NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Oil Clean-up Continues At Gulf Island NS

The men and women of the National Park Service have been an integral part of the national federal response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. All NPS units along the Gulf remain open and are conducting park operations.

Gulf Islands NS - Horn and Petit Bois Islands, Ft. Pickens and the Santa Rosa area continued to receive light to moderate oiling with heavier oiling at Perdido Key later in the afternoon yesterday. Clean-up crews continue to work in those areas on a regular basis under the guidance of resource advisors (READs), who monitor the work of the clean-up crews and provide them with relevant information to ensure the protection of sensitive resources. Volunteers met visitors at beach access areas at Langdon and Johnson beaches in the Florida District and provided information about the park, the ongoing clean-up, and related public health issues. Interest in volunteering remains high, and volunteer coordinators at the park have an orientation planned for both the Florida and Mississippi districts. Training dates will be posted on the park's web site, HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/guis_" www.nps.gov/guis as soon as they finalized. For more information on oil impacts and conditions (including swimming and fishing information), visit the HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/" Deepwater Horizon Response website

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, DeSoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration moved the “no fishing” boundary further to the west of the Dry Tortugas last Friday. The area boundary has not changed and remains about 100 miles to the west of the Dry Tortugas and 180 miles west of Key West. A team of resource advisors has been working on the oil spill clean-up response plan and the final draft is being reviewed. This document will provide baseline information on how to proceed with clean-up effort, while protecting resources and visitor safety. An early warning system to monitor for oil has been put into operation by the Coast Guard, in coordination with BP and the Department of Interior, to alert Dry Tortugas NP and the Florida Keys at the earliest indication of a threat. NPS personnel continue to conduct daily surveys of the islands of Dry Tortugas NP. Monitoring continues at all South Florida Parks' coastal areas. There has been no oil from Deepwater Horizon in these parks. Visitors are continuing to enjoy the islands and beaches and all the related recreational opportunities they offer. 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 "mailto:SouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com_" SouthFloridaNPS@gmail.com.

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Park staff are working with the unified command in Mobile and with state and parish officials to plan for any necessary defensive actions. There was an oil incursion into Barataria Bay on Monday, June 7th, but the oil remains 20 miles from park waters.

Padre Island NS - During the weekend, all of the data point markers on the beach were removed or broken off by a person or persons unknown The park will begin replacing the markers with steel t-posts this week. In the meantime, baseline photos were retaken using GPS information obtained during the last data gathering. Park staff are keeping watch for when the Kemp's ridley sea turtles that were tagged with transmitters while they were nesting in the park begin to arrive in the area currently affected by the oil spill.

The national parks in the Gulf of Mexico and south Florida preserve wildlife habitats and historical areas that are unique to our country. Coral reefs, mudflats, mangroves, marshes, and seagrass beds provide nurseries, refuge, and feeding areas for wildlife, while lighthouses, seacoast fortifications, and shipwrecks preserve evidence of trade, war, and maritime technology dating back to the 16th Century. Millions of people come to these seashore and island national parks for relaxation, inspiration and fun. In national park lands and waters the oil spill could contaminate and destroy the food sources and nesting areas for marine wildlife, including endangered least terns and Kemp's ridley turtles. Spilled oil can permanently damage historic brick coastal fortifications on the water's edge, like Fort Massachusetts at Gulf Islands National Seashore, or underwater shipwrecks like the Windjammer at Dry Tortugas National Park. Of additional concern, oil clean-up crews and equipment could disturb or damage sensitive wildlife habitats and archeological sites. Beaches, bayous, and waters will be closed if they become contaminated.

