The Morning Report
Friday, June 13, 2014
INCIDENTS
Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Colorado Man Dies On Longs Peak
The body of M.D.B., 25, of Fort Collins, Colorado was recovered yesterday afternoon, June 12th, from Longs Peak via helicopter.
Rangers were notified on Tuesday, June 10th, that M.D.B. was overdue from the Longs Peak area. He had left Fort Collins at approximately 2 am on Monday morning and was expected at work that day by 4 pm. After learning that he likely planned to travel along the Keyhole Route, rangers initiated a search in that area.
Rangers located M.D.B.'s body that afternoon approximately 1,000 feet below the Keyhole Route down the Trough. Weather conditions prevented immediate recovery efforts.
Yesterday M.D.B.'s body was flown to the helipad at Upper Beaver Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park and was transferred to the Boulder County Coroner's Office.
[Submitted by Kyle Patterson ]
Blue Ridge Parkway
Car Crash Leads To Kidnapping Allegations
An 18-year-old North Carolina man was arrested Thursday evening, June 5th, in connection with a reported kidnapping earlier that day.
Early Thursday morning, June 5th, maintenance worker Paul Bryan alerted rangers of an empty vehicle crashed off the road and on its side down a small embankment near mile post 234 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The responding ranger, David Hynes, found two people walking down the road a short distance from the crash scene. They said that they had crashed about 1 am and had set up camp near the road about a quarter mile from the scene. One of them, a teenage girl, had an arm injury. Alleghany Rescue Squad responded to transfer her and the uninjured man to a hospital in Elkin, North Carolina. While at the hospital the girl reported that she had been kidnapped.
That evening, S.H., from Stokes County, North Carolina, was arrested at his home without incident on state charges of kidnapping, felonious restraint, assault by pointing a gun, and assault on a female. He is being held on $150,000 bail. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are leading a joint investigation.
[Submitted by David Bauer]
Yellowstone National Park (ID,MT,WY)
Stolen Parks Canada Truck Recovered In Mammoth Hot Springs
Rangers apprehended a Canadian man driving a stolen Parks Canada truck after the driver failed to stop at the park's northern entrance.
On the morning of Sunday, June 1st, the Yellowstone Communication Center received a call from visitor use assistants working at the North Entrance reporting that a pick-up truck with a green stripe and light bar failed to stop at the entrance station. They reported that the driver gave them a peace sign as he drove through the stop sign. Law enforcement rangers were notified and stopped the vehicle 5 miles south, in Mammoth Hot Springs.
The Parks Canada vehicle turned out to be stolen from Banff National Park on May 30th. Rangers investigated the driver, and placed the Canadian citizen into custody without incident.
The driver reported that he had taken the vehicle to drive south, where it was warm. Somewhere between Alberta and Montana, the driver saw a dirt road that went around a fence near the border checkpoint, and drove until he reached the Highway on the U.S. side.
Park rangers, special agents and the assistant US attorney worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Crown prosecutors, ICE, Parks Canada and the Canadian Consulate to determine how best to proceed with the investigation and prosecution.
[Submitted by Bonnie Schwartz]
NEWS AND NOTES
Office of Communications, Digital Strategy Division
Servicewide Webinar: Countdown To Centennial Web Update
On Thursday, June 19th, at 3:15 pm ET, there will be a servicewide webinar and conference call introducing public and internal web projects taking place between now and the National Park Service centennial in 2016.
The presentation is not limited to web coordinators or web authors. Everyone interested in engaging the web team and the NPS web community is encouraged to attend. Please use the link below to register for the webinar.
The webinar will be facilitated by Tim Cash, chief of the Digital Strategy Division of the Office of Communications. After the presentation, members of the Digital Strategy Division, Digital Content Division, and NPS Web Council, with representatives from each region and directorate, will be available to answer questions.
Date: Thursday, June 19th
Time: 3:15 PM ET
Duration: 1 hour
Leader: Tim Cash, Chief, Digital Strategy Division
Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/620481953
Call-in information will be sent to registered participants prior to the webinar.
