Governors Island National Monument (NY)
Trespass and Demonstration
During the early morning hours of November 2nd, a man wearing black camouflage makeup and a wetsuit and carrying a blue and white embroidered pirate's flag apparently swam from Brooklyn across New York harbor to Governors Island, a 172-acre island, 800 yards off the southern tip of Manhattan.
Discovered around 7 a.m. that morning by NPS contractors and NPS staff, the man — identified as D.N., 41 — later told authorities he was there to reclaim the land for the "Blue Tulip Nation." The flag, measuring roughly four feet by six feet, was decorated with a light blue skull and crossbones and bore the words "The Blue Tulip Party," on whose unique platform he had run for president in 2000.
Since access to Governors Island is only by private ferry and tightly controlled by the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), a joint New York city-state redevelopment corporation that administers most of the island, the NPS requested that their private security firm contact the New York City Police Department.
As police officers from the First Precinct and the New York Harbor Patrol arrested D.N., he yelled, "I've been trying to get members since 1999," but authorities said that he was the only member. D.N. was arrested and taken to Bellevue Hospital Center for psychiatric evaluation and charged with criminal trespass. Police told park staff that he may have been previously been admitted to Bellevue. At the time of his arrest D.N. did not provide authorities with any information on the group or his ideologies. He also wouldn't tell police where he entered the water.
D.N. had stashed a bag with clothing items in an open outbuilding. A subsequent search of the area by NPS staff resulted in the discovery of additional items and prompted a recall of the NYPD emergency services unit and bomb squad at about 2 p.m. They retrieved a bundle of sports clothing, a near empty sports drink bottle and half eaten apple from one of the monument's apple trees, all stashed under a 15-inch Rodman cannon.
The historic island was an army post and Coast Guard base from 1794 until its closure in 1996. After an uncertain future the 150 acres of the island was returned to the city and state of New York in January 2003 to be administered and redeveloped for public use by GIPEC. The remaining 22-acres became the Governors Island National Monument containing Fort Jay and Castle Williams, two historic War of 1812 era fortifications. The island was jointly opened to the public by GIPEC and the National Park Service for guided tours during the summer of 2003 and again this summer. [Submitted by Mike Shaver, Supervisory Park Ranger]
Padre Island National Seashore (TX)
Marijuana Seizure
During an early morning patrol of South Beach on October 23rd, rangers located a shark boat (launcha) from Mexico that was beached at the seven-mile marker. Footprints led away from the scene.
Rangers eventually discovered a disturbed area behind a nearby dune and uncovered 22 bales of marijuana weighing a total of 1,412 pounds.
Over the next two days, a joint search of the park was conducted by rangers and personnel from the DEA, Coast Guard and Border Patrol, but no sign was found of anyone associated with the incident.
The shark boat has been seized. [Submitted by Randy Larson, Chief Ranger]
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Yellowstone National Park/Grand Teton National Park
Temporary Winter Use Plans Approved
The Service has approved winter use plans for Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway that provide visitors with a range of winter recreational opportunities for a three-year period while protecting park resources. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Temporary Winter Use Plans Environment Assessment ensures that park resources are protected and allows for the use of snowmobiles and snowcoaches in the parks on roads that automobiles use in the summer.
The FONSI, which ensures access and protection of resources, was approved by National Park Service Intermountain Regional Director Steve Martin on November 4, 2004. The plan will be in effect for the next three winter seasons, allowing snowmobile and snowcoach use through the winter of 2006-2007. A final rule implementing the decision will soon be published in the Federal Register.
Under the decision and the implementing rule, 720 snowmobiles per day will be allowed to enter Yellowstone, all led by commercial guides. This is substantially below the historic peak day use levels in the park and is lower than the level of access allowed during the last half of the 2003-2004 winter seasons. Commercial guides will not be required for the 140 snowmobiles per day allowed in Grand Teton National Park.
"In 2000, the Clinton administration had developed a plan to eliminate snowmobile use in these parks," said Fran Mainella, Director of the National Park Service. "I commend the Park Service employees for coming up with an environmentally friendly, common-sense approach to winter use management that incorporates the use of cleaner and quieter snowmobile technology that reduces hydrocarbon emissions by at least 90 percent. For 40 years families have had the opportunity to access the parks by snowmobiles and we want to continue to make a variety of winter activities available to American families."
