NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, July 9, 2010

INCIDENTS

Gulf Coast Parks

Cleanup Crews Make Progress As Weather Improves

The weather and surf conditions have improved at Gulf Islands, making it possible for crews to resume cleanup of park beaches. Here are the details:

Gulf Islands NS - Good weather and surf conditions allowed cleanup crews to make progress in cleaning oil materials from beach surfaces at all three park beaches in Florida. Task force leaders felt that excellent progress had been made. Crews also were assigned to the barrier islands in the Mississippi District yesterday, but no report has yet been received from them.

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

Jean Lafitte NHP&P - No oil has affected the Barataria Preserve. The park continues to work on long-term projects to create healthy wetlands at the preserve. Funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act are being used for a project that will help restore natural water movement and reduce saltwater intrusion. Before the Barataria Preserve became a protected area, canals were dredged for oil and gas exploration and pipelines and to drain land for residential development. The current project involves tearing down spoil banks and filling in canals to help re-create freshwater marsh. Work began in June and about a mile of canals has been filled in; the park expects that a total of about three-and-a-half miles of canal backfilling will be completed this year.

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

[Andy L. Fisher, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]

Denali NP&P

Military Assists In Evacuation Of Mentally Ill Climber

A 25-year-old solo climber from Pennsylvania was evacuated from the 14,200-foot camp on Mt. McKinley on July 7th after his erratic behavior and alarming statements revealed signs of mental illness with a likelihood of causing serious harm to himself or others. Prior to flying to the Kahiltna Basecamp, the solo climber told a Talkeetna resident that he intended to paraglide from the summit, an activity prohibited in Denali by federal regulation. When NPS staff members in Talkeetna were informed of this, rangers confronted the man, who signed an affidavit saying that he would not bring his paragliding equipment on the mountain. After he began his ascent of the West Buttress on June 28th, other climbing parties on the route made numerous reports to rangers that the soloist demonstrated unsafe glacier travel, a lack of appropriate gear, improper disposal of human waste, littering, and unusual inter-personal interactions. When he reached the 14,200-foot camp, Denali mountaineering volunteers and rangers evaluated the climber, who was cold, wet, and in distress. While treating the man for hypothermia, rangers discovered paragliding equipment in his sled. The paraglider was seized, at which time the individual's behavior and language grew increasingly unusual and erratic. Two NPS volunteer medical professionals at the camp consulted over a 24 hour period by telephone with the park's medical director in Anchorage about their patient observations. A determination was made that his behavior and condition presented a potential risk to his life and others. Under provisions of Alaska State law, a 72-hour protective custody order was prepared by the medical director in Anchorage. It was deemed unsafe to transport a mentally unstable person within the small confined cabin of the park's high altitude helicopter. Denali staff therefore requested military assistance through Alaska's Rescue Coordination Center. Two Army Chinook CH 47 helicopters from the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade out of Ft. Wainwright responded to Talkeetna on the morning of July 7th and transported two Denali law enforcement rangers to the 14,200-foot camp. NPS personnel at the camp had the man strapped and secured on a backboard when the single Chinook landed early in the afternoon. He was placed in the aircraft and flown directly back to Ft. Wainwright. Alaska State Troopers assisted the park by taking him into custody upon arrival and transporting him to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. [Maureen McLaughlin, Public Information Specialist]

Glen Canyon NRA

Hiker Falls To Death From Cliff

On the afternoon of July 7th, rangers were notified that a 23-year-old man who'd been camping on a houseboat with his family had not returned from a hike in a side canyon of Warm Creek Bay. Rangers and family members immediately began to search the area by ground and air. Within hours, the body of P.D. of Mesa, Arizona, was found at the base of a cliff. The initial investigation revealed that Dixon was properly prepared for a short hike, but had fallen approximately 70 feet and had sustained multiple fatal injuries. [Scott Sticha, Public Affairs Officer]

Grand Canyon NP

Hiker Dies On Lava Falls Route On North Rim

A man called park dispatch on Wednesday evening to report an overdue hiker. He said that the woman had gone to Tuweap on Tuesday with his son, who was hiking down the Lava Falls Route to the Colorado to join a float trip. When she failed to return home, he became concerned and reported her overdue. Rangers launched a search for the rafter early yesterday and found him on the river late in the morning. The young man said that he'd last seen his hiking companion on the Lava Falls Route at mid-day on Tuesday. Rangers then began an aerial search of the route and found her body in early afternoon below the North Rim near Toroweap Valley. The Mohave County medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine cause of death. [Maureen Oltrogge, Public Affairs Officer]

Grand Teton NP

Two Teens Arrested Following Extended Foot Pursuit

Rangers arrested two local teens on Sunday, July 4th, following a two-and-a-half hour foot pursuit near the historic Mormon Row area. Early that morning, Will Smith, the park's Gros Ventre subdistrict ranger, responded to a report of a car that had apparently veered off the road and become stuck in the roadside sagebrush. Smith subsequently contacted two young men who were running along the road and asked them if the abandoned vehicle was theirs and whether they needed assistance. While talking with them, the two teens suddenly fled on foot and a full-scale foot pursuit ensued. Numerous law enforcement officers and a park canine search team responded and a containment barrier was established to prevent the teens from fleeing the area. Rangers tracked the two teens on foot and eventually hiked up the southeast slope of Blacktail Butte, where the teenagers were finally apprehended. They were taken into custody and transported to the Teton County jail. Both were issued citations for possession of alcohol by a minor, being under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, possession of a controlled substance, and violating a lawful order issued by a government employee. One of the teens was also charged with failure to maintain control of a vehicle. [Jackie Skaggs, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

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

Morristown NHP - The historic Ford Mansion, which closed last fall for maintenance work, has reopened and been largely refurnished. The mansion served as George Washington's headquarters from December 1779 to June 1780 during his army's Jockey Hollow winter encampment.

Visitor and Resource Protection - The Washington Office has issued a memo entitled "FY 2011 Drug Enforcement Program Grants." The full text is included.

Visitor and Resource Protection - The Washington Office has issued a memo entitled "FY 2011 Archaeological Resource Protection Act (ARPA) Program Grants." The full text is included.

WASO Public Affairs - Christine Lehnertz has been named regional director for Pacific West Region. Lehnertz has been the National Park Service's acting associate director for cultural resources since April 2nd.

Servicewide Training and Conference Calendar - Acompilation of upcoming training courses and conferences across the nation.

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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