NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Weather Hampers Cleanup Efforts At Gulf Islands

Severe weather along the Gulf Coast on Sunday kept cleanup crews off park beaches. Here are the details:

Gulf Islands NS - Lightning and heavy rain persisted through the morning and into early afternoon across Florida to the Mississippi coast yesterday. Due to the weather and safety issues for workers, cleanup crews were unable to work for any length of time. Winds over the past few days have blown away smaller sand grains, leaving previously buried oil products exposed. Once-buried tar balls and patties ranging in size from a quarter to a dinner plate are reported as newly exposed on the east end of Perdido Key. The surface density of the oil materials varies between 10 and 40 percent in this specific area. Resource advisors reported no new wildlife impacted by oil in the Florida area.

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

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - No new developments.

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:

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

HYPERLINK "http://classicinside.nps.gov/documents/NPS%20-%20Public%20Health%20Notice%20SIGNAGE%206-26-10.pdf" Gulf Islands Public Health Precautions Notice

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/OilSpillSafety/index.htm" Public Health Service Oil Spill Safety Video

HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/archive/features/oilspillresponse/" Oil Spill Media Page

[Denise Robertson, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Joshua Tree NP

Search For Missing Georgia Man Suspended

The park has suspended daily search operations for Georgia resident W.E., 65, who was reported missing on June 25th and is believed to have gone hiking in the Quail Mountain area. The search has been conducted under a unified command with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, which has also terminated search operations and is now handling the incident as a missing person case. The park will support the county's investigative efforts. Although Joshua Tree has suspended active search operations, the search itself will continue on an intermittent basis when staff and SAR volunteers are available. Many agencies and organizations contributed staff, time, and support to the W.E. search. More than 100 volunteers took part in search and rescue operations in the Quail Mountain area, contributing over 1,400 hours of ground search time. They were aided by equestrian search teams, trained dog teams, and air support. Dozens of additional staff members and volunteers provided logistics support for the extended search effort with hundreds of contributed hours. The park extends its thanks to all of them. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of W.E. is asked to contact Palm Desert' Sheriff's Station investigator Mario Martinez at 760-836-1600. [Joe Zarki, Public Information Officer]

Mount Rainier NP

Search For Missing Climber Unsuccessful

The search for E.L., 57, of Duvall, Washington, continued on Saturday as helicopters and ground searchers scoured the upper slopes of Mount Rainier. A team of climbers searched the Nisqually Ice Fall and Gibraltar Chute areas, and a military Chinook helicopter flew climbing areas where E.L. could have ended up. They were unable to locate E.L. or uncover any further clues to his whereabouts, though, so the search effort was suspended. Rangers will continue to look for him in regular patrols of the upper mountain. E.L. has been missing since last Thursday, when his climbing companions discovered that he had unclipped from the climbing rope at 14,000 feet and disappeared. At its peak, the search involved more than 40 personnel. Ground searchers included National Park Service climbing rangers, climbing guides from Rainier Mountaineering, Inc, Alpine Ascents International, and International Mountain Guides, and volunteers from Olympic Mountain Rescue. A Chinook helicopter from Fort E.L. and a commercial helicopter from Northwest Helicopters searched from the air. The incident commander is Glenn Kessler. [Lee Taylor, Information Officer]

Dinosaur NM

Old Dynamite Sticks Found On Park Trail

Following a night of heavy rain, an interpreter leading a guided hike on the Fossil Discovery Trail on the morning of Friday, July 2nd, noticed an object sliding out of a crevice in a cliff along the trail. Interpreters could also see a similar object further back in the crevice. One of them identified the objects as possible dynamite and a protection ranger was called. The Fossil Discovery Trail was closed and barricaded and the Quarry construction site, about 100 yards away, was shut down. ATF responded from Salt Lake City and confirmed that the two objects were dynamite sticks, manufactured in September of 1921. During their investigation, they located two more sticks partially buried in the crevice. It's likely this dynamite was being used by Earl Douglas and the Carnegie Museum for excavations in the 1920s. Bomb technicians removed the dynamite sticks and detonated them at a gravel turnaround. The trail was reopened in time for Saturday morning tours. [Kathy Krisko, Acting Chief Ranger]

OTHER NEWS

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

Washington Office - In its efforts to enhance a culture of civic engagement, the NPS is seeking case studies on how civic engagement principles and practices have informed and improved parks and programs across the country.

Office of Public Health/Division of Risk Management - The Service's Office of Public Health and Division of Risk Management have combined forces to provide support to park units impacted by the oil spill. Photo.

Wilderness Stewardship - The Wilderness Stewardship Division welcomes five new summer interns to their WASO office. They will work on a multitude of wilderness-related projects. Photo.

Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings and the status of legislation pertinent to the National Park Service.

Big Bend NP - On July 17th, Marcos Paredes will hang up his flat hat after 20 years as a Big Bend ranger. He will retire to his ranch in Terlingua, Texas, just outside Big Bend National Park. Photo.

Steamtown NHS - Longtime NPS employee Rhea L. Ernst passed away on Wednesday, June 30th, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was 53. 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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