Park News October 30,2008

Glacier National Park

The body of a missing hiker was found by searchers along Kintla Lake in the remote North Fork area late Wednesday afternoon. The cause of death has not been confirmed at this time. Park officials were poised to release a missing person poster and seek help from the public yesterday afternoon when the man’s body was found on a slope above the trail near the head of Kintla Lake at about 5 p.m. Park personnel had recently begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the deceased man’s disappearance. The investigation had thus far focused on the area where he was last seen at the head of Kintla Lake. More than 30 people were involved in Wednesday’s search, including NPS personnel, U.S. Border Patrol agents, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue personnel, and FBI agents. Wednesday’s operation involved both ground and aerial search efforts throughout the Kintla Lake and Upper Kintla Lake drainages and surrounding areas for clues to the man’s whereabouts. Initial NPS search efforts began on October 23rd after the man failed to call for a pickup from an acquaintance, as expected. The man had flown to Flathead Valley on October 7th.  The next day, he was dropped off in the park’s North Fork area near Kintla Lake. He was contacted by a park ranger that day at the Kintla Lake campground, where he planned to spend the night.  He told the ranger he intended to go hiking in the park and was advised that a backcountry permit would be required to camp overnight in the backcountry. He was gone the next morning.  Park staff have had no other contact with the man since the morning of October 9th. He did not obtain a backcountry permit. Late last week, park officials were contacted by the acquaintance who’d dropped the man off in the park on October 8th. The missing man had left luggage and belongings at an area hotel and indicated that he would be in contact in a couple of weeks. The acquaintance became concerned when there was no word from him after two weeks and called the park.  Prior to this notification, the NPS had received no notification or indication that the man was missing. After frontcountry campgrounds were checked throughout the park on Friday and Saturday, an initial aerial and ground search was conducted on Sunday by park personnel, who hiked and searched the main trail corridors in the vicinity of Kintla Lake, including the Bowman Lake drainage, and the trail system leading to Goat Haunt, but no clues or evidence were found. “Details of the man’s intended plans were very sketchy,” said IC Patrick Suddath. “All we knew was that he had told acquaintances that he intended to travel into Glacier’s backcountry for anywhere from one to four weeks, that he knew there was a permit requirement, and that he did not obtain a permit.” The man’s name is being withheld pending notification of family. 

 

Rocky Mountain National Park

It was with profound sadness that park staff learned this week of the death of former co-worker Kevin Pellini last Friday. Click on the link below for a new article on his accidental death.

Kevin was a cherished colleague and friend who brought great enthusiasm and a can-do attitude to everything he did.  Thousands of park visitors have benefitted from the work Kevin did to improve the trails on the west side of the park.  Kevin will be fondly remembered for his larger-than-life presence and his dedication to his work, his community, and his family and friends.  He met his wife Sonya while they both were working at the park. 

Kevin began in the trails program at Rocky Mountain directly from high school at age 18 and worked in the program for 23 years from 1983 to 2006.  He led the park's west side trails program from 1992 to 2006, when he left the park to start his own business.

The park family extends its deepest sympathies to the Pellini family, especially Sonya, daughter Gabrielle and son Russell.



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Ray Todd has been selected as the deputy director of the Denver Service Center.

Ray, who has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon, began his NPS career in 1982 as a historical architect at the Denver Service Center.

After two years at the Williamsport Preservation Training Center (now the Historic Preservation Training Center), Ray returned to the Denver Service Center in 1985. As a construction manager on the Western Team Branch of Construction, he spent several years living in and working at parks in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska Regions. During three years at Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Ray supervised day labor preservation crews. He then spent four years at Crater Lake National Park where he worked on the rehabilitation of the Crater Lake Lodge. In the early 1990s, Ray also served two details in the Alaska Region.

After becoming a project manager in 1995, Ray was involved several high profile projects, including the project to restore the Giant Forest at Sequoia Kings Canyon National Parks and the flood recovery projects at Yosemite National Park.

Ray has been a branch chief since 2002, serving most recently as branch chief for the Pacific West Branch of the Design and Construction Division. In recent years, his responsibilities have included managing a large program at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and serving as program manager for the project to restore the Elwha River ecosystem and fisheries at Olympic National Park.

