NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, May 11, 2009

INCIDENTS

Yukon-Charley NP

NPS Flood Response Transitions To State Team

The NPS flood response is transitioning to its next phase, which is that of short- and long-term recovery. The incident management team demobilized on Friday, and park employees in Eagle are returning to normal duties (as normal as possible) in their flood-ravaged community. The NPS will continue to assist the state's flood recovery efforts in Eagle, but the highest priority is to provide support to the Eagle-based staff and assist them to the best degree possible as they deal with the loss of homes, belongings, and communities. James Savage will be remaining in Eagle to act as the NPS liaison with the state's incident management team. Other NPS staff will go to Eagle to assist with recovery efforts as their skills and expertise are needed. Initial overflights of the historic structures and public use cabins along the river indicate that they are still present, but may have sustained some degree of water and/or structural damage. When the ice melts and the river level drops, a more thorough assessment will be made. In order to facilitate monetary donations, Alaska Geographic has graciously agreed to set up a donation fund for Eagle NPS staff and residents and has made the first donation. Checks can be made out to “Alaska Geographic - Eagle Fund” and sent to either Julia Youngblood, Fairbanks Administrative Center, 4175 Geist Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709, or Suzy Wooliver, Alaska Region Office, 240 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501. The Alaska Geographic fund provides more flexibility in how donations can be utilized. The use of funds from an NPS donation account would be more restricted. [Kris Fister, IO]

Denali NP&P

Climber Dies Above Windy Corner

A client on a guided expedition collapsed and died of apparent natural causes on Thursday, May 7th, while ascending the West Buttress of Mt. McKinley. W.H., 61 of Fairport, New York, was a client on a six-member Mountain Trip expedition which began its ascent on May 1st. W.H. collapsed shortly before 4:00 p.m. after his team had hauled gear from their camp at 11,200 feet to a cache site at 13,500 feet, just above the location known as Windy Corner. The expedition guides immediately began CPR and were soon assisted by two mountaineering rangers who happened to be at Windy Corner retrieving gear. CPR was performed for over 30 minutes, but W.H. never regained a pulse. Two advanced medical providers on the same NPS patrol, a paramedic and a nurse, arrived on scene from the 14,200-foot camp at 4:30 p.m. Shortly thereafter, W.H. was pronounced deceased after telephone consultation with the park's physician sponsor. While the five team members returned to their camp at 11,200 feet, rangers secured the deceased in place at 13,500 feet for later helicopter evacuation. The park's 2009 mountaineering season only recently got underway. A total of 1,052 climbers are registered to attempt Mt. McKinley this season, 167 of whom are currently on the mountain. Of the ten mountaineers that already completed attempts, eight reached the summit. [Maureen McLaughlin, PIO]

OTHER NEWS

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

Statue of Liberty NM - Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced last Friday that the National Park Service will reopen the crown of the Statue of Liberty to visitors on a limited basis beginning on July 4th.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7660" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7660

National Park Foundation - The National Park Foundation has the opportunity to receive up to $3 million through Target Corporation's "Bullseye Gives," a two-week-long giving campaign on Facebook that will run from May 10th through May 25th.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7662" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7662

Big Thicket NP - The Conservation Fund joined the east Texas community and a host of public and private partners on April 15th to announce the donation of 6,600 acres of bottomland hardwood forest and cypress-tupelo wetland to the park.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7659" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7659

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP - Actor Robert Duvall joined two Congressmen in speaking out last week against a Walmart Super Center planned for a site next to the Wilderness Battlefield.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7663" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7663

Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7661" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7661

Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - Greg Jackson has been named the deputy chief for the Division of Law Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services (LESES) in Washington. [internal link only] HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7654" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7654

US Park Police - Captain John A. Lauro has been selected as the new commander of the U.S. Park Police's New York Field Office and will be promoted to major.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2340" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2340

* * * * *

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).

--- ### ---