NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, October 25, 2010
INCIDENTS
Sequoia-Kings Canyon NPs
Two Remaining Missing Hikers Found
Two missing hikers - a father and son who were overdue from a planned 36-mile cross-country loop hike in the Mount Whitney area - have been found. S.S.B., 27, and A.S., 56, walked out on park trails in the Cedar Grove area, which is approximately 50 miles away and far from their original planned route. Approximately 70 people assisted with the search and rescue effort. Groups searching for the missing hikers included the National Park Service, Los Angeles County Search and Rescue, Sierra Madre Search and Rescue, the Inyo County Sheriff's Office, Inyo County Search and Rescue, and the California National Guard. [Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Officer]
Yosemite NP
Poachers Receive Record Penalties In Federal Court
In August of 2008, California Department of Fish and Game wardens received an anonymous report about suspected poaching activity in the Virginia Canyon area of the park. Based on this tip, the NPS and Fish and Game opened a joint investigation. As the investigation progressed, C.G., his 14-year old son, his brother Ch.G., and K.N. were identified as suspects. On August 28, 2008, a warden and a Yosemite ranger were on a stakeout at Yosemite's boundary at Summit Lake and stopped the four suspects at 5:30 a.m. as they were sneaking out of the park. The G.s and K.N. claimed they were on a week-long backpacking trip, but did not have the appropriate equipment. As a result of this conversation with the foursome, rangers and wardens later returned to the area several times to search for evidence of poaching. On September 13, 2008, a warden and a ranger, aided by the warden's search dog, found several items of evidence positively linking the G.s and K.N. to the original report. These items included their hunting licenses and deer tags, bows and arrows, digital memory cards, GPS units, backpacks, bags of rotten deer meat, three sets of deer antlers and a kill site. All of these items were located inside the park, an area of exclusive federal jurisdiction. A federal search warrant was executed on the electronic media found in the field. The evidence secured as a result of this search warrant led to the execution of a federal search warrant at C.G.'s residence on January 11, 2009. More evidence was seized, including computers and the heads of two deer killed in Yosemite in 2005 and 2007. Over the years, the G.s had killed five trophy deer in the park. Wardens began several other investigations on C.G. based on evidence seized from his computers and GPS units that suggested a number of other poaching offenses. On October 14, 2009, while under investigation for hunting within Yosemite, C.G. was cited for hunting with his son within the boundaries of Lake Perris State Park. During the summer of 2010, he was cited twice by the California Department of Fish and Game for two independent fishing and boating violations. C.G. was also falsely reporting his poached deer to the California Bowmen Hunter's Association as legitimate kills and had several of his poached deer listed as records. On September 1, 2009, K.N. was charged with six counts in federal court; C.G. and Ch.G. were both charged with 17 counts. State charges were also filed separately. This past May, the men pleaded as follows:
K.N. pled guilty to hunting in Yosemite and possession of a weapon in the park. He was sentenced to a $7,500 fine, 24 months of unsupervised probation and forfeiture of all of his hunting equipment seized in the field. He also agreed to stay outside of the park for the duration of his probation.
Ch.G. pled guilty to 14 of 17 federal counts, including three counts of hunting within Yosemite, three counts of violating the Lacey Act and three counts of possession of a weapon within Yosemite.
C.G. pled guilty to nine of 17 counts, including three counts of hunting within the park, three counts of violating the Lacey Act and three counts of possession of a weapon within Yosemite.
C.G., Ch.G., K.N. also received sentences from a judge in Mono County, including up to 60 days in jail, between two and ten years' hunting license revocation, three years probation, a $1,000 fine, and up to 200 hours community service. On October 19th, C.G. and Ch.G. were sentenced in federal court:
Ch.G.'s sentence included five years of supervised probation, 250 hours of community service, and 45 days of house arrest. He is also prohibited from hunting within the United States for five years, is not allowed to be in the presence of anyone hunting, and is not allowed to possess a bow and arrow.
C.G.'s sentence included five years of supervised probation and a $52,368 fine. He is also prohibited from hunting within the United States for five years, prohibited from being in the presence of other hunters, and is not allowed to possess a bow and arrow. He is not allowed in Yosemite for the duration of his probation.
This multiagency investigation and convictions represents the most severe civil and criminal penalties ever associated with illegal hunting in the history of Yosemite National Park. [Scott Gediman and Kari Cobb]
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/):
Office of Public Affairs - River Raisin National Battlefield Park, a War of 1812 battlefield located in Monroe, Michigan, has officially become the newest (393rd) unit in the National Park System.
Visitor and Resource Protection - On October 19th, the NPS published interim regulations in the Federal Register intended to correct deficiencies identified in a recent court decision concerning public assemblies and meetings and the sale or distribution of printed matter. A link is provided to these regs.
Fire and Aviation Management - A new communication plan for the Service's structural fire management program has been released. The text of the WASO memorandum and a link to the plan are included.
Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - Paul Kemppainen has been selected as the Service's new security and intelligence program manager. He will EOD on October 25th.
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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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