NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, October 1, 2009

INCIDENTS

National Park of American Samoa

Tsunami Update - All Employees OK, But Property Losses Severe

Shortly before 7 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29th, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck 120 miles from American Samoa, a U. S. territory with a population of approximately 65,000 people. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami that produced several large waves that destroyed the park's visitor center and offices. All park employees and volunteers are accounted for and are safe. At least one employee's house and four employees' vehicles were destroyed by the tsunami. Fortunately, this event happened early enough in the day that most employees were not yet at work and were in areas of high ground that were unaffected by the wave impacts. The few employees who were at the office were able to run to the safety of high ground, although most of them had to run through water to get there. The park visitor center and all contents, including the park's curatorial collections, were destroyed. The entire park fleet of vehicles was destroyed with the exception of two vehicles. The extent of damage to park marine resources will not be known for some time. Undoubtedly there will be impacts to coral reefs and there will be significant amounts of debris in the water and along beaches. Most of the park terrestrial resources appear to be undamaged. Park staff initially assisted the U. S. Coast Guard with rescue and recovery operations on site and are currently engaged in assessing and providing for the well-being of NPS employees and volunteers. They have also been assessing damage to park facilities, salvaging equipment and cultural resources, and securing NPS property from looters. Park staff will be available to continue assisting with the broader FEMA-led recovery operation in the coming days. Park employees are doing a great job of keeping their spirits up and helping each other and the rest of the community through this difficult event. Special agent Neal Akana from Hawaii Volcanos National Park flew to American Samoa yesterday morning and has been acting as the NPS representative at the FEMA unified command meetings. He is working with superintendent Mike Reynolds to prepare for the arrival of the Western Incident Management Team, critical incident stress management personnel, and other support staff who will arrive tomorrow. A team of cultural resource specialists will be assisting with the assessment and recovery of cultural resources in the park and will likely assist with the broader recovery efforts on the islands. [Scott Wanek, Regional Chief Ranger]

Point Reyes NS

Illegal Marijuana Sites Cleared Of Debris

On September 22nd and 23rd, Point Reyes rangers and firefighters and employees from Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) conducted a major helicopter sling load operation to remove garbage from National Park Service and adjacent public lands. The garbage was left from several illegal marijuana grow sites located on public lands that had been discovered and destroyed over the past two to three years. A total of eight grow sites were cleaned up and restored during the two day operation. Approximately 21 sling loads of garbage were removed with an estimated weight of 5,500 pounds (21 cubic yards of material). Over 30 NPS, MMWD and helicopter company employees participated in the operation. This past summer and fall, over 2,800 plants were removed and destroyed. In 2006, approximately 44,000 marijuana plants were removed. The total estimated street value of marijuana removed to date is close to $180 million. These plants have been removed from isolated forested areas on lands managed by the three organizations participating in this operation. The areas under cultivation suffered extensive resource damage from the growing operations. Preliminary estimates show that a number of trees were damaged and removed to establish the sites. Additionally, a large water holding pond was dug into the hillside to bring water into one the sites. Growers are culling wildlife, diverting streams that contain threatened species of fish, and using harmful pesticides. [Don Neubacher, Superintendent]

Chattahoochee NRA

Still More Flood Damage Discovered; Assistance Sought From SACC

A Southeast Region damage assessment team continued its inspections of facilities with park staff yesterday, systematically checking the parks 50+ miles of trails and foot bridges to document damages. New damages found on Wednesday include one more trail bridge damaged, four new trail sink holes, and 36 more trees down blocking trails. Serious washouts of trails have been found, including a 1000-foot section of fire road/trail. Two to twenty inches of slippery mud still cover trails, bridges and roadways in the river corridor. About 60% of the river was assessed from boats yesterday. River bank erosion is severe in one section, there are new sandbars, and a new large boulder is located in the navigation channel. A 50 gallon barrel was also discovered submerged in the river. The Johns Creek Fire Department hazmat team responded and removed it for testing. Additional river and tributary water samples were taken to monitor the E. coli levels. Soil samples were also taken of the silt and mud covering the Paces Mill parking lot and will be tested by the USGS for contaminates. The Johnson Ferry North pavilion and boat ramp were reopened today after assessment teams completed their checks. Sawyers, swampers, engine crews, a water tender, heavy equipment operators, front end loaders, and dump trucks were requested today from the Southern Area Coordination Center to remove the growing number of trees blocking trails and silt and mud obstructing boat ramps and parking lots. Five park areas remain closed, with rangers continuing to enforce closures to ensure public safety. [Soot Pfeninger, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Director's Office - The National Park Service is mobilizing personnel and resources to support the staff and families of the National Park of American Samoa following the tsunami that struck the island and the park on Tuesday. A link is included to a series of photos showing the extensive damage to the community and the park.

America's Best Idea - The fifth episode of Ken Burns' “The National Parks: America's Best Idea,” entitled “Great Nature (1933-1945),” will appear on PBS this evening.

Office of Human Resources - The National Park Service has reached another major milestone in its Human Resources Transformation, designed to provide modern and efficient customer service. The Seasonal Recruitment Operations Center opens for business today.

Northeast Region - Ross Flanagan, regional chief of maintenance for Northeast Region, is retiring from the agency he has worked in for over 35 years on October 2nd. Photo.

Lake Mead NRA - Bobbie Antonich, the park's administrative officer, will be retiring on October 3rd. A retirement party will be held on October 17th. Photo.

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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