NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, September 26, 2013
INCIDENTS
Pacific West Region
California Man Convicted Of ARPA Violations
In early 2007, a 62-year-old California man visited several archaeological sites on public lands in northern California to search for Native American artifacts. In one rock shelter that he entered, he excavated and removed Native American human remains that had been previously looted from the same rock shelter in 1970 and repatriated by the Pit River Tribe in 2005.
Upon discovering the human remains, the man contacted the local sheriff's department, which in turn contacted the local land manager.
In December of 2012, the man was charged with two misdemeanor counts of attempting to excavate and remove archaeological resources from public lands. He pled guilty to both counts this past July, and was sentenced earlier this week to six months' probation, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, and required to pay $3,500 in restitution and $50 in court fees.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service's Investigative Services Branch and prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Sacramento, California.
[Investigative Services Branch]
New River Gorge NR
Injured Climber Medevaced To Area Hospital
Rangers responded to a call reporting a climber fall in the popular Endless Wall climbing area on Monday afternoon.
The accident occurred on a wall known as Star Trek, located along Fern Buttress near Fern Creek. The area is popular with novice climbers and has several established routes rated between 5.6 and 5.11.
The climber, who was from Vienna, West Virginia, rappelled off the end of his rope and fell about 35 feet, sustaining lower limb and back injuries in the fall.
Rangers and personnel from Fayette County Rope Rescue, Fayetteville Fire Department, Ansted Fire Department, General Ambulance, and Health Net Air Ambulance responded to assist in the mile-plus carryout over rough terrain. The injured climber was then medevaced by Health Net to the Charleston Area Medical Center.
The incident is under investigation by the NPS. The climber is expected to make a full recovery.
[Jeff West, Chief Ranger]
Big South Fork NR&RA
Park Concessioner Involved In Altercation
On the evening of August 26th, an altercation took place between the owner and employees of a park concession.
The incident began with a verbal altercation at the Charit Creek Lodge between the concessioner and employees that subsequently escalated on the Fork Ridge Road, which leads out of the Charit Creek Lodge. It was reported that the owner of the lodge fired a shotgun at one of the employees as he passed by him on the Fork Ridge Road and that one of the employees rammed the owner's truck with her vehicle, as he had it parked blocking the road.
Rangers Kristy Slaven and Noel Mays and Fentress County deputies were dispatched to the call, arriving on scene around 11 p.m. The investigation revealed that no shots were fired in the incident, but that a shotgun was displayed by the owner of the lodge. Rangers also learned that an employee did attempt to try to push the owner's truck out of the roadway.
Several violation notices were issued to all involved in the incident.
[Noel Mays, Park 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/):
Rocky Mountain NP - Three trails and some areas of the park on the east side reopened for public use yesterday. Meanwhile, the first of a pair of convoys with heavy equipment essential for infrastructure repairs crossed over Trail Ridge Road from the west side of the park, necessitating a temporary closure of that highway.
United States Park Police - On September 18th, Chief Teresa Chambers laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery, an honor usually bestowed only upon military personnel and visiting foreign dignitaries.
Glacier NP - Glacier National Park, in partnership with the University of Montana, has begun a three-year research study on how mountain goats are affected by roads, people and trails in the park's Logan Pass area.
Office of Communications - Entrance to all units of the National Park System will be free this coming Saturday, the 20th annual celebration of National Public Lands Day.
Colorado NM - Shirley Johnston, the park's administrative officer, will be retiring on September 27th after 27 years with the National Park Service.
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The Morning Report is 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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