Snowmobiles in Yellowstone will continue to operate on roads used by automobiles during the summer months. Snowmobiles will continue to be prohibited on specific side roads in Yellowstone including the Fountain Flat Road, Virginia Cascades Drive, North Canyon Rim Drive, Riverside Drive and the road from Canyon Junction to Washburn Hot Springs Overlook. Snowmobiles will be allowed on the Lake Butte Road; and the Firehole Canyon Drive will be open to snowcoaches only from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and to snowmobiles and snowcoaches from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day.
A total of 40 snowmobiles daily will be allowed on the frozen surface of Jackson Lake for purposes of ice fishing only; a valid Wyoming state fishing license and the proper fishing gear will be required. Snowplane use will continue to be prohibited on the lake.
All recreational snowmobiles entering Yellowstone National Park will be required to be four-stroke machines that meet the cleaner, quieter National Park Service (NPS) "Best Available Technology" (BAT) standards. A list of NPS-approved BAT snowmobiles is available on the park's web site at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse .
BAT snowmobiles will be required in Grand Teton National Park, with the exception of a short segment of the Continental Divide Snowmobile Trail (between Moran Junction and the east park boundary) and those originating in the Targhee National Forest and traveling on the Grassy Lake Road as far as Flagg Ranch.
The temporary winter use management plan is a balanced approach that ensures that resources are protected, provides access and gives visitors, employees and residents of the park's gateway communities the information they want and need to plan for the near term, and will help minimize economic impacts.
Monitoring data gathered during the interim plan will be invaluable in accurately assessing the impact of winter use in the long-term analysis and developing a permanent regulation for winter use in the parks.
The FONSI and EA are available online at http://www.nps.gov/yell/planvisit/winteruse/winteruse-ea.htm.
A limited number of printed copies are available and may be requested by calling Yellowstone National Park at (307) 344-2013.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Grand Teton National Park (WY)
Passing of Kevin Palmer
Beloved Grand Teton NP employee, Kevin Palmer, age 50, died of a heart attack on Thursday, October 28, while hunting with his eldest son, Charles, on the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, Wyoming. For the past eight years, Palmer has served as the park's facility operations manager and roads supervisor. A memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, at the Mariposa Funeral Home in Mariposa, CA; a "viewing" will precede the memorial service from 7:30 — 9:30 a.m. Immediately following the service, a private burial will take place at the family's private cemetery, also in Mariposa. A local memorial is planned at Grand Teton in Moose, WY, for November 10 at 12 noon.
Palmer, a Native American and member of the Yokut and Chukchansi Indian tribes, was born on November 28, 1953 in Mariposa. He started his federal career at the age of 18 when he began working as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Within two years, he was selected for a position with the NPS at Yosemite NP on a resource management crew. After seven years with the resource crew, Palmer transferred into the maintenance division and worked on road crews. In 1989, after 15 years at Yosemite, Palmer accepted a position as roads foreman and supervisor at Crater Lake NP where he managed the park's extensive snow plowing operations. Palmer transferred to Grand Teton NP in 1996 as an equipment operator supervisor and was later promoted to facility operations manager. During the past eight years, he not only supervised facility operations, but also organized and managed the park's Youth Conservation Corps program. In addition, he regularly worked with national fire management teams, serving as a fire base camp manager, facility manager, and overall "jack-of-all-trades" on numerous wildland fire incidents throughout the western United States. Palmer was also known as a "master" in facilitating NPS special events which included numerous Presidential trips, visits by Foreign Heads of State, and large-scale public events and celebrations staged at various national parks.
Palmer always had a smile on his face and a good-natured disposition. He was ready to lend a helping hand whenever the need arose and he loved to joke around with folks to keep things light-hearted and lively. His colleagues always said, "When you need something, just call Kevin." His positive attitude and genuine warmth will be greatly missed by all who worked with him throughout the NPS, within the interagency fire community, and especially by his present-day colleagues in Grand Teton.
Kevin is survived by his wife, Pam (Icardo) Palmer who also works at Grand Teton, and their son, Chris of Chiloquin, OR. Kevin has two other sons, Charles of Medford and Ben of Bend, OR. Kevin is also survived by his mother Lucille Palmer of Mariposa, plus three sisters, Rose Ford of Clovis, CA, Jane Gordon of Onyx, CA. and Jill Bull of Mariposa, and three brothers William of Ukiah, CA, Robbie of Prineville, OR and Michael (Ray) of Mariposa, and also two grandchildren, Cierra and Makiah Palmer of Medford, OR.
Cards can be mailed to Pam Palmer at P.O. Box 170, Moose, Wyoming 83012.
[Submitted by Jackie Skaggs, jackie_skaggs@nps.gov, 307/ 739-3393]Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.