NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, July 27, 2009
NOTICE
The White House
Flags At Half Staff Today
President Obama has directed that all United States flags be lowered to half staff today in commemoration of National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. For a copy of the Presidential proclamation, click on “More Information” below. Flags will return to full staff on Tuesday. [NCR Communications Center]
HYPERLINK "http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Korean-War-Veterans-Armistice-Day/" http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Korean-War-Veterans-Armistice-Day/
INCIDENT
Mount Rainier NP
Sisters Rescued From Ohanapecosh River
On Wednesday, July 22nd, rangers were notified that a young woman was stranded on a boulder in the Ohanapecosh River in the southeast corner of the park. Her location on the river was just upstream of a series of rapids and Silver Falls, which has a 40-foot drop. Rivers in the park have been flowing fast and high due to seasonal snowmelt and unusually warm temperatures. Rangers responded and found 21-year-old J.C. of Chattanooga, Tennessee, stranded on a boulder in the river, unable to get to shore safely. Her 23-year-old sister, S.C., also of Chattanooga, was on the shore but was unable to climb out of the area due to vertical rock cliffs on either side of her. The sisters had decided that they would go swimming in a pool on the river well above the falls. While swimming, the current began sweeping them downstream closer to the rapids and falls. They both were able to climb onto a boulder in the river. The older sister eventually jumped to shore across the current, but her sister was unable to do so. Rangers set up a high-angle rope system to safely rescue the sister who was on the shore and to gain closer access to the sister who was stuck on the boulder. In the meantime, the Lewis County swiftwater rescue team was called in to assist with a technical rescue from the river. They were able to successfully extract the sister on the boulder. No injuries to either woman or their rescuers occurred during this incident, which took six hours to complete and involved over 20 people. Ranger Geoff Walker was IC. Click on the link below to see a fine Centralia Daily Chronicle video on the rescue, including interviews with Walker and the sisters. [Chuck Young, Chief Ranger]
HYPERLINK "http://www.chronline.com/articles/2009/07/23/news/doc4a689aa0d6f07350841774.txt" http://www.chronline.com/articles/2009/07/23/news/doc4a689aa0d6f07350841774.txt
Grand Canyon NP
Body Of Missing Backpacker Found
The search for missing backpacker B.G., 20, came to a conclusion on Saturday morning with the discovery of a body believed to be his in the Bonita Creek drainage on the North Rim. On Tuesday, July 21st, the park was notified that one or more hikers were overdue from a backpacking trip in Grand Canyon. B.G.'s car was soon found at the Bill Hall trailhead on the North Rim, and investigators determined that only one person had gone on the backpacking trip. With no backcountry permit to work from and no knowledge of B.G.'s specific plans, searchers began covering a large area from the Deer Creek drainage across Surprise Valley to the Tapeats Creek drainage and down to the river. On Saturday, they narrowed their search to the Bonita Creek drainage and surrounding area based on the discovery of personal items, including a backpack, in that vicinity. At approximately 9:30 a.m., a search team, moving up Bonita Creek from its confluence with the Colorado River, found a body at the top of a 100-foot pour-off. The body was located less than a half mile from the river confluence. This multi-day search involved approximately 50 NPS personnel and volunteers from Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Zion National Park. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Specialist]
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Child Electrocuted At Leaseholder's Store
Rangers from Delaware Water Gap and from nearby Worthington State Forest responded last Friday afternoon to a report of a seven-year-old girl who was not breathing at the Delaware View House, a general store located on the New Jersey side of the park. She was flown to Morristown Memorial Hospital, where she was listed in satisfactory condition at the time of the report (Friday evening). Investigation revealed that the girl had been electrocuted by a makeshift contraption designed to ward off black bears. Park leaseholder G.K. of Sparta, New Jersey, who operates the historic Delaware View House, was arrested for maintaining a hazardous device on federal land and disorderly conduct. G.K. cooperated fully with the investigation and was released by a federal judge later that evening. [Kathleen Sandt, Public Affairs Officer]
Yosemite NP
Three Arrested For Multiple Auto Burglaries
On the afternoon of Thursday, July 23rd, a park visitor reported that someone had broken into her vehicle and that a purse was missing. A short time later, a visitor at the Arch Rock entrance station reported seeing a man in a silver-colored Chevrolet Impala throw a purse out the car's window. The driver avoided the entrance station kiosk by traveling through the employee-only lane and left the park. Shortly thereafter, a park employee found and turned in a purse at the entrance station. A responding ranger was flagged down and told about the two auto burglaries and the missing purses. One of those turned out to be the one turned in at Arch Rock. It was missing more than $1,000 in cash. The dispatch center for the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office was notified and two deputies stopped the Impala on Highway 140. They detained the three occupants until rangers arrived. The rangers took all three into custody, charging each with four counts of theft (one felony and three Class A misdemeanors) and one count of possession of stolen property (a felony). In all, four vehicles were burglarized and over $2,100 in cash was taken. The trio who were arrested had $2,160 in cash in their possession. Evidence in the vehicle also linked them to recent auto burglaries in the Central Valley. [Jack Hoeflich, Case Agent]
Santa Monica Mountains NRA
Marijuana Plantations Eradicated In Multi-Agency Effort
On July 21st, rangers from Santa Monica Mountains and officers from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California State Park Police, CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting), and Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority entered three marijuana plantation sites and eradicated the plants found within them. Two were located in Malibu Creek State Park and one in the Zuma-Trancas Canyon area on National Park Service land. All three plantation sites were initially discovered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, which led the operation. A total of 3,509 plans were eradicated, including 1,421 plants in Zuma Canyon. Garbage, PVC piping, camping equipment, fertilizer, and harmful chemicals were also removed. “This was an extremely successful collaborative effort,” said chief ranger Evan Jones. “Not only were we able to pool our resources to eradicate the marijuana plants, but we were also able to take initial steps towards site clean-up and natural resource restoration.” [Lauren Newman, Public Affairs Specialist]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS.
Office of Policy - An enhanced edition of Management Policies 2006 posted on the policy website will make the document more functional and user-friendly, and a new index to Title 16 of the United States Code will make it easier to find relevant laws.
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7959" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=7959
Office of 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=7968" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/headline.cfm?type=Announcements&id=7968
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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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