NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
INCIDENTS
Gulf Coast Parks
Island Nesting Birds Have Successful Season
Despite fears that oil would have a serious impact on nesting birds on West Ship Island, a normal number of chicks have hatched and fledged. Here are the particulars:
Gulf Islands NS - West Ship Island's colony of nesting black skimmers and gull-billed terns has had a successful year with normal numbers of fledglings. When the beach was contaminated by oil, officials and biologists feared it would lead to fatalities among the hatchlings. While some chicks have been found to have small amounts of oil on them, they appear to be thriving.
According to Wendy Crouse, the National Park Service biological science technician monitoring the colony, a few chicks were found with oil on them and three from the West Ship Island colony were sent to a recovery center. She said the nest area on West Ship Island is the best habitat within Gulf Islands National Seashore for these birds. This is largely due to the lack of raccoons, which prey on eggs and chicks, and the expanse of open areas and dunes available to nesting birds. The nesting areas are marked by signs and flagging and clean-up crews have worked carefully around them so incubating birds are not disturbed and the surrounding habitat is clean when the chicks leave the nest. Barring a significant reintroduction of oil by the tide, having a near normal success rate of reproduction by these beautiful shore birds is a hopeful sign.
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.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.nps.gov/aboutus/oil-spill-response.htm" NPS Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/site/2931/" National Oil Spill Response
HYPERLINK "http://www.restorethegulf.gov/" Restore The Gulf
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
[Ken Hires and Mary McBurney, Gulf Coast Oil Spill Response]
Denali NP&P
Victims Of Plane Crash Identified
The individuals onboard the Fairchild C-123 cargo plane that crashed in the park on Sunday, all Alaskans, have been identified as B.M., 61, of Delta Junction, J.E., 52, of Wasilla, and P.Q., 66, also of Wasilla. B.M. was the owner of All West Freight, Inc. and the plane's pilot. The identities were determined through interviews with acquaintances, friends, and relatives familiar with the plane and the intended flight on Sunday. Investigators with the Office of the State Medical Examiner arrived in the park Monday afternoon and will oversee the recovery of the remains of the three men as part of the on-site investigation. Official identification of the deceased will be made by the state medical examiner through forensic examination. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA arrived at the park yesterday morning and have completed an aerial reconnaissance and preliminary ground survey of the site. Those offices will take over the on-scene investigation when the medical examiner's work is completed. Responsibility for overseeing the continued mop up of hot spots within the one-acre area burned by the wildfire resulting from the plane crash has been transferred from the Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers to Denali wildland firefighters. Rangers will continue to provide security for the site until the ground investigation is completed. Denali Park Road is open to traffic, and Rock Creek Trail has reopened. The Roadside Trail will remain closed until the on-site investigation has been completed. The temporary flight restriction (TFR) that was in effect over the crash site was cancelled on Monday. [Kris Fister, Public Affairs Officer]
Jean Lafitte NHP&P
Researcher Attacked And Bitten By Alligator
On the afternoon of July 28th, park employees responded to a frantic call for help from a 29-year-old Louisiana State University researcher who had been bitten by an alligator while taking soil samples along the Barataria visitor center trail. Natural resource manager Dusty Pate arrived on scene within a minute of receiving the call and was soon joined by protection ranger Mike Callais, who began emergency first aid to stop the bleeding and secure the wounded hand. The researcher, who was operating under a grant from the George Wright Foundation to study climate effects on the Barataria Preserve, had been attacked by a seven-foot alligator while collecting samples from the water adjacent to the boardwalk. The researcher advised that she had been working along the boardwalk when she spotted an alligator watching her from a little over 200 yards away, but that she had lost sight of the reptile while walking down the boardwalk. Callais and Pate began immediate emergency first aid to her right hand, which was suffering from severe bite and tear wounds as well as an open compound fracture. As soon as EMS transported her to the local hospital, the park immediately closed park trails and boardwalks in the area of the attack. Additional personnel were called in to locate the alligator. After a short time, a seven-foot, 250-pound alligator was located very close to the area where the attack occurred. Due to public safety concerns, the alligator was killed. A thorough investigation into the incident revealed that the alligator had most likely been the victim of repeated illegal human interaction involving human food and had been "following" the researcher in hopes of obtaining a handout. The researcher had no idea that the alligator was underneath the boardwalk, which