 

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George Tait has been selected as chief of the Transportation Division at the Denver Service Center.

George holds a bachelor's degree in environmental design from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a master's degree in landscape architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A fifteen-year veteran of the National Park Service, he is also a registered landscape architect and a certified project management professional.

In 1993, George joined the Denver Service Center as a liaison to the Federal Lands Highway Program (FLHP) on the Central Team Roads and Trails Branch. Between 1995 and 1999, he was both a landscape architect and project specialist working on projects in various programs at the Denver Service Center. After becoming a project manager in 1999, George also served as the DSC FLHP coordinator. Since 2003, he has been the branch chief for the Park Roads and Parkways Branch of the Transportation Division.

Prior to joining the NPS, George worked as a landscape architect/project manager and design team leader for the BSC Group, a Boston-based design, engineering, surveying, and compliance firm.

 

Olympic National Park

Olympic National Park has a lateral transfer opportunity for a GL-9 protection ranger with a Level 1 commission. Duties include enforcement, EMS, SAR and other traditional ranger duties in both frontcountry and backcountry settings and may require hiking, running, swimming, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, climbing steep inclines, rafting, operating motorized vehicles (including 4 x 4’s) and vessels.

This position is located in the Lake Crescent Subdistrict, part of the Lake District of Olympic National Park. The Lake District is located on north side of the park and the Olympic Peninsula.  The elevation ranges from the surface of the glacier-carved Lake Crescent at 579’ to alpine mountain peaks at 6,000’.  Annual rainfall varies from 60” at Lake Crescent to about 100” (or  more) at the numerous alpine lakes in the high country. The mean annual temperature at Lake Crescent is 42.6 F.  The district provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, fishing, boating, water and snow skiing, biking, scuba diving, and sail boarding.  Four resorts in the district offer lodging and dining, with one or more offering opportunities for boating, camping, swimming, or hot therapy pools.  There are two public campgrounds, two concession-operated campgrounds, five picnic areas, two frontcountry ranger stations, 71 miles of back country trails, 12 miles of U.S. Highway 101, numerous secondary roads, and boat launch facilities.  Olympic Park Institute, located at Lake Crescent, provides numerous outdoor educational opportunities for students of all ages.  Lake Crescent is just over 20 miles from park headquarters in Port Angeles, a community of 19,000 that is considered a full-service city with geography ideally suited to those who love the outdoors. More information can be obtained at: http://www.portangeles.org/

Please submit a resume and proof of status (copy of most recent SF-50) t Olympic National Park, 600 East Park Avenue, Port Angeles, WA, Attention: Chief Ranger. Applications will be accepted until Friday November 7th. If you have questions regarding the position, you may contact either Mark O'Neill, supervisory district ranger, Lake District, at 360-928-3380, or Linda O’Sullivan, human resources specialist, at 360-565-3030.

 

Washington Office

The Office of Partnerships and Philanthropic Stewardship is seeking a goal-oriented individual to be responsible for Washington-level coordination and oversight of the Service’s partnership construction program. The announcement closes on November 7th. For a copy of the announcement, including a detailed job description and application procedures, please click on “More Information” below.



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Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument is recruiting for a lateral transfer candidate for a position as a GS-6 permanent full-time administrative technician. Among other duties, the person selected will prepare procurement documents utilizing mandated computer programs (IDEAS); analyze bids and proposals submitted by contractors and negotiate contract terms and conditions; employ procurement software programs to track property acquisitions, transfers, and disposals; prepare forms to report excess and surplus property; and inventory park property and prepare necessary reports.

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 range from the 80’s into the low 100’s on 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.

Government housing is not available. 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. 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 Shirley Johnston via email or at (970) 858-3617 ext. 304.

 

Washington Office

The National Park Service is seeking candidates for a budget technician position. Duties include budget execution, account maintenance and other administrative clerical duties. The announcement closes on November 12th.  For a copy of the announcement, including a detailed job description and application procedures, please click on “More Information” below.



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