NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Monday, September 14, 2009

INCIDENTS

Grand Teton NP

Rangers Charge Two For Attempted Poaching And Other Violations

Rangers arrested one man and cited another on Thursday, September 10th, during an investigation of an attempted poaching of a bull elk in the park. R.P., 25, and his 32-year-old brother T.P., both residents of Rawlins, Wyoming, were cited for resource violations, drug violations, and weapons violations. They will each face a mandatory appearance in federal court for multiple charges. R.P. was driving his Chevy truck down Highway 26/89/191 near the Snake River Overlook around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning when a Teton County deputy sheriff stopped him for swerving in the road. The deputy sheriff performed an investigation for alcohol-related violations and cited R.P. for possession of an open container. During the investigation, the deputy sheriff also learned that R.P.'s brother, T.P., had been let off near the Triangle X Ranch in pursuit of a bull elk with a bow and arrow. The deputy sheriff notified the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center and park rangers responded to both locate T.P. and conduct an interview of R.P. in the investigation of a possible wildlife poaching. During the roadside interview with R.P., other violations were discovered; as a result of the evidence, rangers arrested R.P. and took him into custody. Rangers discovered that the P. brothers had driven to Jackson Hole to hunt elk on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. In the early hours of Thursday morning, the brothers decided to spotlight wildlife — an illegal activity in Grand Teton National Park. They spotted a bull elk with its harem of cows about one mile south of Triangle X Ranch, and, armed with a bow and quiver of arrows, T.P. got out of the vehicle to shoot the animal. R.P. apparently drove on down the highway after seeing the deputy sheriff's patrol car, leaving his brother behind in the brush. After a systematic search, park rangers eventually located T.P. about 9:30 in the morning as he emerged from the underbrush and approached the road in an effort to hitch a ride. T.P. was subsequently charged with illegally spotlighting, discharging of a weapon in a national park, and attempting the illegal take of wildlife; he was cited and released. During the interview of R.P., evidence of other illegal activity was discovered. Rangers found illegal drugs (methamphetamine) and paraphernalia, as well as several loaded firearms in his vehicle. R.P. was charged with illegally spotlighting, possession of drugs, and illegal possession of loaded firearms, in addition to the citation he received from the deputy sheriff for possession of an open container. R.P. is being held in the Teton County jail pending a more serious charge for felony possession of firearms. Rangers later returned to the area of the possible poaching and searched for evidence of blood or an animal carcass, but none was found. At this time, it appears that T.P. missed his intended target; however, the investigation is ongoing. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

Yosemite NP

Hiker Rescued From Illilouette Canyon

On Saturday, September 5th, the Yosemite Emergency Communications Center received a cell phone call from a park visitor hiking in the Illilouette Canyon east of Glacier Point. The visitor reported that a 43-year-old man had fallen while hiking along Illilouette Creek, hit his head on river rocks, and lost consciousness for a period of time. Wawona rangers responded via the Panorama Trail and located the man above Illilouette Falls. Park ranger/paramedic Heidi Schlichting provided ALS care, then requested an evacuation via the park's contract helicopter. Park ranger/medic Matt Stark heli-rappelled to their location and packaged the man for helicopter short-haul to Yosemite Valley. Ranger Chad Andrews was incident commander. [Mark Dowdle, Wawona Subdistrict Ranger]

Yellowstone NP

Woman Drowns In Backcountry

A woman from Wyoming drowned last Thursday afternoon in the backcountry in the southwest corner of the park. H.L.S. of Jackson drowned in the Bechler River near a backcountry campsite located about five-and-a-half trail miles north-northeast of the Bechler Ranger Station. The 30-year-old woman was one of a party of four staying at the Bechler Ford backcountry campsite. The woman reportedly said she felt ill, then went swimming. She was later discovered under four feet of water against a log. H.L.S. was removed from the river by a friend who determined that she wasn't breathing and had no pulse. The friend ran five miles to the Bechler Ranger Station and reported the incident at 1:45 p.m. Thursday. Rangers on horseback responded to the drowning report from the Bechler Ranger Station and a park helicopter flew in from Mammoth Hot Springs with a park medic. They found the woman unconscious, not breathing, and without a pulse. She was declared dead at the scene. The incident remains under investigation. The Bechler region of Yellowstone is accessible by road in the spring, summer and fall from Ashton, Idaho. Since it is not connected to the Grand Loop Road and is not close to any of the park's better known attractions, the area is primarily used by anglers, backpackers, and stock users. This is the first accidental death in the park in 2009, and the first drowning since September 2007. [Public Affairs]

Grand Canyon NP

Rangers Respond To Unfounded Emergency Locator Call

At 1:30 a.m. on the morning of September 2nd, the GEOS Emergency Response Center in Houston notified dispatch of a SPOT personal satellite tracker 911 activation that had been received from the park. The location coordinates placed the device along the Tanner Trail, approximately three miles from the trailhead. An investigation revealed that the registered owner was associated with a backcountry permit holder who had extensive hiking experience in the park. A trail response was begun at first light, just prior to the launch of the NPS helicopter with additional personnel. A ranger arrived on scene to find three people asleep in their tents and in no need of assistance. One of the hikers, who was on her first hike into Grand Canyon, claimed to have become alarmed during the night when her group ran out of water and she subsequently heard “odd” respiratory noises emanating from the leader of the group as he slept. At this point, the hiker decided that the group was in trouble, activated her SPOT messenger device, then promptly went back to sleep without making any contact with her hiking companions. The group ultimately abandoned further plans for their hike and returned to the rim. The Tanner Trail is exposed, with little shade and no water for the entire nine miles of the hike to the Colorado River. Following subsequent interviews with the involved hikers, the park decided not to take further action. [Ken Phillips, Chief, Emergency Services]

OTHER NEWS

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

WASO Public Affairs - On September 26th, National Public Lands Day, the national parks will host visitors and volunteers for a special day of service and celebration. As part of the festivities, parks will offer a sneak preview of Ken Burns's new documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea."

Dry Tortugas NP - Dry Tortugas park rangers found and rescued a seriously injured 200 pound female loggerhead turtle in the shallows off Loggerhead Key near Fort Jefferson in park waters on Sunday, August 30th. Photo.

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.

NPS Law Enforcement Training Center - Land Management Police Training Program Class 906 (LMPT-906) graduated eighteen National Park Service rangers from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center on August 3rd.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

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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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