The Morning Report
Monday, December 15, 2014
INCIDENTS
Gateway National Recreation Area
Park Staff Join In Sandy Hook Bay Spill Cleanup Effort
Early on the afternoon of Thursday, December 11th, park staff detected a strong odor of diesel emanating from Sandy Hook Bay and soon detected a large sheen of fuel on the bay's surface. The sheen spanned the bay's shore from Guardian Park Bay north to the Coast Guard station located at Sandy Hook.
The Coast Guard launched two vessels and followed the sheen towards Naval Station Earle, but were unable to determine the source of the fuel spill. Monmouth County emergency management, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and New Jersey hazmat were notified.
The sheen quickly moved north into the Coast Guard sector of the bay and at last light had not moved any further north. A fuel boom was deployed at the culvert leading into the Horseshoe Cove marsh area to prevent possible fuel pollution from entering the marshland.
A Coast Guard spill response team returned the next day and met with NPS law enforcement/emergency services and natural resource staff. The Coast Guard contacted Clean Harbors to assist with the response effort.
Clean Harbors deployed a fuel boom at the Horseshoe Cove marsh area and the marsh area near the false tip of Sandy Hook for containment purposes and cleanup operations.
[Submitted by Robert Louden, Acting Chief Ranger]
NEWS AND NOTES
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Grand Canyon Fills With A Sea Of Clouds
A rare ground inversion last Thursday filled the Grand Canyon from rim to rim with a sea of clouds.
Ground inversions at Grand Canyon are a sight to behold — clouds fill the canyon with sunny, blue skies above the rims. The topography of Grand Canyon enhances the effect of inversions, creating the dramatic views of a sea of fog and clouds seemingly dense enough to walk out on.
Ground inversions occur when cold air is trapped by a layer of warm air. On clear, cold nights ground temperatures cool rapidly. Air in contact with cold surfaces cools and sinks. At Grand Canyon cold, moist air drops into the canyon forming cascading "waterfalls" of clouds pouring down the rim filling the canyon. Warm air above the rim holds the clouds in place until enough solar radiation is received to warm the surface of the rocks, heating the cold, dense clouds in the canyon and causing them to rise.
Visitors at Grand Canyon during an inversion are challenged to be patient. Waiting out the warming process is well worth the effort; when the clouds start to lift the currents of air swirl and turn on themselves parting like curtains to reveal bursts of color and light, a breathtaking spectacle.
For more images and videos, see the park's Facebook page below.
[Submitted by Jessica Pope, Park Guide]
Rock Creek Park (DC)
Frank Young Named Deputy Superintendent
Frank Young has been selected as the deputy superintendent of Rock Creek Park. In this role, Young will oversee the day-to-day operations of Rock Creek Park and supervise numerous park projects and programs.
Young is a veteran of the National Park Service (NPS) with nearly 27 years of experience working in national parks in Washington. He begins his new assignment in mid-December.
"We are excited to have Frank join the staff at Rock Creek Park and look forward to working with him as we prepare to celebrate the park's 125th anniversary in 2015," said Superintendent Tara Morrison. "His skill set is a great fit for our team because he has a proven track record of working with park staff, District of Columbia agencies, advisory neighborhood commissions and local organizations to ensure that the National Park Service serves as a good neighbor. Frank is a manager who demonstrates a commitment to resource management and collaborates with others to achieve shared goals."
Young is currently the acting deputy superintendent of National Capital Parks-East, where he served for the last 18 years. Prior to his post as acting deputy superintendent, Young was the park's chief of maintenance. He has extensive experience in resource protection and management, park operations and community engagement. During his NPS career, he has worked as a facility management specialist, maintenance mechanic leader and a maintenance mechanic.
Prior to joining the NPS, Young served as a utility system repair operator for the Smithsonian Institution at the National Museum of African Art and the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
"I'm extremely excited and appreciative of being selected as the deputy superintendent of Rock Creek Park, a place that I have frequented since my youth," Young said. "Like many Washingtonians, I feel a personal connection to Rock Creek Park and becoming part of its management team is a wonderful new opportunity for me to apply almost 27 years of skills and experience to protecting this historic, scenic and recreational resource for this and future generations."
