NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Spill Cleanup Operations Continue At Gulf Islands

The men and women of the National Park Service continue to be 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 regular park operations.

Gulf Islands NS - Some increase in oiling continued yesterday at Ft. Pickens and Perdido Key, as the movement of oil remains on an eastern trajectory. Clean-up efforts went well. NPS personnel are patrolling beaches and resource advisors continue to monitor the work of the clean-up crews and provide them with relevant information to ensure the protection of sensitive resources. NPS public information officers and volunteers were assigned to Fort Pickens and Perdido Key beaches yesterday to meet visitors, provide information about the park and the ongoing clean-up, and answer questions about increased visibility of clean-up vessels and skimming operations offshore. In the Mississippi unit, Petit Bois Island and Horn Island received light oiling with tarballs reaching the shoreline. Surveillance for oiling continues throughout all park areas on a daily basis. 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) - Network and local media attended a press conference sponsored by the South Florida Joint Information Center in Key West yesterday. Personnel from the NPS, Coast Guard, and representatives from BP attended a boat tour and demonstration of specialized nets which detect the presence of oil in the water. These efforts highlight proactive monitoring efforts to detect the possibility of approaching oil and illustrate how these measures could facilitate appropriate responses if oil is detected. Currently, there have been no reports of oil reaching shore in the Florida Peninsula.

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - No park sites are currently affected by the spill.

Padre Island NS - No new developments.

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 sites. Note that a new link has been added to GeoPlatform, an interactive GIS web page on the spill:

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" NPS Oil Spill Response

HYPERLINK "http://www.doi.gov/deepwaterhorizon/index.cfm" DOI Oil Spill Response

HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/" National Oil Spill Response

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Conferences&id=1957" Oil Spill Safety Training

HYPERLINK "http://www.geoplatform.gov/gulfresponse/" GeoPlatform

[Bobbie Altomare Visnovske, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Navajo NM

Man Rescued From Park Cliff Ledge

On Wednesday, June 2nd, Navajo Police received a missing person report at the White House overlook area. They notified monument staff and rangers began a search along the canyon rim. After several hours, the missing person, a 21-year-old Navajo man, was found. He had wandered down a rocky slope, where he fell and slid and became stranded on a ledge approximately 80 feet below the rim in an area west of the White House overlook parking lot. The distance to the canyon bottom below the ledge on which he was stuck is approximately 100 feet. Rangers and watershed crew members responded with Navajo Police officers and medical personnel from the Indian Health Services. Park rescue personnel set up a rappel belay to reach the man. A Z-rig pulley system was employed to bring him back up to the canyon rim, where he was transported to the Chinle Hospital by ambulance. In early 2009, Grand Canyon NP provided technical rope training for park, Navajo Police, and Chinle Fire Department personnel. [Chief Ranger's Office]

Cape Lookout NS

Wild Horse Pulled From Hole And Rescued

A two-year-old horse from the Shackleford Banks herd was recently found trapped at a dry waterhole. The hole had been dug by the wild horses to reach drinking water, but was dry at the time. Wildlife biologist and herd manager Dr. Sue Stuska happened to find the filly during a routine census. It was not clear how the horse had gotten into the hole. The filly exhausted herself and damaged her eye while struggling to get out, and, when pulled from the hole, could not stand. The horse was exhausted enough, though, to permit handling. Without sedation, her legs were restrained, her eyes protected, and she was moved to a horse backboard. Resource management specialist Dr. Michael Rikard assisted in restraining and transporting her by ATV cart to the shore. The park landing craft, piloted by small craft operator Glen Lewis, then transported the horse to park headquarters. Assisting were maintenance workers Chris Willis and Bob Tabor, interpretive ranger Cheryl Munyan, and protection operations supervisor Shad Dusseau. Carolyn Temple, a professional photographer shadowing Dr. Stuska, documented the event. The park's horse management partner, the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, Inc., is providing a home and veterinary care for the filly. Horses removed from the seashore are available for adoption though the Foundation. Though this filly has already been spoken for, other horses are currently available at the foundation's HYPERLINK "http://www.shacklefordhorses.org/" web site. [Dr. Sue Stuska, Wildlife Biologist]

OTHER NEWS

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

Saratoga NHP - Victory Woods, the park's newest site and trail, opened to a crowd of 250 visitors on Saturday, June 5th. The trail traverses a 22-acre forest where thousands of beleaguered British soldiers, women and children retreated after being decisively beaten by American forces in the 1777 Battle of Saratoga.

Natural Resources Program Center - The National Park Service air quality web camera websites have just been updated. The improved websites provide scenic photos, air quality information, and easier access to current air quality information. Photo.

Workplace Enrichment - Each year, OPM solicits responses to its employee viewpoint survey from all full-time permanent employees. This year, the NPS Workplace Enrichment program made an identical survey available to term, permanent part-time and seasonal employees. The results are now available.

National Capital Region - Earlier this month, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) conferred its Bravery Award on former NPS ranger Derek Anderson for his courageous actions in a 2003 confrontation with a man who was attempting to kill him.

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

* * * *

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).

--- ### ---