NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, May 20, 2010
INCIDENTS
Gulf Coast Parks
Spill Impacts Remain Minimal, Monitoring Continues
The National Park Service response to the Deepwater Horizon (MC 252) continued yesterday in NPS sites around the Gulf of Mexico. Employees from across the country are aiding in the response, which is being managed by the Midwest IMT (Pontbriand). The five South Florida parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, and Everglades) continue to work under a Type III IMT, but are preparing to transition to the Intermountain IMT (Mossman). The team, scheduled to assume command on May 22nd, will be based in Homestead, Florida.
Padre Island NS - Currently, Padre Island is not in the NOAA predicted area of concern, but park staff remain vigilant. Turtle patrollers are searching the beaches daily and monitoring for stranded and nesting turtles and will follow national protocols if any oil is detected on them. Kemp's ridley nesting has begun for this year and will likely peak in late May and during June. As of Wednesday afternoon, the park had 15 nesting Kemp's ridley sea turtles; in 2003, there were only 14 turtle nests found over the course of the entire nesting season. The turtle recovery project and the oil spill made the front page of the New York Times yesterday (click on the ‘More Information' link at bottom to see the text). The park is currently trying to obtain sample jars that will meet with the collection protocol standards for water and sediment samples in order to have them on hand for collecting samples when the park is cleared to ship them for analysis. Baseline survey data and photos will be uploaded today to the database. Texas Tech University researchers placed absorbent carbon 18 discs in the sand near each of the park's data points on Wednesday. They will collect the discs when oil gets close to the park and put out new ones. The discs will absorb petroleum aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which will be extracted and measured after collection. The first set will give a baseline for ambient PAH, the second set will give information on any increase caused by the oil spill. Park staff and volunteers continue to monitor for turtles and birds affected by the oil spill.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Park staff have selected sample sites and taken baseline photos and samples of soil, sediment, and water. Although the NOAA oil spill "zone of uncertainty" included Barataria Preserve on May 12th and may do so again in the future, the preserve remains well outside the zone of predicted impacts. The park continues to work with local partners and the IMT at Gulf Islands.
Gulf Islands NS - Updates are being posted regularly on HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/guis"www.nps.gov/guis. Developments can also be tracked on Twitter@ SouthEastRegionNPS. Scattered tar balls were found by crews yesterday in both the Mississippi District and in the Florida District at Perdido Key. Shoreline cleanup assessment teams (SCATs) worked to assess the condition of protective booms and to replace and repair those that had been dislodged or damaged. No closures are in effect for Gulf Islands National Seashore.
South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, De Soto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - Analysis performed on tar balls discovered Monday at a beach in Key West suggests they are not the result of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Similar analysis of samples taken from petroleum residues found Tuesday on two islands in Dry Tortugas National Park suggest that, while of a different variety than those found on Key West, they are also not affiliated with the Deepwater Horizon incident. Additional shoreline surveys were conducted at Dry Tortugas yesterday, and a small number of additional petroleum residues were located on the islands. Staff from the South Florida/Caribbean Network (SFCN) completed the deployment of seven semi-permeable membrane devices (SPMDs) to monitor the waters at Dry Tortugas. Additional shoreline surveys in the park are ongoing. Baseline condition assessments for natural resources in Everglades, Big Cypress, and Biscayne began on Wednesday. Inclement weather hampered some of the planned sampling, but it is anticipated that weather will be more conducive to operations today. Limited cultural assessments also began yesterday and are intended to continue at all parks tomorrow. The South Florida IMT continues to coordinate response efforts with larger unified command centers in other areas of the affected region. Local media interest continues to be very high. A communications center continues to be staffed by a team of information officers, and can be contacted at 305-224-4215, or via email at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/mailtSouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com__"SouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com. Representatives from Entrix, a BP contractor, have now been issued permits to begin collecting samples at four sites in Everglades and at one site in Dry Tortugas. The company was scheduled to conduct sampling in Dry Tortugas yesterday and in Everglades later on this week. The contractors will be accompanied by an NPS natural resource advisor.
For more information on the NPS, DOI and national oil spill responses and for a link to the BP online oil spill safety training needed by all incident staff, please see the following:
NPS Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm
DOI Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm" http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm
National Oil Spill Response - HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com" http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com
Oil Spill Safety Training - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957
[J. Michael Johnson, Lead Information Officer, Gulf Islands National Seashore Oil Spill Response]
More Information: HYPERLINK "http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/science/earth/19turtle.html?scp=1&sq=padre&st=cse" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/19/science/earth/19turtle.html?scp=1&sq=padre&st=cse
Great Smoky Mountains NP
Illinois Man Killed In Motorcycle Accident
S.H., 37, of Huntley, Illinois, was killed on Tuesday evening when he crashed his 2003 Kawasaki motorcycle on Little River Road. S.H. was heading west on the road when he lost control of his motorcycle, failed to negotiate a curve, and collided with a rock wall. He was riding with three other friends when the accident occurred. A motorist stopped at the accident scene and began CPR on S.H., but was unable to revive him. Rangers were on scene within 15 minutes and were joined by county deputies. S.H. was taken by ambulance to Blount Memorial Hospital, but was pronounced dead before arriving there. [Nancy Gray, Public Affairs Officer]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Office of Public Affairs - The National Park Service's new "2010 Summer Adventure" trip planning website connects visitors to travel resources, events and services at national parks across the country.
Valley Forge NHP - Over 900 visitors enjoyed the beautiful weather on Thursday, May 13th, while participating in Valley Forge National Historical Park's biannual "Home School Day." Photo.
Joshua Tree NP - Marines from the nearby Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms have been providing regular volunteer assistance to the park. Photo.
Yosemite NP - Charles Cuvelier, currently the park's deputy chief ranger, has been selected as Yosemite's chief ranger. 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/
NPS serious incident submission standards can be found at the following web site: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/notify" http://inside.nps.gov/notify
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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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