[Submitted by Todd Edgar]
Park Facility Management Division
Zydeco Rider Steers Park's Bike To Work Challenge
Although new to bicycle commuting herself, Mary Lambert is taking the Challenge head on, demonstrating enthusiasm and leadership in the promotion of a healthier lifestyle and a reduced carbon footprint. But these are not her only reasons for getting involved with the program. She sees the competition as an opportunity to strengthen bonds with coworkers and spread happiness throughout the organization. "Happiness is contagious, and we like that," she says.
Lambert is a secretary, working for the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve and the New Orleans Jazz Historical Park. As a resident of New Orleans, she finds it hard not to categorize things into pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina. One good thing to come out of the hurricane she says is the significant improvement to the city's bicycle infrastructure, which is exciting for a lot of people. Bicycle commuting is something she had long considered getting involved in, and when she learned about the Federal Bike-to-Work Challenge during May of last year, she was immediately eager to sign up in 2014.
This year Lambert recruited several coworkers and assembled a team called the Zydeco Riders. Now spanning all management levels, nearly all of the parks' departments are participating in the Challenge. She is excited about rider representation in New Orleans and South Louisiana, "We want to raise our flag..." she says, "as we have fun."
While recognizing the many benefits of bicycle commuting, Lambert's favorite aspects of the Challenge are the opportunity to bring people together and to do something healthy with coworkers. The Zydeco Riders hope to add a few new members as they plan to continue their commuting habits long after the conclusion of this year's Federal Bike-to-Work Challenge. "The team doesn't break apart at the end of May; we'll stay together," says Mary. Laissez les bons temps rouler (Let the good times roll!)!
This story was originally written by Marco Evert, a junior at Seattle University in Washington state. He is a current Federal Bike-To-Work Challenge intern while a junior working towards a public affairs degree and work as an urban planner.
To share your Bike to Work Challenge story, click "More Information" below.
[Submitted by Marco Evert, Federal Bike-to-Work Challenge Intern]
Office of Public Health/Health Promotion Branch
Healthy Parks Healthy People Releases Community eGuide
On Tuesday, June 10th, the first edition of the "Healthy Parks Healthy People Community Engagement eGuide" was released and emailed to more than five hundred park staff and partners across the United States. It is available on the Healthy Parks Healthy People website at nps.gov/hphp.
The eGuide is the first in a digital series to chronicle and share the development of Healthy Parks Healthy People programs in parks and communities across the country.
Complete with a diversity of inspirational ideas, tools, and practical advice, this first edition shares how parks and partners are engaging diverse audiences and new partners to promote parks as places for healthy living.
The eGuide is a dynamic toolkit—it's an interactive PDF that includes:
- Examples to help you Get Inspired about healthy living in parks and communities
- Helpful Resources that are adaptable and ready-to-use
- Profiles of Parks and Partners who are already on the path to integrating health into the park and community offerings
The eGuide was designed to help parks engage diverse audiences and to ensure that EVERYBODY is engaged in health promotion and stewardship—including park staff, visitors, and partners.
The eGuide was developed in partnership between the National Park Service's Healthy Parks Healthy People Program, the National Parks Conservation Association's Center for Park Management, park staff, and partners from all over the country representing agencies and organizations who are engaged in promoting the role of parks in contributing to the health and well-being of people and parks for co-benefits.
[Submitted by Diana Allen]
Cape Lookout National Seashore (NC)
Dedication Ceremony Held For Beaufort Visitor Information Center
Cape Lookout National Seashore hosted the dedication of the new National Park Service Beaufort Visitor Information Center on May 29th. The information center opened on April 30th in the Beaufort Town Hall. The ceremony marks the return of NPS presence to the waterfront of the gateway community of Beaufort, North Carolina, after twenty-three years of absence.
The arrowhead logo, new wayside exhibits, and uniformed staff on the street, along with beautifully designed exhibits indoors, is anticipated to draw visitors to the breadth of resources located in the park. While passenger ferries have been taking visitors from Beaufort to nearby areas in the park for many years, the gray-and-green presence will help foster appreciation for the protected area as one of America's National Parks.
The visitor information center dedication marks a milestone in the partnership between town and park.