"As Rock Creek Park embarks on its 125th anniversary, I look forward to working with the staff, visitors, neighbors and partners in continuing to distinguish it as one of our nation's gems, and contributing to preserving the park's special character and its natural and historic resources for the next 125 years," Young said. "I have always felt a part of something extraordinary serving the National Park Service and my journey continues at Rock Creek Park."
[Submitted by Nate Adams]
Recreation Fee Program
Jane Moore To Retire This Week
Jane Moore is retiring on December 1th after 33 years with the federal government, 31 of them with the National Park Service.
While in college, Jane's first NPS job was a seasonal road and trail worker at Prince William Forest Park in Virginia during the summer of 1979. She cleaned restrooms, repaired potholes and mowed grass. Jane played guitar and led campfire programs in the campground amphitheater on weekends and helped out at the park nature center.
She next went to work as a GS-3 park aid at Muir Woods National Monument in California, staffing an entrance kiosk, handing out brochures and collecting trail guide money.
She got permanent job status as a secretary for the Army at the Presidio in San Francisco, learning Wang word processing long before personal computers became common. She became a seasonal park technician, lead park ranger and supervisor on Alcatraz Island, where she helped implement new interpretive services, including the audio tour program.
Jane also spent nearly 15 years at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in a variety of other jobs, including special events coordinator, district ranger, fee manager and park partner liaison overseeing events such as the San Francisco Blues Festival, Fourth of July celebrations, and numerous film permits and athletic events. She was the NPS liaison for Fort Mason Center and also oversaw the Western Region Information Center.
Jane attended the seasonal law enforcement academy in Santa Rosa and received her seasonal law enforcement commission in 1989, which enabled her to fulfill her lifelong dream of riding horse patrol. "Jimmy" and "Copper," two retired Park Police horses, were her favorites. She worked as the Sweeny Ridge law enforcement ranger in the Ocean District and then as LE horse patrol ranger in the Marin Headlands in 1989.
In 1994, while at Golden Gate, Jane received the Regional Director Equal Employment Opportunity Award for her work furthering inclusion and equality of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees of the National Park Service. She worked with other Golden Gate National Recreation Area employees to organize and chair the first officially recognized NPS LGBT employee organization, called GALA.
In 1995, she became the North District ranger overseeing park partners and interpretive operations for Marin Headlands, Stinson Beach and Muir Woods.
In 1999, when the national fee program manager job in the Washington Office opened, she applied and was surprised when selected for the job. Jane has worked as the national fee program manager for the past 15 years. She provided oversight and management of the program and fostered important relationships with many key constituent groups and interagency counterparts.
Jane has played a major role in legislative efforts and the implementation of the National Park Pass Program, the Interagency Pass Program, Recreation.gov and the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Annually, the Recreation Fee Program generates approximately $200 million in revenue.
As the program grew in complexity, Jane was able to add staff to the Washington Fee Office and hired Jane Anderson as the fee program deputy in 2002. The two of them became known as "the Janes" and developed a unique partnership co-managing the program. She credits the program's continued success to the collective efforts of her excellent staff and the intense dedication they have to park operations, customer service and the NPS mission.
Jane received the Department of Interior Meritorius Service Award this month, a Superior Service Honor Award in 2009, a Service First Award in 2007, and was a member of the Interagency Pass Workgroup which received a Beacon Award in 2012 from the American Recreation Coalition.
In 2011, Jane was selected for an international assignment to Rwanda, Africa, where she worked collaboratively with Development Alternatives International (DAI) to complete an extensive pricing and value analysis study of tourism products for Nyungwe National Park. She travelled to Rwanda twice, met and presented report findings to DAI, United States Agency for International Development and Rwandan officials and park and tourism wardens. New pricing strategies were implemented at the park in 2014.