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

[Mindi Rambo, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Denali NP&P

Climber Killed On Cassin Ridge

A 27-year-old Belgian mountaineer was killed in a fall while climbing Cassin Ridge on Mt. McKinley in the early afternoon of Monday, June 7th. J.V.R. of Borgerhout, Belgium, was leading a highly technical section of the route known as the Japanese Couloir when his anchor appeared to fail and he fell 100 feet in rocky terrain. Van Reeth fell to the approximate elevation of his partner, S.V.B., 24,, who was positioned below him. S.V.B. was not injured and used his satellite phone to call Denali National Park rescue personnel after confirming that his friend had died in the fall. A climbing ranger was flown in the park helicopter to S.V.B.'s location at the 13,000-foot level to assess the terrain for a possible short-haul rescue, but fog and clouds moved in before a rescue could be performed. While on the reconnaissance flight, the ranger saw a second, unrelated team climbing on the route several hundred feet below the Belgian party. According to S.V.B., who called back via satellite phone later that night, two Japanese climbers reached him in the early evening and assisted Van Brempt in lowering J.V.R.'s body down to a safer location just above the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier at 11,500 feet. When weather permits, Denali mountaineering rangers will evacuate both S.V.B. and J.V.R.'s remains. [Maureen McLaughlin, Information Officer]

Colonial NHP

Cadaver Dogs Conduct Search For 1980s Crime Victims

Several areas along the Colonial Parkway were searched on June 5th by cadaver dogs seeking evidence pertaining to homicides and missing persons cases that occurred in the park in the 1980s. The dogs alerted in the area of Bellfield Plantation, and park rangers maintained security at the scene until an FBI evidence recovery team arrived the following morning. In an operation coordinated with the park's cultural resources specialist, a small area was excavated down to sterile subsoil, but no evidence of previous ground disturbance or a crime was found. The FBI arranged for an additional search of the site by cadaver dog, which did not produce any further alerts. Local media interest in a series of unsolved crimes from the 1980s throughout Tidewater Virginia remains high. [James Perry, Public Affairs Officer]

Southeast Arizona Group

NPS Ranger Assists BLM Rangers In Shooting Incident

A supervisory ranger from the Southeast Arizona Group provided backup for BLM rangers who'd been shot at near Fort Bowie NHS on the afternoon of June 7th. Two BLM rangers took high-power rifle fire while in their vehicles, but were able to return fire at their assailant's vehicle. He then fled and was believed to have barricaded himself in his residence. The NPS ranger was among the first on scene, and, with others, set up a perimeter and controlled access to the area. Law enforcement officers and agents from the Border Patrol, FBI, Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Cochise County Sheriff's Office (including their SWAT team) and others also responded. A woman inside the house fired on the SWAT team members, but surrendered after OC and CS gases were employed. The house was searched, but the man was not found and is still at large. [Travis Poulson, Field Operations Supervisor]

Sequoia & Kings Canyon NP

Park Fire Brigade Saves Private Cabin In Wilsonia

On Saturday, May 29th, Grant Grove rangers received a report of a cabin on fire in the community of Wilsonia, a private residential inholding within Kings Canyon under the exclusive jurisdiction of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Grant Grove Engine 52 and a cooperating agency structural engine from Hume Lake responded. Rangers arrived on scene to find moderate smoke coming from the roof eaves and windows on the chimney side of a two-storey cabin. Due to snow conditions, an extensive hose lay was required to reach the structure. Hose teams entered the building and exposed the seat of the fire, which was within the wall above the fireplace. The fire was extinguished before it had the opportunity to extend to the second floor. The fire was found to have been caused by a fire in the fireplace that had escaped through cracks in the chimney, allowing it into the interior of the walls. The wood frame structure would have been a total loss without the intervention of the Grant Grove and Hume Lake brigades. Damage was estimated at $20,000. [Ned Kelleher, Kings District Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Office of Public Affairs - Scott Emmerich, the North Fork District Ranger at Glacier National Park, has been named the recipient of this year's Harry Yount National Park Ranger Award for excellence in “rangering.”

Climate Change Response Program - The June 2010 issue of the Climate Change Response Program's newsletter is now available. A link is provided.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon NPs - The parks pack team competed in and won a number of events at the 41st annual Mule Days Celebration in Bishop, California, on Memorial Day weekend. Photo.

Homestead NM of America - Homestead National Monument of America recently celebrated a special “Welcome Home Weekend” and officially reopened the Palmer-Epard Cabin at its new location south of the park's Heritage Center. Photo.

Midwest Region - Dale K. Phillips, currently superintendent at George Rogers Clark NHP, has been selected as the new superintendent for Lincoln Home NHS. 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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