NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, April 18, 2013
INCIDENTS
Boston Area Parks
Operations Return To Normal But With Heightened Security
Boston NHP and Boston African American NHS reopened all of their normal visitor services and resumed guided tours along the Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage Trail yesterday. Heightened security measures remain in place:
Front entrance vehicle barricades are in place around the clock at the Navy Yard, with 100% ID checks. Protection rangers are also posted there around the clock.
An NPS bomb dog is on duty.
Increased vigilance and law enforcement patrols are being conducted parkwide, including legislated partner sites in downtown Boston.
Increased visibility patrols are being conducted.
A modified barrier plan is in place around Navy Yard Buildings 4 and 5. These buildings house Navy sailors and offices associated with the USS Constitution.
The USS Constitution remains closed to public tours. The Navy indicates that they may reopen the ship to the public with the next few days.
The HMCS Halifax, a Canadian warship, has cancelled its planned port visit to Boston NHP. The visit was planned for this weekend and would have attracted larger crowds to the Navy Yard.
Law enforcement staffing has been increased and will remain at this higher level until at least this Sunday. If no further incidents occur or new threats are detected, staffing at normal patrol levels will resume on Monday.
Protection rangers are providing additional suspicious person/incident awareness training for park employees and partners and are monitoring local intelligence briefings and sources.
Nearly all normal scheduled activity in the City of Boston has resumed. An area around the explosion crime scene remains closed. [Mark Dowdle, 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/):
Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services - On April 13th, NPS personnel from three Arizona parks participated in a challenging 55-patient mass casualty exercise at Grand Canyon, part of a much larger coordinated exercise known as Resolute Angel.
Grand Canyon NP - Over the past several years, education specialists from Santa Monica Mountains and Grand Canyon have collaborated on a unique program for staff who are relatively new to the National Park Service.
Office of Communications - More than $42 million in grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund enabled partners in 338 communities across the country to establish or expand parks, build or refurbish recreational facilities, and undertake other projects to enhance outdoor recreation.
NPS Alumni - Jane Ring, past concessions chief for NCR and spouse of retired park superintendent Dick Ring, passed away suddenly on Monday, April 15th.
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Guidance on incident notification can be found under the “Hot Topics” heading on InsideNPS or at HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504" http://inside.nps.gov/waso/custompages.cfm?prg=45&id=8728&lv=2&pgid=3504.
The Morning Report is a publication of the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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