NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
INCIDENTS
Effigy Mounds NM
Railroad Completes Mitigation, Pays Penalty In ARPA Case
While undertaking flood mitigation repair work on a railway line adjacent to the park in late 2007, employees of the Iowa, Chicago and Eastern (IC&E) Railroad, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, deposited rock and soil inside the external boundary of the park. An area of approximately 912 square feet was affected, all of which was part of a known prehistoric and historic archaeological site. As a result of an investigation by NPS staff into the factors contributing to the incident, it was determined that the strict liability civil penalty provisions of the Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) offered the most effective legal and resource damage mitigation remedy. Anne Vawser, archaeologist with the Midwest Archaeological Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, was assigned to complete the damage assessment, and determined that the archeological value of the area affected to be $41,966.60 and the cost of restoration and repair to be $19,809.50, thus equaling a total damage assessment of $61,776.10. As permitted by ARPA regulations, informal discussions were held between the NPS land manager and staff from the IC&E Railroad. These discussions produced an agreement in which the IC&E agreed to remove the deposited materials from NPS lands under NPS supervision, and in exchange, the NPS agreed to reduce the civil penalty to $19,809.50, which was equal to the government's restoration and repair costs. The agreed-upon mitigation work was completed last November 11th and the civil penalty payment was received by the park on February 6th. As noted in 16 USC 470ff(a)(2)(B), in the case of a second or subsequent violation of ARPA by any person, the amount of such civil penalty may be double the amount which would have been assessed if such violation were the first violation by such person. Consequently, any federal land manager who may in the future have an ARPA incident involving the railroad now has an additional penalty option at his or her disposal. [Bob Palmer, Senior Law Enforcement Officer]
Gateway NRA
Stranded Sperm Whale Expires On Park Beach
On Wednesday, February 11th, a 13-foot female sperm whale was found beached on the shores of Breezy Point Tip in Rockaway, an area that is part of Gateway National Recreation Area. According to witnesses, it washed up around 10 a.m. and was still alive. National Park Service rangers were immediately dispatched to the scene, but upon arrival they discovered that the whale had expired. The park contacted the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, a Long Island-based stranding and research facility, and asked them to assist with the investigation. On Thursday, marine biologists conducted a preliminary examination of the deceased animal on the beach, but later transported the remains to their research facility at the Atlantis Marine World aquarium in Riverhead to conduct a detailed necropsy. The whale is thought to be less than a year old, and the initial investigation showed no signs of a boat strike or other trauma. The whale did exhibit some signs of malnutrition, which could mean that it died after being separated from its mother. The necropsy should reveal a conclusive cause of death. In 2004, a larger, older sperm whale washed ashore in the Fort Tilden area of the park. This whale also did not survive. Sperm whales do not live near the coast, but generally live in deep waters far from land. [Brian Feeney, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
North Cascades NP - Two new videos on climate change in the parks are now available on the web - “Cascading Effects: Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest” and “Rising Tide: Hawai'i Parks In Peril.”
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7355" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7355
Visitor and Resource Protection - Additional interim guidance has been issued on implementation and enforcement of the new concealed firearms regulation. A link is provided to the memorandum.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7356" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7356
Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service. Details are provided on NPS funding contained in the House version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Ten new bills have been introduced on matters of interest to the NPS.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7354" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7354
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - John Hennessy, the park's chief historian, has received the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution's Historic Preservation Award. The award, newly created by the 165,000-member heritage group, is one of only three awarded nationwide to date.
HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2246" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2246
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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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