NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, October 23, 2009

INCIDENTS

Acadia NP

Hiker Rescued After Falling Injury

On Monday, October 19th, 60-year-old G.S. fell while climbing a ladder on the Beehive Trail. G.S. suffered a basilar skull fracture, orbital fracture and knee injury. A witness reported that G.S. was near the top of the trail ladder when he lost his grip and fell backwards approximately 10 to 15 feet to the trail below. His pack stopped him from rolling over a 100-foot drop. Rangers and Mount Desert Island SAR performed a 100-foot technical raise to the top of the mountain, where an Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter hoisted G.S. in a litter. He was treated by the paramedic on board and transported 20 minutes to Eastern Maine Medical Center, where he is recovering. G.S. and his wife were visiting from Alabama. [Kevin Cochary, Deputy Chief Ranger]

Buffalo NR

Hiker Injured In Fall

On the afternoon of October 17th, park dispatch was notified that a man had fallen off a waterfall and was seriously injured on a primitive trail in the rugged Indian Creek area of Buffalo National River. Rangers Ken Nelson and Melissa Lamm hiked about a mile and a half on a primitive trail to the scene and contacted a 37-year-old male, R.R., who was being treated by local first responders and an advanced life support team. Remington sustained injuries to his right ribs and right knee after falling and slipping down a waterfall a distance of approximately 15 feet, but was able to arrest himself prior to falling off a 60-foot cliff face to the creek bottom below. Members of the Buffalo Search and Rescue Team responded to the scene and a technical rescue was performed into the night hours, lowering the victim down the 60-foot cliff face to the creek bottom. A subsequent litter carryout was conducted over rugged terrain along the primitive trail to the trailhead, where he was then transported by air evac to a local hospital. Twenty-one volunteers assisted park staff in the rescue and carryout. This immense show of support from the following agencies and volunteer fire departments contributed to a safe rescue effort - Krooked Kreek VFD, Mount Sherman VFD, Compton VFD, Hilltop VFD, and North Ark Regional Medical Center. District Ranger Kevin Moses served as operations chief. Ranger Karl Sommerhauser was the incident commander. [Robert Maguire, Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Eleanor Roosevelt NHS - On October 11th, a 125th birthday celebration was held for Eleanor Roosevelt, whose position on equal justice and human rights influenced the civil rights movement in America and whose work on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights influenced the world.

Environmental Leadership and Sustainability - President Obama has signed an executive order that establishes an integrated strategy to improve sustainability in the Federal government. The executive order outlines, among other things, required reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. Photo.

Servicewide - A listing of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added to this week's listing is an executive leadership seminar for park and public land managers in California next spring (with an imminent application deadline).

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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