NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, June 13, 2013
INCIDENTS
Big Bend NP
University Researcher Found Dead In Park
On June 7th, M.O., 25, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was found dead near the Homer Wilson Ranch in Big Bend National Park. M.O. had a permit via the University of Louisiana-Lafayette to conduct geology research in the Sierra Quemada during the period from June 3rd through June 6th. On the morning of June 7th, he was determined to be overdue and a search was begun by park rangers. The official cause of death is yet to be determined, but contributing factors could be the extreme heat the park experienced all week, with air temperatures near 110 degrees or greater in the area he was working. [Allen S. Etheridge, Chief Ranger]
Denali NP&P
Visitor Shoots Charging Moose In Self Defense
On the evening of Thursday, June 6th, the park received a report that a visitor had shot and injured a cow moose near the Denali Visitor Center. The visitor, a 26-year-old man from Eagle River, Alaska, said that he and four other people, including two small children, encountered the moose at close range when they rounded a corner on a trail. They attempted to hide behind a tree, but the moose continued to charge. As she approached, the man shot her in the head at close range. He said afterwards that he did it because he was concerned for the safety of the children and felt he had no other recourse. The man was visibly upset when he reported the incident to the responding rangers, who had to destroy the mortally injured moose. After investigation of the statements of the party and a review of applicable law, the National Park Service has determined that no prosecution will be recommended to the Office of the United States Attorney. Although the discharge of a firearm and taking of wildlife in the park are both violations of CFR, investigators found nothing to contradict the man's statement that he shot the moose in self defense. While there is not a “defense of life” provision in the federal laws governing national parks, under Alaska state law this incident would be deemed a justifiable defense of life and not be charged as an offense. [Kris Fister, Public Affairs Officer]
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/):
Grand Teton NP - An old-fashioned cattle drive took place in the park just after sunrise on the morning of Saturday, June 8th. Wranglers drove about 290 steers from their winter range to a summer pasture located on a historic grazing allotment inside the park.
Fort Sumter NM - Four Civil War cannon were returned to public display at Fort Moultrie's Cannon Row on Monday, marking the completion of the rehabilitation of several seacoast cannons in the Fort Sumter National Monument collection.
Park NAGPRA - The Park NAGPRA program presented a 12-hour videoconference training session on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act to a number of remote sites in Alaska Region during the last week of May.
Office of Communications - The NPS has announced the awarding of more than $3.7 million in historic preservation grants to 142 American Indian tribes. The grants assist tribes in carrying out national historic preservation program responsibilities on tribal lands.
St. Croix NSR - A Rotary/NPS team recently traveled to Costa Rica through funding provided by Rotary International and signed a sister park agreement between 13 national park units in the Upper Midwest and seven national park and protected areas of the Osa Conservation Area.
Intermountain Region - Jeff Mow has been named superintendent of Glacier National Park. Mow, who is now superintendent of Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska, will begin his assignment at Glacier on August 25th.
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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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