Jane plans to remain in the DC area after retirement and looks forward to more time for music, traveling, and new adventures with family and friends. She is very grateful for so many amazing experiences, and connections with special people these past 33 years. Her personal email address is Janemo22@comcast.net for those who would like to stay in contact.
[Submitted by Chris Williamson, chris_williamson@nps.gov, 303.969.2298]
Pacific West Region
Kim Glass To Retire
With over 30 years of federal service, Kim Glass has announced that she will retire on December 31st. Kim is a contracting officer with Pacific West Regional Office.
Kim's federal career began shortly after a family vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park in 1981, where she began working for Federal Highway Administration as GS-2 engineering aid during the repaving of the west side of Trail Ridge Road.
In 1983 her husband Tim Glass accepted a transfer to Lake Powell. which began their dual park service careers. While at Bullfrog Marina, Kim worked as a WG-4 motor vehicle operator for one fun summer season.
In 1985 Kim accepted the position of procurement clerk at Death Valley National Monument. In 1987 she transferred to Channel Islands National Park as the budget assistant and shortly thereafter was promoted to contracting officer, where she happily worked for 14 wonderful years. She credits much of her early career development and mentoring to her supervisor and now very close friend Chris Horton, administrative officer who retired in 1994.
In 2001 Kim transferred to the Southern Arizona Office as a supervisory contracting officer, where she worked in support of 11 national park sites in Arizona before transferring back to Pacific West Region in 2002 as the line item construction contracting officer. Projects ranged from work on the Elwha Dam removal project, a new visitor center for both Great Basin National Park & Organ Caves National Monument and a new VC exhibit for John Day Fossil Beds to the removal of island sheep from Santa Cruz Island.
From 1992 until 2005 Kim served on the National Park Service's Type 1 All Risk Management Team in various capacities, primarily procurement unit leader and then finance section chief. Assignments included Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the Grand Canyon waterline break in 1993, the Clinton Presidential visits to Grand Teton in 1995 and 1996, the Yosemite High Water 97A incident in 1997, the Y2K incident in WASO in 1999, the 9/11 incident in WASO in 2001, Operation Liberty Shield in WASO in 2003, and Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005.
In 2007, Kim transferred to the Interior Business Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, as a supervisory contracting officer, working primarily on multi-million dollar research and development contracts for the Pentagon. Kim missed the National Park Service mission, though, and in 2009 Kim took the opportunity to assist the Pacific West Region with the additional contracting workload as the result of the American Recovery and Rehabilitation Act (ARRA). Kim transferred back to work for Pacific West Regional Office. working remotely from Arizona.
"It's been a good ride," she says. "I would not have dreamed I could be so fortunate as to have had such a fun and rewarding career. I have met some truly amazing people along the way, visited and worked in some of the most beautiful and treasured places."
Kim is extremely grateful to Pacific West Regional Office leadership (you know who you are) and current supervisor Leo Guillory for their continued support and mentorship over the years.
The National Park Service was the perfect career choice for Kim, as travel has been in her blood from an early age with her father's military career. In retirement Kim plans to continue to travel as she works on completing her National Park Service passport stamp book, volunteers for the Pat Tillman Foundation, and spends more time with their four grandchildren and family who live in Arizona and New Mexico. She is kicking off her retirement with a trip through the Panama Canal in January 2015.
After December 31st, you can reach Kim by email at lokimango@gmail.com.
[Submitted by Leo Guillory]
National Capital Region
Toni Dufficy On Detail As Acting Interpretation And Education Chief
Toni Dufficy is serving on a 120 day detail as the acting chief of interpretation and education for National Capital Region.
"During this assignment, I look forward to working in NCR and serving as an advocate for interpretation, education, volunteers, and cooperation associations," she says. "I also will be actively strengthening the opportunities for collaboration, and communication between WASO, the regional offices, and the NCR parks."
