NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Friday, January 29, 2010
INCIDENTS
Niobrara NSR
Ice Causes Flooding In Park
Significant flooding has occurred along the Niobrara River due to an ice jam at Smith Falls State Park just east of Valentine, Nebraska. Cold temperatures have frozen the river surface and formed an ice jam, forcing the river out of its banks on both sides. The campground has been covered with water and ice blocks are producing as yet unknown damage to campground facilities. Ice flows and flowing water cover both the trail to Nebraska's highest waterfall as well as the Jim McAllister Nature Trail. The NPS and volunteers help maintain these trails through a partnership with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The full extent of the damage cannot be assessed until waters and ice recede. Rangers have documented the situation, noting that the area "looks like an arctic landscape." Ice jams are not uncommon on the river, but they rarely impact high visitor use areas such as Smith Falls State Park. [Stuart Schneider, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
San Juan NHS - While removing ground from a shoreline trail at Castillo San Felipe del Morro, maintenance workers found three historic medals that had been stolen from the Military Museum in 1992. Photo.
Department of the Interior - The Department will be conferring awards on employees and organizations for demonstrating outstanding efforts in supporting victims and victim services and is seeking nominations from all its bureaus.
Fire and Aviation Management - Thirty-seven NPS stories in support of the National Fire Plan were submitted to the Office of Wildland Fire Coordination this week. Photo.
Servicewide Training Calendar - A compilation of upcoming training courses offered by the NPS and its partners across the nation. Added to this week's listing are the following - the 15th annual Eastern high angle rescue training course in North Carolina, annual LE refreshers at Gulf Islands and Zion, use of force instructor training at FLETC, an introductory course for new park structural fire coordinators in Northeast Regional Office, a class on ARPA case investigations at Valley Forge, an interagency regional wilderness stewardship training course in West Yellowstone, fee supervisors' training at NCTC, and a dozen or more upcoming TEL station training offerings.
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/
NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504
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Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
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