Park News July 23,2008

Texas Parks

The two NPS areas along the south Texas coastline – Padre Island and Palo Alto – have been making preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Dolly, which is expected to make landfall in the extreme southern portion of the state today. Both parks put their hurricane plans in effect over the weekend. Infrastructure has been secured, employees have been evacuated, and both areas are now completely closed. Damage is expected to be minimal, but surge will likely have significant impact on Padre Island beaches. The incident management team managing both parks will meet early on Thursday to assess the damage, but will in any case remain closed at least through Friday. The Central Incident Management Team is on standby pending assessments from the parks.

 

Grand Teton National Park

Rangers are conducting an investigation into the climbing death of longtime Exum Mountain Guides employee George Gardner, 58, on Saturday, July 19th. Fellow guides, who were with Gardner before the accident that took his life, have provided rangers with extensive information about the circumstances leading up to his untimely death. Gardner and several other Exum guides had taken a group of clients, including youths from Wilderness Ventures, to the Lower Saddle on Saturday with the intention of climbing the Grand Teton the following day. After the group had eaten dinner and settled into their Lower Saddle camp for the evening, Gardner departed around 5 p.m. to free solo climb the Lower Exum Ridge on the Grand Teton, a climb rated 5.7 on the Yosemite Decimal System. According to his colleagues, Gardner planned to climb the route to Wall Street and then return back to Lower Saddle base camp. It is not unusual for professional guides—either in pairs or solo—to go out for additional climbing on their own once their clients have settled in for the night. Several guides were concerned when Gardner had not returned by dark; however, the guides noticed headlamps coming down from the Upper Saddle and they figured it was Gardner, perhaps assisting a mountaineering party in their late-hour descent. When the guides awoke at 3 a.m. to prepare for the day’s excursion, they discovered that Gardner was missing. Out of concern, they notified Exum Mountain Guides president Jack Turner, who contacted the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center (TIDC) with news of the missing guide. After the call, park rangers immediately began coordinating a search and rescue response, and requested an interagency contract helicopter. At the Lower Saddle, several Exum guides began a hasty search for Gardner, with three guides climbing the Lower Exum Ridge route and two guides ascending the classic route to the Upper Exum Ridge via Wall Street. One of the guides ascending towards Wall Street spotted Gardner’s body around 6 a.m. from an area near the Eye of the Needle. After alerting the party that was ascending the Lower Exum Ridge, two of the guides from the Lower Exum Ridge party climbed to Gardner’s location and confirmed that he was deceased. Park rangers and TIDC were notified of the fatality, prompting a switch to a recovery and investigation operation. Gardner’s body was flown from the accident site on the mountain via short haul and delivered to his family and a contingent of fellow climbing guides at the park’s Lupine Meadows rescue cache at 12:30 p.m. The body was then transferred to the Teton County Coroner’s office. Rangers are investigating the accident, though they acknowledge that the exact cause may never be known for certain. They speculate that Gardner may have fallen from one of the upper pitches of the Lower Exum Ridge route. They also note that there was a substantial (and atypical) wind gust of about 60 mph at approximately 6 p.m.on  the day of the accident that may have been a factor in Gardner’s fall. Whatever the cause of this accident, park rangers and Exum guides both agree that Gardner was climbing well within the realm of his capabilities, and doing what he was comfortable with and what he loved. A resident of Ridgeway, Colorado, Gardner had been an Exum guide for 17 years and a climbing guide for 28 years. His vast mountaineering experience included expeditions on the southwest face of Kanchenjunga and the west face of Hyani Potosi in Bolivia’s Cordillera Real; ski ascents in the Alps and in Colorado; and extensive climbing in North America and the Himalayas. He was the program director for Sterling College’s “Semester in the Himalayas” as well as an AMGA Certified Alpine Guide.

 

North Cascades National Park

On July 18th, four climbers were ascending the lower slopes of the Eldorado Glacier when one member of the group had an unwitnessed fall down snow and a short rock cliff. His companions found him unconscious at the base of a rock-snow moat. One climber made a three-hour-long hike out to make a 911 call, while the remaining two climbers, one of them an ER physician, cared for their partner. Rangers arrived to the scene via the park’s on-call contract helicopter. After brief EMT care and packaging, the patient was short-hauled to a site lower on the mountain, where an Airlift NW medical helicopter could safely land. He was then flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remains in the neurological ICU with a critical head injury and bilateral arm fractures.

 

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks

On Wednesday, July 9th, rangers were notified that hiker Rick Kohltfarber, 26, had suffered a dislocated shoulder in a fall and was located on a rock in Roaring River above Roaring River Falls. Due to steep terrain and the Kohltfarber’s condition, it was determined that a helicopter shorthaul rescue would be the safest rescue method for both rescuers and Kohltfarber. Ranger Debbie Brenchley was shorthauled from the Roaring River Falls parking lot to Kohltfarber’s location, where he was prepped for the extraction. Both were then flown to the waiting Cedar Grove ambulance, where he was treated by a park medic. During the follow-up interview, Kohltfarber said that he’d been hiking with friends, slipped, and fell approximately 12 feet into the river and landed on a submerged rock, injuring his shoulder. He was then swept over a 30-foot waterfall and self-rescued himself on the cliff side of river. This was one of nine SARs that occurred in Kings Canyon National Park between July 1st and July 9th – six of them major SARs.

