Park News July 2,2008

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

The park’s dispatch center received a call from Michael Hopperton of Las Vegas around 1 a.m. on Friday, June 27th. He reported that he and a female friend had been boating in Boulder Basin when their 30-foot boat struck something and began to quickly take on water. He told his friend, who was wearing a life jacket, to jump into the water. He then quickly grabbed a few essential items, including a life jacket, cell phone and a flashlight, and joined her in the lake. After two hours of trying to swim to shore, he called for help and told dispatchers that they were somewhere between Callville Bay and Black Island. Rangers and NPS boating volunteers were soon on scene, spotted the light from Hopperton’s flashlight, and rescued the pair. They were given warm clothes and water and are reported to be okay.

 

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Park dispatch received a report on the evening of June 25th that someone had drowned in the San Juan River near the Navajo Reservation. The location was identified as downstream of Piute Farms. Benjamin Saltwater, 23, of Kayenta, Arizona, had been visiting with friends in the area. Preliminary reports indicate that he entered the river to assist others who were having difficulty swimming, then went under and did not resurface. It’s not known if he was wearing a life jacket. The other four swimmers were able to return to shore and summon help. Personnel from several agencies, including the Navajo Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Highway Patrol, and area emergency medical and fire personnel, responded to assist NPS staff.  Saltwater’s body has not yet been recovered.

 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

A 23-year-old Prescott, Arizona, man was with a group of friends at Lake Mead on the evening of June 29th when he jumped off a 90-foot-high cliff near Sidewinder Cove on the Arizona side of the lake. He did not resurface. A Nevada Department of Wildlife warden was in the area and was on scene within 15 minute. He tried to locate the man while rangers responded to join him, but was unable to do so. Las Vegas Metro PD divers subsequently recovered the body. Cliff divers often believe that they are jumping or diving into water that is much deeper than it is in reality. Additional dangers include rocks and outcroppings that are under the water and can’t be seen from above.

 

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Rangers and special agents spotted tracks crossing the border into the park last December 30th and began following them. They tracked nine people for more than six miles over rough terrain to a location north of the Baker mine. When the group stopped to rest, the rangers and agent moved in and arrested three smugglers at gunpoint, all illegal aliens from Mexico. Seven backpacks filled with about 330 pounds of marijuana were seized. On May 29th, Ramon Coronado-Felix and Andres Alaniz-Ochoa were convicted in U.S. District Court for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute (21 USC 841). Each was sentenced to 13 months and a day in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised probation. The third man, Tomas Suarez-Valenzuela, has pled guilty to the same charges and will be sentenced in July.  Upon release from prison, all will face deportation proceedings.

 

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

On June 24th, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office contacted rangers and asked them to help find a possibly suicidal 58-year-old Michigan man who’d abandoned his car in the community of Greenhaven, an area of private property within park boundaries. Efforts to find him proved unavailing; subsequent efforts with dogs and a helicopter also proved fruitless. On the evening of June 26th, visitors walking down a rocky slope near the south end of Lone Rock Beach saw what appeared to be a body in the water near the shoreline and flagged down a passing boater, who investigated and confirmed their discovery. Rangers found the body of a man standing upright in about eight feet of water. There was an apparent gunshot wound under his chin. Investigation revealed that this was the man that Coconino County had been searching for. Since the beach is in Kane County, the sheriff for that county was notified and the body was retrieved. Divers from the park and Coconino County searched the area where the body had been found and recovered the handgun he’d used to shoot himself. The man was unemployed and had been living out of his vehicle. He’d contacted his family several times over the previous two years and threatened suicide. A check of the gun revealed that it had been stolen in 1991 in Texas. The two counties are investigating.

 

Washington Office

Funeral services for former Director George B. Hartog, Jr., are scheduled for today at Green Pond United Methodist Church near Walterboro, South Carolina.

Hartzog, who died Friday, was born in Colleton County, the eldest of three children in an impoverished family. By the age of 17, he was a Methodist minister. He left college after one year to support his family, but studied law on his own and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1942.

Hartzog attained the rank of captain in World War II, then took a job as an attorney for the precursor to the Bureau of Land Management in 1945. Six months later, he moved to the National Park Service.

He became director of the NPS in 1964 and remained in that post through 1972. Under his watch, the Service expanded quickly, adding 69 park properties. He prodded Congress to approve the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which allowed 80 million acres of Alaskan land to be set aside for national parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas.

He also made news in 1968 by appointing Grant Wright to head the U.S. Park Police - the first black man to head a major police force in the United States.

