NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, May 18, 2015
INCIDENTS
Yellowstone NP
Visitor Injured In Encounter With Bison
A Taiwanese girl sustained serious but not life threatening injuries in an encounter with a bison in the Old Faithful area on Friday, May 16th.
Shortly after noon, the 16-year-old exchange student was visiting Upper Geyser Basin with her host family. While hiking near Old Faithful Geyser, the family joined a group of people watching a bison grazing adjacent to the trail. According to firsthand reports, the group was somewhere between three and six feet from the bison. The girl turned her back to the bison to have her picture taken when the bison lifted its head, took a couple steps and gored her.
When responding rangers arrived on scene, there was a group of people fewer than ten feet from the grazing bison. The rangers, with assistance from bystanders, moved the girl a safe distance from the bison. The girl was transported to the Old Faithful Clinic, treated and then flown to a hospital by helicopter ambulance for further medical treatment.
[Amy Bartlett, Public Affairs Office]
Denali NP&P
Body Of Argentine Climber Found On Mount McKinley
The body of an Argentinian solo climber was discovered at the 17,200-foot high camp of Mount McKinley just before midnight on Sunday, May 10th. H.J.C., 39, of General Roca, Argentina, appears to have died of unknown medical issues.
H.J.C. began his ascent of the West Buttress route on May 1st. According to other climbing parties at the 14,200-foot camp, he headed up to the 17,200-foot high camp on May 6th. No other parties were camped at 17,200 feet between May 6th and May 10th, the date when the climber's remains were found by a two-person team upon their arrival at high camp. H.J.C. was found lying in the snow in the middle of the camp plateau with no visible signs of trauma.
That night, the reporting team used HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Radio_Service" FRS radio to report the event to HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pararescue" pararescuemen from the Alaska Air National Guard's 212th Rescue Squadron who were camped at 14,200 feet. The pararescuemen then relayed the discovery to NPS mountaineering rangers in Talkeetna via satellite phone.
Due to delays in direct communication with the original reporting team, and with no NPS ranger staff positioned at the 17,200-foot high camp this early in the season, it took several days to make a positive determination of the man's identity. NPS staff worked with the Argentine consulate to notify H.J.C.'s next of kin on Wednesday, May 13th.
H.J.C.'s remains will be recovered from the 17,200-foot camp when NPS mountaineering rangers are safely acclimatized for the recovery effort and when weather conditions allow. The remains will then be transferred to the State of Alaska medical examiner.
[Maureen Gualtieri]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers):
Hawaii Volcanoes NP - The National Park Service and National Geographic Society blended Western science with traditional Hawaiian culture in a BioBlitz that counted 416 species in 24 hours, including more than 22 that are new to the park.
Office of the Comptroller - This year's Scorecard builds upon the easy to access, web-based reports introduced last year. Users can access park-level data and trends via the park Scorecard, as well as through several comparison reports.
Cesar E. Chavez NM - On April 23rd, César E. Chávez National Monument hosted a special event, in cooperation with the Cesar Chavez Foundation, to provide military honors for Cesar Chavez at his gravesite.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending May 15th.
Park Facility Management Division - Bob Wilbur has been selected as the National Park Service's new facility and asset management officer. He reports for duty as head of the Park Facility Management Division on June 28th.
Carlsbad Caverns NP - Avelina Childress will retire at the end of May as the administrative support assistant for the park's interpretive division following 31 years with the National Park Service.
To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites:
NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/
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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