 

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and Minidoka National Historic Site are seeking qualified candidates for a journeyman interpretive position serving these two discrete NPS units in southern Idaho.

Established in 1988, Hagerman Fossil Beds NM preserves an extraordinary fossil record from the Pliocene Epoch, including the Hagerman Horse Quarry.  A climate change curriculum is being developed based on the ecosystem as it existed 3.5 million years ago.  The 4,335-acre monument along the Snake River encompasses interpretive trails, overlooks, and traces of the Oregon National Historic Trail.  NPS headquarters is in Hagerman, where a visitor center orients the public to both park stories.

Authorized in 2001, and legislatively expanded to 292 acres in 2008, Minidoka National Historic Site commemorates the WWII internment of Japanese American citizens and legal resident aliens of Japanese ancestry at the former Minidoka Relocation Center near Jerome.  Minidoka NHS is an archeological site whose 2006 General Management Plan calls for developing personal and non-personal interpretive services, and restoring a barrack block to evoke the 1942-1945 internment experience.

The person selected will be responsible for carrying out a variety of interpretive and visitor services functions to advance public understanding and appreciation of these diverse areas.  The ability to acquire and master subject-matter expertise in these natural and cultural history topics is essential to this position. 

For the right candidate, this permanent full-time position will be a splendid opportunity for professional growth and development, in a part of the country renowned for its scenery and recreation, including hot springs, fishing, boating, and camping.  Hagerman (pop. 850) is 90 miles east of Boise, 35 miles west of Twin Falls; housing rental/purchase costs are moderate; schools, medical and other service amenities are available.  There’s no government housing.

For a copy of the announcement, which closes on August 11th, click on the link below. For further information, call interim superintendent Scott Eckberg at 208-837-4793 x 5222, or administrative officer Dena Easterday at extension 5223.



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Colonial National Historical Park

The park has issued vacancy announcements for the following positions – two permanent full-time WG-4749-6 maintenance workers, based at Yorktown Battlefield, and one permanent full-time WG-5705-6 tractor operator, based at the Historic Jamestown site. Both positions have been announced open to all sources and through merit promotion plan. Click on the link below to see all announcements.

Colonial NHP consists of 8,600 acres protecting the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown Island; Yorktown Battlefield, the location of the last major battle in the Revolutionary War; and the 23-mile-long Colonial Parkway. The park is located in the Historic Triangle area of Tidewater Virginia, with plenty of amenities from colleges and universities and recreational opportunities to excellent schools and a variety of rental properties and homes for purchase.

Please contact Walter Henson at 757-898-2438 if you need additional information about the positions.



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United States Park Police

Sergeant Wayne A. Johnson retired from the United States Park Police on July 19th following more than 22 years of honorable service. 

Prior to joining the Park Police, Wayne worked for the Library of Congress in the Photo Duplication Office.  During this time, he earned a degree from the University of the District of Columbia in business administration. He also met a U.S. Park Police officer who sparked his interest in the force. 

Wayne applied and began his career on August 4, 1985, reporting to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.  Wayne was recognized at his graduation for being the most improved shooter.    

Upon graduation, Wayne completed his field training and spent the next eight years patrolling Rock Creek Park.  He soon was assigned to the Scooter Squad, where he had many exciting experiences.  A notable incident involved a lookout for a murder suspect in Rock Creek Park.  The Scooter Squad was able to box in the suspect and effect an arrest.  The Scooter Squad also provided escort support to dignitaries during the Gorbachev and Reagan Summit in December 1987.

In June 1994, Wayne was selected to become an identification technician, and then in 1997 was selected as a Criminal Investigations Branch investigator.  In these roles he played an important part in several high-profile cases.

Wayne was promoted to the rank of sergeant in October 1998 and assigned to District 5, which patrols the National Parks in Anacostia, Suitland Parkway, and Ft. Washington.  In 2002, he was reassigned to the Police and Fire Clinic in Washington, DC, as the medical liaison to the U.S. Park Police. 

In addition to his career helping the public with the U.S. Park Police, he spent his personal time helping others through his church.  He is part of the sign language ministry for Woodstream Church, providing translations of pastoral services.  Also, in 2006, following Hurricane Katrina, he was a member of a team of Woodstream Church volunteers who went to the New Orleans area to help rebuild peoples' lives. 

Wayne is dedicated to his family, which includes his wife Audrey of 25 years, and their daughter Brandi and son Michael.  Wayne moves on to join the National Park Service as their medical standards program coordinator.