NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, October 5, 2009
INCIDENTS
National Park of American Samoa
Update On Recovery From Tsunami
On Tuesday, September 30th, the visitor center and headquarters building for the National Park of American Samoa, located in Pago Pago, was hit by wave after wave of a tsunami caused by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake. Water rushed through the first floor of the building, destroying its contents and washing away visitor center exhibits and irreplaceable artifacts. On Friday, October 2nd, the Western Incident Management Team (Denny Ziemann, IC) began overseeing tsunami recovery efforts and providing direct assistance to the park, its employees and volunteers:
Assessment, assistance and cleanup - Working with superintendent Mike Reynolds, park staff and volunteers, village matais (heads of families), and mayors, the team coordinated debris removal in the partner villages of Pago Pago, Leone, Vatia, Fagasa and Afono and in the park visitor center and headquarters building. Putting aside their personal losses of property, possessions and, for many, loved ones, park volunteers and staff rallied to help the villages ravaged by the tsunami. A crew cleaned out the wreckage inside the visitor center on Saturday. Cleanup operations continue this week. A marine resources assessment has yet to be completed due to lack of transportation.
Search and recovery - Crew members also assisted in the search for a six-year-old boy who went missing during the tsunami. The search was suspended on Thursday evening without locating the missing boy. In the aftermath of the tsunami, several park staff helped extract eight bodies from the wreckage; three were found in Leone and five in Pago Pago.
Counseling - The tsunami was a life-changing event for many. While no park staff were lost in the tsunami, many lost family members and homes and many are temporarily displaced from their homes due to lack of utilities and damage. Critical incident stress management debriefings for park staff will be held this week. CISM representatives Ralph Bell and John Broward are educating staff on the signs and symptoms of stress related to the incident and encouraging the use of the employee assistance program for further support.
Cultural resources - Members of the Service's Western Cultural Resources Emergency Response Team - Melia Lane-Kamahele, Steve Floray and Tammy Duchesne - worked quickly to complete an inventory of artifacts and archeological and herbarium specimens. Oral histories by local residents were damaged and will undergo treatment by specialists in Honolulu. Archeology and herbarium specimens appear to be salvageable. Contemporary fine mats and siapos (cedar cloth) were damaged and destroyed. The damaged mats were taken to local weaver Akanese Zec and Inailau A Tina, one of two park partner weaver groups, for cleaning and repair using traditional techniques. The mats will be returned in a ceremony today. Tina Mo A Taeo is also a dedicated partner weaver group. Sadly, the irreplaceable artifacts that were located on the first floor were a complete loss. The team treated and stabilized electronic media and files, CDs, floppy disks and slides. Eleven filing cabinets filled with park documents were sent to Honolulu Saturday evening for treatment.
Support - Those wishing to make contributions to support employees and their families should make checks payable to NPSA Employee Disaster Relief Fund and send them to: Hawaii Natural History Association, PO Box 74, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718.
The IMT is working with the park to explore options for restoring temporary operations. An estimate of damages and the cost of replacing equipment, vehicles and the other park assets lost in the devastation has not been completed. [Patti Wold, Information Officer]
Organ Pipe Cactus NM
Six Smugglers Sentenced In Federal Court
On April 20th, rangers found evidence that a group of narcotics smugglers had entered the country west of the Lukeville port of entry on the park's border with Mexico. They began tracking the group, following them for several miles to an area near the park's center known as Senita Basin. There they arrested nine smugglers and seized more than 420 pounds of marijuana from their backpacks. A special agent from the Investigative Services Branch assisted with the investigation. All nine were prosecuted on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute (21 USC 841) and conspiracy (21 USC 846). On September 17th, three of them were sentenced in federal district court. G.G.-M., L.V.-R., and A.T.-L. were each sentenced to 13 months in federal prison and 36 months supervised release. On September 28th, another three men pled guilty in court. E.T.-H. and C.B.-A. were each sentenced to 13 months in prison with 36 months supervised release; M.P.-A. was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and 36 months supervised release. M.P.-A. had previously been convicted in Arizona state court for a prior marijuana smuggling event that occurred at Organ Pipe in 2007. At that time, rangers were forced to utilize a taser on M.P.-A., as he resisted arrest. The three remaining smugglers have pled guilty and await sentencing in October. [Matt Fisher, Special Agent]
Saguaro NP
Felon Sentenced in Court
On June 6, 2007, ranger Fletcher Ogg conducted a traffic stop for a traffic violation that resulted in the seizure of a loaded .22 pistol, 51 rounds of ammunition, and a pellet rifle. The ensuing investigation revealed that the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle was a convicted felon. He was arrested and charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 USC §922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2)) and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury. After a court trial earlier this year, he was found guilty on both charges. On September 8th, P.S. was sentenced to six months in federal prison, 36 months of supervised release/probation, mandatory substance abuse testing, and a $2,000 fine. [Robert E. Stinson, District Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Fire and Aviation Management - Fire Prevention Week began yesterday and runs through the rest of this week. It's a good time to focus both on fire prevention and safety at home and work and on the mission and challenges of the National Park Service's structural fire program.
Office of Public Affairs - Jonathan B. Jarvis was sworn in Friday as the 19th director of the National Park Service. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar administered the oath of office. Photo.
Office of Human Resources - The Office of Human Resources has announced the release of the Service's new Merit Promotion Plan, issued through Human Resources Bulletin 09-19.
Office of the Chief Information Officer - October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month - but good cyber security practices are needed 365 days of the year. Some general tips are provided for staying safe online.
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.
Interpretation and Education Division - Corky Mayo, chief of interpretation for the National Park Service, retired last Friday after 41 years of federal service. Photo.
Hawaii Volcanoes NP - On Saturday, October 10th, the island of Hawai‘i hosts a triathalon, the Ironman World Championship. Among the 1800 competitors will be Bill Greineisen, a dispatcher at the Hawai‘i Volcanoes' Pacific Area Communication Center. 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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