NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Thursday, November 19, 2009

INCIDENTS

Assateague Island NS

Park Seriously Impacted By Major Nor'easter

The park sustained significant beach erosion, overwash and damage to infrastructure when the remains of Tropical Storm Ida passed over the region last Friday. A three-day onslaught of northeast winds up to 80 mph and heavy rains caused extensive flooding and sand migration. Visitor safety closures of the Virginia end of the island and the off-road portions of Maryland were put in place on Friday. The Virginia portion of the park and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge remain closed while repairs continue. The reopening of areas will proceed as resources and the weather allow. Full recovery is expected to take months and will probably not occur until spring. Approximately 1500 tires washed ashore from old offshore artificial reefs. Old infrastructure and extensive debris are scattered heavily along the entire 37-mile length of beach. Much of what is now exposed has not been seen by employees with more than 20 years of experience here at the park. The park has requested additional resources to assist in the recovery efforts. [Ted Morlock, Chief Ranger]

Big Cypress NP

Search Underway For Missing Hunter

Park employees have joined state and local authorities in a search for an overdue hunter who is thought to be located within the park. Two aircraft and several teams on foot are being employed in this multi-jurisdictional effort. ICS has been implemented. Ed Clark, the park's chief ranger, is the IC. [Jon Pierce, SERO]

Sleeping Bear Dunes NL

Suicide Victim Found In Dunes

On the morning of November 17th, rangers learned about an incident in progress at the Dune Climb, a popular destination in the park. A 42-year-old man from downstate who was reportedly distraught due to domestic issues had communicated to family members on the day before that he was going to shoot himself, saying that he wanted his remains scattered at Sleeping Bear Dunes. Michigan State Police troopers found his vehicle at the Dune Climb parking lot that morning around 1:30 a.m. and unsuccessfully searched for him on the dunes, but neither rangers nor area search teams were notified until the body was found after daybreak by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from nearby Air Station Traverse City. The man was found lying motionless on top of the dunes approximately three-quarters of a mile from the parking lot. After being directed to the location by the helicopter, troopers and Glen Lake Fire Department responders found his body. He'd died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ranger Nate Mazurek and district ranger Chris Johnson were transported to the location, where GPS coordinates were recorded and they assisted in loading the body into a litter to be flown out by the Coast Guard helicopter. A suicide note was found in the man's vehicle. The Michigan State Police and Sleeping Bear Dunes rangers are handling the investigation. [Nate Mazurek, Park Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

International - The week-long Sixth World Ranger Congress of the International Ranger Federation came to a successful conclusion in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on Saturday, November 7th. Rangers from the National Park Service were among the more than 260 rangers from 43 countries who attended the event.

Workforce Management - At the direction of Director Jarvis and the National Leadership Council, a Workplace Enrichment (WE) program has been launched to identify and address the issues that lead to low scores in work/life balance, effective leadership, and pay and benefits, among other factors, in a recent federal report. Photo.

Environmental Leadership and Sustainability - NPS units have a unique opportunity to participate in a pilot program to test a new rating system released by the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

Harpers Ferry Center - John Tobiason recently joined the Harpers Ferry Center as the new media technology specialist. He will provide field support for new media, network with the industry, provide training, consult on various projects, and be a clearinghouse for new media. 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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