NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, June 25, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Oil Advisories Remain In Effect At Gulf Islands

Advisories remain in effect for beaches and offshore waters along Gulf Islands due to either significant amounts of oil coming ashore or oil-related chemicals in the water. Here are today's updates:

Gulf Islands NS - Efforts to recover a dolphin found stranded near Fort Pickens were unsuccessful. A necropsy will be performed to try to determine the cause of death. The advisory from the Escambia County Health Department remains in effect from Walkover 23 on Pensacola Beach to the west tip of Santa Rosa Island, including Fort Pickens. This advisory extends to the Perdido Key area, including Johnson Beach. Because of significant quantities of oil in the water and coming ashore, signs and flags advise visitors to not wade or swim in the water. A precautionary closure is in effect for the Mississippi District that closes additional areas of Mississippi marine waters to commercial and recreational fishing due to the possibility of oil-related chemicals in the water. The public is advised to use caution. For state specific information regarding advisories or for other additional information

South Florida Parks (Big Cypress, Biscayne, Desoto, Dry Tortugas, Everglades) - No new report.

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - Most of the park's incident management team continues to be on standby status as the transition to long-term operations in response to the oil spill begins. Park staff will monitor developments closely, since oil sheen has been observed on waterways 15 miles south of the Barataria Preserve.

Padre Island NS - On Wednesday and Thursday, approximately 197 Kemp's ridley hatchlings were released from the park. Visitors had a rewarding experience watching the hatchlings scramble to the sea. The unique experience allowed visitors to view the hatchlings up close and interface with the rangers on scene and have questions answered regarding resource management.

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:

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

HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/doctype/2931/53023/" Deepwater Horizon 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

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custommenu.cfm?lv=3&prg=1006&id=9336" NPS ICS 209 Incident Status Summaries

[Lynne Murdock, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Great Smoky Mountains NP

Sentencing Completed In Car Clout Case

In August, 2009, rangers Michael Garner and Jason Marsh, with the assistance of two special agents from the Investigative Services Branch/East, investigated a series of vehicle break-ins that had occurred in the park. Surveillance was set up and a man was apprehended after he was observed breaking into a parked motor vehicle. He was subsequently indicted on two felony and three misdemeanor counts for his actions in three separate vehicle larcenies. The man remained in custody pending the outcome of the case. On March 31st, after pleading guilty to three of the five counts, he was sentenced to time served (seven months incarceration) and three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $150 special assessment and $1,177.82 in restitution to his victims. He was then transferred to state custody to answer to numerous non-park related crimes which he committed in the local community. [Jeff Carlisle, Special Agent, Investigative Services Branch/East]

OTHER NEWS

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

Intermountain Region - On June 17th, a celebration was held to mark the unveiling of the National Historic Landmark plaque for Rosebud Battlefield in southeastern Montana. The outcome of this battle had a major impact on the outcome of the Battle of the Little Bighorn a week later. Photo.

Office of Public Affairs - On June 19th, the www.nps.gov homepage celebrated one year with its dynamic, new look. Details are included on how you can contribute a feature to the page.

Pacific West Region - Regional employees in PWRO have ranked Pacific West Regional Office as the second best medium-sized workplace in the San Francisco Bay Area for 2010.

Gateway NRA - Suzanne McCarthy has been selected as the deputy superintendent of Gateway National Recreation Area. She has been the acting deputy superintendent for over a year, succeeding Billy Garrett, who retired from service in 2009. 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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