NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, June 11, 2009

INCIDENTS

Yosemite NP

Numerous Citations Issued In Surprise Tour Bus Inspection

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol and the National Park Service, held a surprise inspection for all commercial for-hire multiple passenger tour buses in the park yesterday. The purpose of these unannounced inspections was to ensure visitor safety by assuring safe operation of tour buses in the park. Twenty-four buses were inspected - nine were found to be safe and were released with no citation, but the remaining 15 bus operators were cited for unsafe operation and two buses were taken out of service. Roadside inspections adhere to the guidelines of the North American standard for bus safety. There are five levels of inspections, including a vehicle component, a driver component, or a combination of both. Inspections are designed to determine if buses are in compliance with federal motor carrier safety regulations. About seven percent of the parks visitors - around 250,000 per year out of an annual visitation of approximately 3.5 million - arrive on tour buses. The large majority of tour bus passengers are international visitors from countries such as Japan, Korea, Germany, and England. These surprise inspections will continue today. [Kari Cobb, Public Affairs Officer]

Rocky Mountain NP

Two Injured Climbers Rescued

Two climbers - one 40, the other 15 - fell and were injured below Hallett Peak near Emerald Lake on the afternoon of June 9th. They'd been climbing through snow in a steep, rocky area about two-and-a-half miles from the Bear Lake trailhead. Rangers were notified of the accident via cell phone in mid-afternoon. The first rangers reached the two injured men at about 4 p.m. Twenty-five park staff were involved in the rescue, assisted by personnel from Larimer County Search and Rescue. The rescue involved a technical lowering and litter carryout. [Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

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

Submerged Resources Center - The Submerged Resources Center, long based in Santa Fe, has moved to Intermountain Regional Office in Denver and is embarking on a new phase of preservation and protection of submerged resources from its new home.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7803" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7803

Department of the Interior - President Obama has nominated Bob Abbey to head the Bureau of Land Management and Sam Hamilton to run the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Each of the nominees has extensive professional experience in his respective agency.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7804" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7804

Midwest Region - Major renovation and restoration work at Harry S Truman NHS will close the centerpiece of the site, the Truman Home, to public tours beginning August 3rd. The closure is expected to last through next spring. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7802" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7802

Golden Gate NRA - Golden Gate NRA protection ranger Shannon Jay has received the Law Enforcement Instructor of the Year award for his training accomplishments in 2008. Photo.

HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2378" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=PeopleNews&id=2378

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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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