[Submitted by Patrick Kenney]
Midwest Archeological Center
Passing of Dr. Mark Lynott
The former manager of the NPS Midwest Archeological Center, Mark J. Lynott, 63, passed away unexpectedly on May 29th, 2014 in Lincoln, Nebraska. His gentle guidance, excellent wit, and persistent voice on behalf of archeological resources will be greatly missed by all that came into contact with him. Throughout his life Mark was a friend and mentor to many and will be remembered for those gifts every bit as much as for his many contributions to archeology both within and outside of the NPS.
After 34 years as supervisory archeologist at the Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC), including 17 years as center manager, Dr. Mark Lynott retired in January of 2013. Mark came to the center in 1978 to develop and direct the Midwest Division archeological program at a time when the center served both the Midwest and former Rocky Mountain Regions. While in this position, he worked closely with center and park staff to initiate archeological research and resource management at many parks as he built a viable regional archeological program where none had existed previously.
After the NPS reorganization was completed in early 1996, Mark was appointed center manager. His contributions to MWAC were myriad and included the implementation of a team approach to the management and research of archeological resources and the development of close relationships among center, regional, and park staffs. Throughout his career Mark was directly involved in the development of active archeological research programs at several MWR parks and was never more relaxed than when he was in the field. He was an outspoken advocate for professionalism in archeology that included adherence to a code of ethics and standards of research performance. He served at one time as the President of the Society for Professional Archaeologists (the precursor to the present Register of Professional Archaeologists) and was a member of the ethics committee of the Society for American Archaeology and president of the Midwest Archaeological Conference at the time of his passing.
Mark held an adjunct position in the University of Nebraska Anthropology Department for many years and frequently taught courses there on archeological methods and the practice of cultural resource management in addition to leading multiple field schools. Through these courses and his unwavering support for hiring students in part time positions at MWAC, he trained hundreds of students in all aspects of archeological research and management as well as in proper laboratory and curation procedures. Many of those students have gone on to successful archeological careers across the United States.
His ability to collaborate across sectors and among disparate audiences along with his interest in innovative and multidisciplinary research, particularly employing geoarcheological and geophysical methods, resulted in significant advances in knowledge through extensive research projects at Ozark National Scenic Riverways and Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. Indeed his creative and inclusive research methods at Hopewell Culture NHP are a model for professional excellence in archeological research and management.
A celebration of Mark's life was held at MWAC on June 5th, and, pursuant to Mark's wishes, no other services are presently planned. A memorial fund for Mark Lynott has been established and his family would appreciate that donations in his memory be sent to:
Mark Lynott Memorial Fund
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
16062 State Route 104
Chillicothe, OH 45601
[Submitted by Robert Bryson, Robert_Bryson@nps.gov, 402-437-5392 x107]
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
GS-0025-11/12 West District (Protection) Ranger
Big Bend National Park is advertising for a GS-11/12 supervisory district ranger. It closes on June 23rd.
The park is looking for someone with energy as well as passion for the NPS mission to join the team in Big Bend country. The person selected will manage law enforcement and emergency services for the 400,000 acre West District, which is situated along the Rio Grande, the international border with Mexico. The incumbent will supervise a staff of primary law enforcement rangers as well as seasonal positions.
The work is multi-faceted and the incumbent must be able to maintain certifications in structural and wildland fire, EMT, and have an interest in search and rescue. Rangers in this area of the park patrol by 4x4 truck, horseback, on foot, and by canoe. This position assists with significant resource management work with black bear and mountain lion management.
The incumbent is also a primary park liaison to the concession and lodge based within the district. This is a required occupancy position in very remote (the nearest town with full services is Alpine, Texas, 110 miles northwest) and rugged territory, where summers are long, hot and dry. The position is based in the Chisos Mountains, elevation 5,400'. Recreational opportunities are abundant for the serious outdoor enthusiast. Due to the arduous nature of the work, good physical fitness is a must.
This is a great opportunity for an energetic person seeking a dynamic supervisory position. Career development and training opportunities abound. Contact Chief Ranger Allen Etheridge at (432) 477-1185 for more information about life in Big Bend. Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement.
More Information...
Death Valley National Park (CA)
GS-0560-09/11 Budget Analyst
Death Valley has issued an announcement for a GS-09/11 budget analyst. Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement with full details on duties, area information, and procedures for applying. It closes on July 2nd.
More Information...