stands about 18 inches above the water. When she kneeled down on the walkway to lean over and retrieve a plastic tube that had been inserted into the water and soil below her, the alligator came from behind and underneath her and grabbed onto her right hand, which was in the water. The alligator immediately began to rotate while clamped down on her. The 100-pound researcher was able to free her hand from the gator's mouth, though, and then call for help. Due to the severity of the bite, she was later transported from the local hospital to the University Hospital in New Orleans, where she underwent treatment for the wounds. She is scheduled to undergo surgery in the near future. The park's superintendent has ordered a stand down of all park activity that involves the potential for interaction with alligators until such time that an updated job hazard analysis has been conducted and properly reviewed by park staff. [John Hughes, Chief Ranger]
Katmai NP
Search In Progress For Missing Hiker
An air and ground search for a hiker missing in Katmai National Park in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes entered its third day yesterday. At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 31st, the park received a call from an emergency radio at the Three Forks trailhead. The caller reported that a member of his party had disappeared along the Lethe River while trying to recover his boots, which had fallen into the river at a crossing approximately nine miles up the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes from the trailhead. The remaining group of four had spent several hours looking for their 48-year-old companion, an experienced hiker, before hiking out to the trailhead and calling in the incident. The group of five Germans had planned to spend the last night of their four-day trip at Six-mile Camp (about six miles from the trailhead) before heading out to be picked up by a concessioner's tour bus on August 1st. Efforts were still underway yesterday to notify the missing man's family. A hasty search by two National Park Service ground crews and the park airplane was begun on Saturday evening, but poor visibility and the onset of darkness ended the search with no signs of the missing hiker. The search resumed on Sunday morning with three ground crews and two fixed-winged aircraft and a helicopter. Air support is being provided by Katmai National Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska State Troopers. The Lethe River drains out of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, which is a large ash-filled area resulting from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano. The river has frequently swift water, limited numbers of fords for hikers, and many areas with steep banks cut through the ash layers. The trailhead to the area is reached by a 23-mile road from Brooks Camp, the park's main developed area. [John Quinley, Public Affairs Officer, Alaska Region]
Lake Roosevelt NRA
Man Drowns Near Spring Canyon
H.F., 23, of Spokane, Washington, was swimming with a group of friends at a location known as “Pot Palace” near Spring Canyon on July 25th when he was seen to roll off his tube and into the water. When he did not resurface, one of the friends began diving in an effort to locate him while the others went for help. After multiple attempts, H.F. was located and brought to the surface. South District rangers Eric Valen, Bill Fee and Ryan Jaehrling responded to the 911 call by boat from Spring Canyon and began CPR. Rangers transported H.F. to the Spring Canyon launch ramp, where he was taken by ambulance to Grand Coulee Medical Center. Efforts to resuscitate him proved unsuccessful. Deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene. An investigation is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Grant County Coroner's Office. Initial interviews indicate that the victim was HYPERLINK "http://www.psychiatric-disorders.com/articles/substance-abuse/inhalant- abuse.php" huffing from a can of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_duster" air duster before entering the water, which may have been a contributing factor in this incident. [Marty Huseman, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):
Gateway NRA - Now in its 26th year, the annual All-Women Lifeguard Tournament was held at Gateway's Sandy Hook Unit last Wednesday. This year, 216 surf-lifeguards traveled from four states to compete in ten contests.
Learning and Development Division - The Capital Training Center's Albright-Wirth grant program is recruiting interested employees who would like to serve as 2011 Albright-Wirth grant panel peer and management reviewers. Responses are due by September 30th.
Grand Teton NP - An agreement signed at the scenic AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park will continue the longest-standing—and one of the most successful—partnerships between a university and the National Park Service. Photo.
Natural Resource Program Center - Mike Whatley, chief of the Natural Resource Program Center's Office of Education and Outreach, reached the 40 year mark in his career with the National Park Service this past June. Photo.
NPS incident submission standards can be found online at the HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" serious incident notification web page.
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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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