Toni has served as the chief of interpretation at Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site since August 2013. Previously, she was the chief of interpretive planning at Harpers Ferry Center and has served in interpretation and education positions for the past 29 years at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, Women's Rights National Historical Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park (North Unit), Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial. Toni was also the first space ranger assigned to work with NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Dufficy began her NPS career in the National Capital Region serving as an intern and seasonal at the National Visitor Center. She holds a bachelor's degree in outdoor recreation and interpretation from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in Earth Science Education from Mississippi State University. Living with her husband and pets on the family farm near Brunswick, Maryland, Dufficy enjoys Irish set dancing and travel.
[Submitted by Nathan King, nathan_king@nps.gov, 202-619-7359]
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs
Weekly Legislative Activities Report
The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending December 12th.
In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the "Search Bill Text" block, being sure to also click on the "Bill Number" option below the block.
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New Public Laws
On December 12th, President Obama signed into law H.J. Res. 130, making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes. The bill provides funding for Federal government agencies, including the Department of the Interior, through December 13th. The public law number is not yet available.
Floor Action
On December 9th, the House passed by voice vote H.R. 5086 (Fortenberry, R-NE-1), to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail. The proposed trail follows the route taken by Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca people during Federal Indian removal from Nebraska to Oklahoma, and back to Nebraska. The bill was amended to reference a map of the trail. The Department supports the bill.
On December 11th, the House passed by a vote of 361-39 H.R. 5699 (Miller, D-CA-11), to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to acquire approximately 44 acres of land in Martinez, California, and for other purposes. The bill would allow the land to be included in the John Muir National Historic Site, if acquired by the Secretary. The Department did not testify on the bill.
On December 11th, the House passed by a vote of 219-206 H.R. 83, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015. The bill provides funding for most Federal government agencies, including the Department of the Interior, through September 30, 2015.
On December 12th, the Senate passed by a vote of 89-11 H.R. 3979, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, clearing the bill for the President. The bill includes a number of land-management provisions. Among the major NPS-related provisions are the following:
- Authorization of the issuance of commemorative coins in 2016 to honor the NPS Centennial;
- Establishment of, or authorization to establish, seven new national park units: Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (RI/MA), Tule Springs National Monument (NV), Valles Caldera National Preserve (NM), World War I Memorial (redesignation of Pershing Park, DC), Coltsville National Historical Park (CT), Harriet Tubman National Historical Park (NY), and Manhattan Project National Historical Park (WA/NM/TN);
- Boundary adjustments of nine units, and redesignation of two of those units;
- Extension of authorization of the American Battlefield Protection Program through 2021 and inclusion of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 sites for the first time;
- Extension of authorization for funding for 15 national heritage areas until 2021;
- Designation of the River Styx (OR) and the Mississiquoi and Trout Rivers (VT) as Wild and Scenic Rivers and extension of the designation of White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River (DE/PA);
- Authority to conduct studies for seven potential new park areas, four new Wild and Scenic Rivers, and ways to commemorate and interpret the role of the Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks.
A full list of the NPS-related provisions can be found at this link: http://www.nps.gov/legal/2014%20DOD%20NPS%20Summary.html
Committee Activity
Nothing to report.
New Bills Introduced
The following new bills of interest to the NPS were introduced:
- S. 2987 (Chambliss, R-GA), to expand the boundary of Fort Frederica National Monument in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 5821 (Kingston, R-GA-1), to expand the boundary of Fort Frederica National Monument in the State of Georgia, and for other purposes.
Upcoming Committee Activity
Nothing to report.
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For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/
[Submitted by Melissa Kuckro]
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Hot Springs National Park (AR)
GS-0025-12 Supervisory Protection Ranger
Hot Springs National Park has issued an announcement for a chief ranger.
Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement with full details on duties, area information, and procedures for applying.
Questions about the position can be addressed to Superintendent Josie Fernandez at 501-620-6730 or by email at josie_fernandez@nps.gov.
It closes on December 19th.
More Information...
Redwood National and State Parks (CA)
GS-0025-9 Protection Rangers
Redwood National and State Parks is seeking candidates for three protection ranger positions.
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 December 16th.
More Information...
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (CA)
GS-0303-6/7 Supervisory Visitor Use Assistant
Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks has issued an announcement for a supervisory visitor use assistant.
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 December 18th.
More Information...