NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

INCIDENTS

Zion NP

Injured Man Extricated From Behunin Canyon

Late on the afternoon of May 31st, rangers received several reports from hikers on the Emerald Pools trail saying that people were yelling for help from a canyon above them. At about the same time, the International Emergency Response Center notified the park that they'd received a ‘rescue alert' from a SPOT satellite personal tracker from deep in a slot canyon. This signal confirmed that the accident was in Behunin Canyon, rather than Heaps Canyon. A short-haul ready helicopter from the Grand Canyon was called; upon arrival, the pilot picked up ranger Keith Winslow and ranger/paramedic Andrew Fitzgerald and flew them to a point above the canyon where they could rappel to the victim - L.H., 37, of San Pedro, California - with medical supplies and overnight gear. The rangers had to provide food and warm clothing to a total of seven people because neither L.H.'s party nor the party providing assistance to him had brought adequate gear for an overnight or extended stay. Rangers reached L.H. just before midnight, then treated and spent the night with him. The next morning, rangers rigged a highline to get L.H. across a pool prior to the last two rappels out, then piggybacked and scooted him across other obstacles. L.H. was able to control his own descent on the last two rappels with fireman's belays from below. Once out of the canyon, he was short-hauled to the canyon floor, then taken to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George. Kevin Killian was the initial IC, Ray O'Neil was the operations chief. [Bonnie Schwartz, Chief Ranger]

Virgin Islands NP

Visitor Drowns Off Honeymoon Beach

A woman on a commercial charter vessel went snorkeling off Honeymoon Beach on the morning of June 3rd. After she'd been in the water for 10 to 15 minutes, a visitor on the beach noticed that she hadn't moved in a while and swam out to her. He discovered that she was motionless and yelled for help. The woman was pulled into the charter vessel's dinghy and brought to shore, where a registered nurse who works nearby began CPR. Rangers and St. John EMS personnel arrived shortly thereafter. Efforts to resuscitate the woman proved unsuccessful and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Joint investigations are being conducted by the National Park Service, Virgin Islands Police Department and the United States Coast Guard. [Jeff Mihan, Acting Chief Ranger]

Yellowstone NP

Poacher Convicted On State Charges

On May 19th, S.S., 44, a Montana resident, was sentenced in a Gallatin County court after pleading guilty to four state felony poaching charges. S.S. had also attempted to take wildlife from the park, where he'd been previously convicted of poaching an elk. An investigation conducted by investigators from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks revealed that S.S. was conducting illegal guiding, hunting and trapping operations, and that he attempted to take elk and river otters from the park on the night of December 8, 2007. S.S. had a previous misdemeanor federal conviction from 1987 after poaching an elk in the same area of Yellowstone. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison (15 years suspended). As part of his sentencing, he also lost his hunting privileges for life anywhere in the world, is prohibited from possessing firearms and other weapons for life, is banned from entering any national park for 20 years, must forfeit all mounts, antlers, horns and pelts seized during the investigation, and must pay the court costs. In light of the state sentence, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the National Park Service declined to pursue additional federal misdemeanor charges. [David Barland-Liles, Special Agent]

OTHER NEWS

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

Hawaii Volcanoes NP - The glow from the molten lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u crater is currently at its brightest and most intense since the summit eruption began in March 2008, drawing many visitors.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7791" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7791

Workforce Management - The efforts of the National Park Service's Recruitment Futures Implementation Team have begun showing significant results in the area of diversity recruitment. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7792" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7792

Women's Rights NHP - On Friday, June 5th, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska and former vice presidential candidate, visited Women's Rights National Historical Park. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7787" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7787

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs - A display of full-scale artificial sequoia trees and wayside exhibits was dedicated in a special evening ceremony on May 14th at the airport in Fresno, California. The display consists of four clusters of 25-foot-tall, life-like sequoias. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7793" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7793

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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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