NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
INCIDENTS
Gulf Coast Parks
Oil Spill Operations Continue In Gulf Parks
In the five weeks since the oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, the national parks located along the Gulf of Mexico have been planning and preparing for heavy oil to arrive on shore. To date, only tar balls and oily debris has been recovered from the shores of these parks. Initial indications were that the oil would be arriving in the parks soon after the explosion, but this has not been the case. This extra time has allowed for significant planning in which to take baseline data, collect samples, assess conditions of natural and cultural resources, educate visitors, and plan for the time heavy oil does arrive. All the plans and data being collected by NPS operations are being shared with the unified command and are being used and implemented by all agencies responding to the spill across the Gulf of Mexico.
Jean Lafitte NHP&P - The park continues to monitor the NOAA surface oil forecast as well as actual movement of discharge products toward the Barataria Estuary. Although the preserve is buffered from the Gulf by miles of marsh and waterways, oil has now reached islands in Barataria Bay. Park staff continue to work with the IMT at Gulf Islands to evaluate defensive actions being mobilized between the preserve and the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf Islands NS - Due to uncooperative weather and severe storms, several resource missions were postponed on Tuesday. A total of 67 tar balls were recovered from Horn Island, including 12 pieces of burned/oiled debris. The resource response group reported one dead bird on West Ship Island, but weather conditions prevented its recovery. Weather permitting, it will be recovered on Wednesday. A hard hat was recovered off Horn Island and was linked to the MS Canyon 252 oil spill. The connection was confirmed based on the Transocean marking on the helmet and the name of a surviving oil rig employee (not named). Chain of custody of the hard hat was immediately taken by unified command security personnel.
South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - Natural resource baseline condition assessments continued yesterday at Everglades and cultural resource assessments continued at Biscayne. Assessments are expected to continue throughout the week. Entrix, BP's environmental consulting firm, continued conducting baseline sampling at Everglades, accompanied by an NPS advisor. NPS personnel continue to conduct daily surveys of the island of Dry Tortugas. The incidence of new tar balls since this past weekend's USCG cleanup has been minimal. Daily beach surveys are expected to continue at least through the end of the week. Local media interest continues to be light. 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_" \t "_blank"SouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com.
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]
Yellowstone NP
Two Die In Late Season Ice Climbing Attempt
The remains of two Montana men who died while ice climbing a frozen waterfall in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone were successfully recovered Tuesday afternoon. The victims have been identified as M.E., 28, and M.K., 29, of Bozeman, Montana. Both have immediate family members who live in Wyoming. The men reportedly had several years of ice and mountain climbing experience. One victim was removed from the canyon early Tuesday afternoon. Melting ice near the rock ledge where the two men were discovered 300 feet beneath the canyon rim threatened to halt the recovery effort until Wednesday morning. However, use of a helicopter permitted the safe recovery of the second victim late Tuesday afternoon. Friends of the two men contacted the park about 1:00 p.m. Monday afternoon to report the pair had left Sunday for a day hike from Artist Point and had not returned. It was later discovered the two men had actually arrived in the park Saturday, and intended to ice climb Silver Cord Cascade. This series of waterfalls begins at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, northeast of Artist Point, dropping several hundred feet to the canyon floor and into the Yellowstone River. Members of the park's technical rescue team, the wildland fire crew, three climbing rangers from Grand Teton National Park, and a helicopter were all involved in the rescue and recovery effort. A rescue team member rappelled into the canyon as darkness fell Monday evening and found the two dead on a rock ledge. Initial observations of the scene and gear configuration indicate that the fall was likely due to collapse of the ice column during the men's ascent. The accident remains under investigation. All hiking and climbing in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is prohibited from Brink of the Upper Falls downriver to, but not including, the Silver Cord Cascade drainage. Rangers believe climbers attempt Silver Cord Cascade one to three times a year. These are the first accident fatalities in Yellowstone since a drowning in the southwest corner of the park last September. [Al Nash, Public Affairs Officer]
Hot Springs NP
Man Arrested Following Armed Robbery Of Visitors
Two park visitors were walking on Fountain Street just down from the park's Arlington Lawn and Grand Promenade area around 10 p.m. on the evening of Saturday, May 22nd, when they were attacked and robbed. Three men accosted the pair from behind, stealing the women's purse and the man's wallet while they brandished knives, one reportedly holding a knife to the woman's throat. After forcibly obtaining these items, the trio fled, 'thanking' the victims as they departed. Prompt response by Hot Springs Police Department officers and NPS rangers resulted in the apprehension of one of the three men, a 21-year-old illegal alien. He remains in custody on an immigration hold. Special agent Robert Still, with assistance from Hot Springs rangers, is coordinating the investigation and efforts to locate the two remaining suspects. [Dennis Stock, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:
Minute Man NHP - Employees from Timberland, an outdoor gear manufacturer, came to the park last week to assist the park in its efforts to restore the historic scene from the first day of the American Revolution.
Arthur Carhart Wilderness Center - NPS employees now have access to Wilderness.net, a profesional and social networking site for those involved with wilderness issues. NPS IT secruity issues experience in December have been resolved. A link is provided.
Yosemite NP - The park is installing a large-scale solar panel array at its El Portal administrative site. Once built, this solar array will be the largest grid-connected photovoltaic system in the National Park Service. Photo.
Intermountain Region - The NPS and the Utah County Sheriff's Department are investigating the May 20th death of Timpanogos Cave maintenance worker Rex Walker, 58, who died after falling several hundred feet down a steep slope from the park's main trail. Photo.
Natural Resource Program Center - Dr. Bruce Peacock as been selected as the chief of the new Social Science Division, located within the Natural Resource Program Center. He will be duty stationed in Fort Collins, Colorado. 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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