Park News October 24,2008

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

During the early morning hours of Thursday, October 23rd, the entrance fee booth for the Cape Point campground caught fire and burned to the ground. The campground was closed for the winter season and no injuries resulted. The permanent structure was declared a total loss. Included in the loss was a ticket sale vending machine worth upwards of $20,000. At around 3:50 am, an early morning fisherman traveling on a nearby park road saw a glow in the night. As he drove closer, he saw that a structure was on fire and placed a 911 call to county dispatch. By the time firefighters arrived on scene, the building was fully engulfed in fire. An investigation has been begun by NPS law enforcement rangers and the Dare County Fire Marshall’s Office. Burn patterns strongly suggest that the fire was deliberately set, but this has not yet been confirmed.

 

Grand Canyon National Park

On October 22nd, park dispatch was notified of an abandoned duffle bag that had been turned in at the Yavapai Observation Station. Responding rangers were shown where the duffle bag was found. During the subsequent search of the area, they spotted what appeared to be a body about 300 feet below the rim. An observer in the park helicopter confirmed their observation. Park staff  hiked down to the Tonto Plateau and crossed over to the body’s location below and just east of Yavapai Point. When they arrived there, they found the body of a man subsequently identified as Richard Jenkins, 58, of Chicago, Illinois. An investigation into his death is underway.

 

Glacier National Park

The park is seeking candidates for two GS-0025-11 supervisory protection ranger positions – subdistrict rangers for Chief Mountain Subdistrict and Triple Divide Subdistrict. The announcement number is GL217929 and it closes on November 10th.

The official duty station for these positions is St. Mary, Montana, which is a remote, isolated duty station on the eastern boundary of Glacier National Park with a population under 300. Shopping, health care, and other services are limited, and during the winter months extended periods of extreme cold, wind and snow are common. Seasonal food and gas services are available in St. Mary. Most amenities are available in Browning (35 miles). Medical facilities are available in Browning, or Cut Bank, Montana (67 miles), or Cardston, Alberta, Canada (31 miles). Larger towns offering more shopping, etc., include Great Falls, Montana (157 miles), and Kalispell, Montana (82 miles in summer, 135 in winter). Elementary school through 6th grade is located in Babb (8 miles). Junior high and high school students may attend school in Browning or Cardston. Summers are temperate, often windy, and may be rainy. Winter road conditions are variable and access may be limited for certain periods of time.

Due to the isolated living conditions we strongly encourage interested applicants to research the area. Information on Glacier National Park is available at www.nps.gov/glac.

Questions should be directed to Pat Suddath at (406) 888-7831.



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Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park has a lateral transfer opportunity for a GL-9 protection ranger with a Level 1 commission.

The park consists of four separate Civil War battlefields and several other detached sites, altogether encompassing over 8,000 acres. Emphasis is on cultural resource protection and ARPA. The park maintains over 30 miles of roads, about half of which are exclusive jurisdiction. Annual visitation is about 1,500,000. Work often involves cooperating with other enforcement and emergency service agencies from four counties and one city in areas of exclusive, concurrent, and proprietary jurisdiction. The ranger selected will be required to work shifts, including weekends and holidays, and will serve as the primary Wilderness Battlefield ranger. Relocation and travel expenses will be paid for any selectee.

Interested candidates should contact chief ranger Keith Kelly at 540=654-5535 by November 3rd.

  

 

Fire Island National Seashore

The park is recruiting for a permanent, subject to furlough GL-0025-9 protection ranger.

The park is located five to seven miles south of Long Island, New York. It is comprised of about 19,000 acres along 26 miles of ocean and bay shoreline, including islands within the Great South Bay. The park has concurrent jurisdiction, including an area extending 1,000 feet into the Atlantic Ocean and 1.6 nautical miles into Great South Bay. Fire Island National Seashore has 17 communities within it’s boundary along with two NPS marinas and campgrounds operated by a concessioner.  Of note, Fire Island contains the only federally designated wilderness area in New York state that can be reached via mass transit.

Protection rangers respond to a multitude of incidents and participate in special operations on land and water with a variety of local, state and federal agencies.  Housing may be available on a seasonal basis in the park but is not required.  It should be noted that this is a 6c covered position using the benchmark PD. This area of New York is a high cost of living location, and salaries are augmented by the area salary differential.  All the amenities one would expect to find in a suburban area are available, including medical facilities, elementary and secondary schools, colleges and numerous cultural offerings.  The park is approximately 55 miles east of New York City.

If you are interested in a lateral transfer, please send an electronic copy of your resume to chief ranger Jay Lippert at Jay_Lippert@nps.gov by November 21st.  For further information regarding the position, please contact district ranger John Stewart at 631-661-2556.

 

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Gulf Islands National Seashore staff recognized fellow employee Dick Zani for 50 years of federal service on September 16th. Dick is currently the park’s safety officer and volunteer coordinator and has no plans for slowing down. 

“Dick has worked for the National Park Service for all of his civilian service and was in the U. S. Army for two years,” said superintendent Jerry Eubanks. 

This milestone is so rare that Dick is among a very small number of NPS employees possessing the 50-year service recognition pin, the highest minted.

Dick, a native of Ohio, served in the U.S. Army in 1954 and 1955, then attended Ohio State University, majoring in wildlife management. His NPS career began in 1960 when he was hired as a park ranger at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt NHS, which includes the home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. There Dick met Mrs. Roosevelt on several occasions, as she was still in residence at her nearby Val-kill Cottage, located on the Roosevelt estate (now Eleanor Roosevelt NHS). While stationed there, he lived in the Vanderbilt Mansion at the pricey rate of $16 a month.

Dick was promoted in July 1962 to a position as park naturalist in the U. S. Virgin Islands, where he worked for four years.  In 1966, Dick moved to Great Smoky Mountains NP, where he was a naturalist, then a supervisory park naturalist. After 18 years there, he decided it was time to move on. He accepted a position in 1984 as a supervisory park ranger in interpretation at Gulf Islands. For the past 18 years, he has served as the park’s safety officer and volunteer coordinator.

Dick is an avid birder. He and his wife, Pat, have two children, Sandra and Steven.

Achieving such a rare milestone in government service naturally leads to the following question: "So what about the future, Dick?" To that he sits back, smiles, and replies, "The first fifty was so much fun, I think I'll go for another."   

 

Higher Education and Park Initiatives

Chief of Higher Education and Park Initiatives Bessie Sherman received an award at the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator's 20th Annual Small Business Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, October 21st.

DOI and the NPS were recipients of the Office of Small Business Programs Director's Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Support of the EPA Minority Academic Institutions Program. This award recognizes outstanding collaboration with EPA in support of the summer internship program through the NAFEO memorandum of understanding.  The collaboration secured approximately $300,000 for the program.

The award was presented to only DOI and the Department of Energy (DOE).