Park News November 3,2008

Glacier National Park

The man found dead late Wednesday afternoon in the Kintla Lake area has been identified as Bruce Colburn, 53, of Reading, Pennsylvania.  According to the Flathead County Coroner’s Office, Colburn’s death is considered a suicide caused by a self-inflicted single gunshot wound to the chest. Park rangers searching the ground near the head of Kintla Lake found a pack matching the description of Colburn’s pack (grayish in color) at approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday.  That information was relayed to personnel conducting an aerial search via Minuteman Helicopter and Colburn’s body was found within minutes on a slope above the trail from the location where the pack was found. It appears that Colburn left the Kintla Lake trail and scrambled upslope to a point approximately one quarter to one third of a mile above the lake. In a separate missing person incident last summer, Yi-Jien Hwa, a 27-year-old Malaysian man, was reported overdue by his family on the last day of his week-long park itinerary. He was never heard from again. Active searches were scaled back in early September after several weeks of concentrated effort. That investigation remains open; however, no new clues have surfaced.  Park officials are still seeking information from anyone who may have interacted with Hwa last August.

 

Gauley River National Recreation Area

The 2008 Gauley River rafting season came to a close on October 19th after six weeks of Congressionally-mandated releases from Summersville Lake. Visitation to the rugged and developing NRA was high during the season, with thousands of private and commercial boaters from all over the world coming to experience the Class 1 through Class 5 world- class whitewater. The Gauley season is believed to be the largest congregation of hard boaters in the world. Rangers were involved in, assisted with, and reported on numerous service, EMS, enforcement, and SAR incidents. Rangers assisted with and handled a number of injuries, including broken bones, dislocations, lacerations, and non-specific complaints resulting in evacuations and transport to local hospitals. River rangers performed daily assists, including freeing pinned boats, rescuing swimmers, collecting stray gear, and EMS. On October 3rd, rangers responded to and assisted with a fatality that claimed the life of a 62-year-old Florida woman on a commercial rafting trip. Rangers were involved in hundreds of enforcement contacts, including drug and alcohol offenses, interference with agency functions, firearms, disorderly conduct, auto accidents, pet violations, sanitation/refuse violations, vandalism, traffic and parking, camping, and other public use violations. The 2008 season saw an additional challenge for park staff, who had to manage two recently-purchased properties at Mason’s Branch and Wood’s Ferry. These acquisitions created public river access points, take-outs, and boat launches on the upper and middle Gauley River for the first time in its 20- year history as an NPS unit. 

 

Acadia National Park

Michael E. Healy retires on November 3rd after more than 47 years of federal employment, 38 1/2 years of which were with the National Park Service. 

Mike’s government service began in June of 1961 in Washington, D. C. where he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.  After five years with this agency and four years active duty in the U. S. Coast Guard, he accepted a position with the National Park Service as a recruit trainee with the U. S. Park Police in May of 1970.  He served with the Park Police for the next 20 years in a variety of assignments, including motorcycle officer, marine patrol supervisor, regional law enforcement specialist, and, finally, the law enforcement specialist for the National Park Service in the Division of Ranger Activities in WASO.

In July of 1990, he left the Park Police to accept the position of administrative officer at Acadia National Park, where he has served for the past 18 years.

Some of his more memorable experiences have been taking part in presidential motorcade escorts in Washington, participating in the bicentennial celebration in Washington in 1976, serving as the night incident commander on Liberty Island during the centennial celebration of Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1986, accompanying the flame from the Statue to the Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, California, and living in some of the most naturally beautiful surroundings possible.

Concurrent with his civilian federal service, Mike remained in the U. S. Coast Guard reserve and in 2003 retired at the grade of chief warrant officer W-4 after more than 38 years of active and inactive service. 

Mike’s wife, Donna, also works at Acadia as an education technician.  She presents curriculum-based programs to elementary school groups from towns that surround the park in the spring and fall, and in the summer offers resource-based programs to visiting families.

Their daughter, Mary Catherine, is a graduate student in clinical child psychology at Pace University and is currently completing her internship at the New York University School of Medicine in Manhattan.
Mike and Donna plan to continue to enjoy living on Mount Desert Island and do some much anticipated traveling during Donna’s furlough period.

 

Intermountain Region

Tom Cawley, Yellowstone National Park’s visual information specialist and web specialist, has been awarded the regional Freeman Tilden award for excellence in interpretation.

Cawley was honored on October 28th for creating, producing, and managing a series of web-based interpretive and educational programs that encourage visitors to experience Yellowstone in new ways. They include Old Faithful Live! (the Old Faithful live-streaming web cam) and Online Rangers (innovative web videos and podcasts), which are now presented through the park’s website.  These innovative programs effectively engage millions of new, diverse, and non-traditional visitors with Yellowstone National Park.

The Old Faithful Live! streaming web cam provides live video of Old Faithful geyser and hundreds of other hydrothermal features on Geyser Hill. Web cam viewers also can see wildlife in the geyser basin and spectacular displays of seasonal conditions and phenomena.

Online Rangers are web videos that feature uniformed park rangers and National Park Service scientists as the hosts for an engaging multimedia exploration of Yellowstone’s natural and cultural resources, management challenges, recreational opportunities, and educational experiences.

The production of both Old Faithful Live! and OnlineRangers required adapting interpretive skills to the demands of electronic media -- writing scripts for video, gathering visual elements to enhance interpretation of complex phenomena, editing content into engaging and accurate stories, and producing videos for online viewing and user needs. On his own initiative, Cawley researched the skills, equipment, and methods he needed to develop and deliver these products.  He trained himself in videography and editing and worked with other park staff to prepare funding proposals to buy computers, camcorders and the additional software and hardware needed to support the projects. He also led extensive testing of all elements of the programs.

“These web-based interpretive and educational programs have drawn a vast audience to the park’s official website in the few months this technology has been available,” said regional director Mike Snyder. “Tom’s creative thinking has elevated traditional park exhibits to a new level. He has incorporated web and interactive activities to encourage visitors of all ages to experience Yellowstone National Park in new ways.”

The Freeman Tilden Award, sponsored in partnership by the NPS and the National Parks Conservation Association, annually recognizes outstanding contributions to the public through interpretation by a Park Service employee. It is named for Freeman Tilden, the author of The National Parks, What They Mean to You and Me and Interpreting Our Heritage.  Tilden’s writings have had considerable influence on interpretation and education programs within NPS.  The award was created in 1982 to stimulate and reward creative thinking and work that has positive effects on park visitors. Nominees are judged on creativity, originality and contributions to enhanced public understanding of the Park Service and the resources it protects.

 

Midwest Region

Dates: 10/31/2008 - 11/20/2008

Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, Nebraska, has posted an announcement for a GS-7 museum curator. The announcement is MWRO-09-MP-0010 and it closes on November 20th. Click on the link below for a copy of the announcement.



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Washington Office

The Office of Strategic Planning is seeking someone to coordinate and facilitate implementation of strategic planning and performance management for the National Park Service. The announcement closes on November 14th. For a copy of the announcement, including a detailed job description and application procedures, please click on “More Information” below.



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