Park News October 28,2008

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park

Rangers were notified of a climbing accident on the Stoned Oven route (rated 5.11+, between difficult and very difficult) around mid-afternoon on Monday, October 20th.  Michael Walsh, 30, who was roped and wearing a climbing helmet, had fallen 30 to 40 feet while leading the fourth pitch of the route several hours earlier, sustaining life-threatening injuries. Walsh was lowered to the base of the climb by his partners, who then ascended 1,700 feet to the rim of the canyon via Cruise Gully to seek assistance. A hasty team responded immediately, descending down the gully, which has sections of technical terrain and requires about 250 feet of rappelling. Although their response time was slowed slightly by rain, they reached Walsh just after 5 p.m. Due to the nature of Walsh’s injuries, the park SAR team, assisted by members of Western State SAR, began a rescue operation despite the approaching darkness. A park SAR team member was lowered from the rim to the canyon floor in the area of the Hallucinogen Wall route (rated 5.10, A3+). A litter carry was made from the base of the Stoned Oven route to the haul lines, and Walsh and a rescuer were then hauled 1,500 vertical feet to the canyon rim, arriving there around 11 p.m.. Walsh was then flown to a hospital via air ambulance. The entire rescue operation took less than nine hours from the time of first notification to its conclusion. The ability of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP to conduct complex rescue operations with this degree of efficiency and professionalism is largely due to a dedicated group of SAR volunteers who donate hundreds of man/hours training at the park each season.

 

Baltimore-Washington Parkway

Park Police officers responded to a report of a shooting on the parkway just after 4 a.m. on Sunday, October 26th. Initial investigation revealed that two vehicles were heading north on the highway when one or more occupants of one vehicle fired on those in the other. The driver of the second vehicle – Jude Ngu, 35, of Laurel, Maryland – was struck, but his daughter and niece, who were traveling with him, were uninjured. Ngu was able to pull off the parkway and call police. He was taken to the hospital and his passengers were released to relatives. The northbound lanes of the parkway were closed and all traffic diverted onto Powder Mill Road until about 9 a.m. while an investigation was conducted.

 

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

Klondike Gold Rush NHP  has three announcements currently open, one each for a GS-0025-11/12 chief of interpretation, a GS-1016-5 museum technician, and a GS-0170/0193/0807-9/11 cultural resources program manager. All three are on USA Jobs and can be accessed by click on the link below.



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Blue Ridge Parkway

In an effort to provide employment opportunities and fill operational needs, Blue Ridge Parkway has opened a second subject to furlough law enforcement position. 

The park is seeking qualified applicants who want to be part of a progressive ranger division that is focused on supporting the mission of the Service through the professional application of law enforcement, emergency services and public use management. The Fancy Gap station is located near the Virginia/North Carolina state line in a rural small town setting.  Duties encompass a variety of ranger activities, including resource protection, encroachment, special events, traffic safety, drug enforcement, land based SAR and wildland fire incidents.  Training and special team assignments will be fostered by the park.  For a copy of the announcement, click on the link below. For more info, call the Chief Ranger’s Office at 828-271-4779.



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Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument is recruiting for a lateral GS-5 permanent park guide (subject to furlough). The park guide selected will staff the visitor center and develop and present a variety of interpretive programs, including orientation programs, porch talks, environmental education programs and conducting guided walks. She/he will also be involved in several community outreach activities. Other duties will include assisting staff in the performance of clerical work such as: answering telephones, responding to information requests, processing special use permits and academic fee waiver applications. Position requires working weekends and holidays. Due to the interpretive nature of this position, a strong background in geology or earth sciences is highly recommended. This is an excellent opportunity for a team-oriented person to work in a small park unit with a great staff.

Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grandest landscapes of the American West. Eleven sheer-walled canyons, towering monoliths, colorful formations, desert bighorn sheep, soaring golden eagles, and a spectacular historic road reflect the pinyon-juniper woodland ecosystem and 20,500 acres of red rock canyon country. The historic Rim Rock Drive offers 23 miles of breathtaking panoramic views and 19 overlooks. Over 43 miles of trails lead across mesa tops and to spectacular overlooks or into backcountry canyons. Today the monument has a visitation of over 700,000 visitors and provides many recreational uses such as driving and bicycling along Rim Rock Drive, hiking, rock climbing, photography, picnicking, and camping.

With elevations ranging from 4,600 feet to over 7,000 feet, weather at Colorado National Monument is represented by high-desert, and upland climates. Temperatures in the summer highs ranging from 80 degrees into the low 100’s in the valley floor. Annual precipitation averages 11 inches, spread fairly evenly throughout the year. August through October is usually the wettest period. Winters temperatures are generally mild from 20 to 45 degrees, with lows occasionally dropping to zero.  The cities of Grand Junction and Fruita, located adjacent to the monument, offer a full range of high quality educational, medical, outdoor recreational and shopping opportunities.

This is a career-seasonal position. A permanent, career-seasonal position includes all benefits of permanent employment, but does not provide for employment on a full-time year-round basis. In this position, the employee will work at least 26 weeks, but not more than 48 weeks, in a service year. The employee will work 40 hours per week when in pay status. Position is subject to rotating shifts including weekends and holiday work. Government housing is not available. Relocation expenses will be paid.

If you are interested, please submit the following:

• OF-612, Optional Application for Federal Employment, or a resume/application that includes the information identified in OF-510, Applying for a Federal job.


• A copy of your current or latest performance appraisal.


• A current SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, documenting permanent competitive civil service status.

Mail your application to National Park Service, 12795 West Alameda Parkway, Denver, CO 80225, Attn: Bernadean Trujillo, or fax it to 303-969-2830. Applications must be received in the office by November 12th.

For more information, contact Michelle Wheatley via email or at (970) 858-3617 ext. 363. Visit the park website for park information at: http://www.nps.gov/colm  

 

Intermountain Region

Dr. Judith Bischoff has joined the National Park Service’s Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CP-CESU) as its new research coordinator. She will be based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Bischoff, who returns to the NPS from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, replaces Ron Hiebert, who retired in June.

“I am thrilled to return to the National Park Service, especially as the CP-CESU research coordinator,” said Bischoff.  “I hope to bring to bear my broad experience in chemistry, academics and research that integrates natural and cultural resources. I am especially looking forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with students at Northern Arizona University and the CP-CESU’s other academic institutions.”

At USFWS, Bischoff was chief of the Branch of Analytical Methods, better known as the Analytical Control Facility, located at the FWS National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Prior to her three-year stint at the USFWS, Bischoff worked for the NPS at its Harpers Ferry Center in West Virginia for more than seven years as a conservation scientist for cultural resources. At Harpers Ferry, Bischoff headed the Research and Analytical Support Laboratory in the Media Assets Division.

In addition to having worked for the federal government for more than ten years, Bischoff spent four years teaching the science curriculum in the graduate art conservation program at the State University of New York/Buffalo. She also was on the chemistry faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University for seven years.  Bischoff also conducted research as a visiting scientist at the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education and at the National Gallery of Art, both in Washington, DC.

Bischoff earned her doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Connecticut (1987), her master’s degree in inorganic chemistry from the University of Kansas (1979), and a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from Wheaton College in Massachusetts (1973). She brings to her new post broad research and technical support experience in chemistry and materials sciences related to both cultural and natural resources.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Bischoff spent much of her adult life living elsewhere, including Kansas, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia.  While in West Virginia, she volunteered at the Correctional Institution in Hagerstown as a facilitator in the “Alternatives to Violence” program.  She has been married to Doug Bischoff, also a native Rhode Islander, for 35 years.  Among hobbies, Bischoff enjoys reading, making jewelry, traveling and needle work.  She has five “furry children” of the feline variety. Her idea of the way to spend a summer vacation is doing archeological field work in Iceland.