Nevada - had departed from Cottonwood Cove on the Nevada side of the lake early that morning in a 12-foot aluminum boat. Rangers began a search with the assistance of spotters in an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter. J.M.'s body was found near Tamarisk Cove at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning; F.B.'s body was found near 9-Mile Cove around 4:40 p.m. that afternoon. Both have been turned over to the county coroner's office. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Reports indicate that it was windy on the lake on Friday, which may have been a contributing factor. [Andrew S. Munoz, Public Affairs Specialist]

OTHER NEWS

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

Everglades NP - The historic Nike Hercules missile base located within Everglades National Park has been opened to the public for the first time since it was turned over to the park in 1979.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7253" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7253

Director's Office - Director Bomar has issued the National Park Service 2008 Director's Report, a 60-page document with details on the agency's accomplishments last year.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7254" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7254

Visitor and Resource Protection - The final rule on concealed firearms in the parks went into effect last Friday. Guidance on implementation has been prepared and is available through a link included with this article.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7255" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7255

Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. Forty NPS-related bills were introduced in the House and Senate last week. A hearing on Sen. Salazar's nomination as Secretary of the Interior will be held on Thursday.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7256" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7256

US Park Police - Major Gerard “Jerry” McCarthy, commander of the United States Park Police's San Francisco Field Office, retired on January 3rd following almost 30 years of service with the National Park Service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2213" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2213

Kenai Fjords NP - Bill Stevens, who captained a number of vessels in Kenai Fjords NP, passed away in December.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2214" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2214

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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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