His influence on the nation's parks was huge. "He oversaw the largest expansion in park service history," Wright said.

Hartzog had a private law practice after leaving the National Park Service. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Helen, and three children.

 

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Effective July 8th, Lane Baker will become the acting chief of the national law enforcement, security, and emergency services (LESES) division in WASO. 

Lane has 20 years of NPS experience and has been the deputy division chief of LESES for the past year and a half.  She has worked in a wide range of positions, including deputy chief ranger, subdistrict ranger, assistant subdistrict ranger, and special agent in Yellowstone, subdistrict ranger in Everglades, and a variety of other assignments, including supervisory ranger in Yosemite.

She possesses a BS in biology from California Polytechnic State University and an MS in biology from the University of the Pacific.

As the acting division chief, Lane will oversee national law enforcement policy and operations, security and intelligence, emergency services, investigative services and a variety of other national programs.

Anyone interested in a detail assignment as the acting GS-14 deputy chief of LESES should contact Lane at 202-513-7128. 

 

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Visitor and Resource Protection in WASO has issued a job announcement for the chief of the Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services Division. It closes on July 15th.

The person in this position is responsible for managing several national programs, including the following branches and offices – Law Enforcement Program Administration, Investigative Services, Office of Professional Responsibility, Security and Intelligence, Emergency Services (including SAR, EMS, incident management and SCUBA diving) and Personnel Security and Suitability.

He/she manages over $10 million and 60+ FTE.  A relocation incentive of up to 25% of the employee’s annual rate of basic pay at the GS-15 level may be authorized. 



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United States Park Police

An announcement has been posted on USA Jobs for US Park Police officers. The full performance level will be SP-0083-01 – duty locations are in Washington, San Francisco and New York. The announcement number is NPS-NCR-08-33 and it closes on July 11th. For a copy, click on “More Information” below.

All selected candidates will initially report to the Washington, D.C., area. After appointment and orientation, they will then report to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, for 24 weeks of training. After training, officers may be reassigned to Washington or to either New York or San Francisco.

For more information please contact Michael O’Sullivan at (202) 619-7056.



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Scotts Bluff National Monument

Scotts Bluff National Monument is currently recruiting for a GS-0025-11 chief ranger. For a copy of the announcement, including details on duties and the application process, click on “More Information” below. 

The cities of Gering and Scottsbluff have a combined total population of about 22,000, with ample shopping and medical facilities including a regional medical center. All school grades are available, with access to a two-year community college as well.  Recreational opportunities are abundant in the area, with additional access to both the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado within only a few hours drive. 

Questions may be referred to superintendent Ken Mabery at 308-436-9711 or current chief ranger Pete Swisher at 308-436-9717. 



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Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway’s Sandy Hook Unit, located in Highlands, New Jersey, is recruiting for two GL-0025-7/9 protection rangers.

These positions are being recruited through delegated examining at the GS-7 level (with a GS-9 full performance level) under announcement number PH-08-JL-187905, closing on July 10th, and under merit promotion at the GS-7 and 9 levels under vacancy announcement number GATE-08-18, closing on July 14th. The latter can be obtained by clicking on “More Information” below, the former by going to USA Jobs and entering the announcement number.

Gateway National Recreation Area was established in 1972 as America’s first urban national park. Located in the heart of New York City, the park extends from Brooklyn and Queens to Staten Island and Sandy Hook, New Jersey.  Its 26,000 acres include a wildlife refuge, holly forest, ocean dunes and coastal uplands, former military fortifications, New York City’s first municipal airport and the oldest lighthouse in America.  Visitors enjoy ocean beaches, organized sports, fishing, hiking, bicycling, nature study and a chance to explore the area’s important cultural heritage.

Sandy Hook Light, America’s oldest operating lighthouse (1764), and Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, which helped to defend our freedom, are located in the Sandy Hook unit in New Jersey. 



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Alaska Region

Dates: 06/30/2008 - 07/08/2008

Alaska Region is recruiting for a GS-11/12 supervisory facility operations specialist for Gates of the Arctic NP&P and Yukon-Charley NP. This is a new position, and the person who is selected to fill it will be developing the maintenance program for the two parks.
 
The duty station is in Fairbanks. Relocation expenses are authorized.

The announcements for the position - YUGA-08-17MP (NM195961) for status candidates and YUGA-08-17DE (NM195959) for all U.S. citizens - can both be obtained by clicking on the link below. The announcement closes on July 8th.



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