Park News August 12,2008

Joshua Tree National Park

Strong thunderstorms that passed across the north central area of the park on August 4th caused flooding that damaged park facilities and forced a number of temporary closures. Due to flash flood damage, a section of Indian Cove Road, the Indian Cove campground and group campsites, the Rattlesnake Canyon day use area, and a five-mile-long segment of the North Entrance Road from the North Entrance to the Pinto Wye junction were all closed. The North Entrance Road has now reopened, with a temporary graded road through the flood area. Full repaving should be completed by mid-September. Indian Cove campground remains closed until some time during the week of August 18th. Shoulder repair work is ongoing along the Pinto Basin Road, but the road remains open to visitors.  While about three-quarters of an inch of rain fell at park headquarters in Twentynine Palms, it’s estimated that storm-affected areas in the park may have received from three to five inches of rain that afternoon. Torrential floodwaters were observed crossing one section of park road just south of the North Entrance, resulting in the complete loss of 30 feet of roadway. In the Indian Cove area, floodwaters scoured steep drop-offs along the edges of about one-third of the road leading to Indian Cove campground and significant flood damage occurred in portions of the campground. The park’s other main entrances, the West Entrance, five miles south of the community of Joshua Tree, and South Entrance, near Interstate 10, remain open for public use. All other park roads are open for visitor traffic. Minor local flooding occurred on many park roads, and some sand and small rocks have washed onto park roadways. For current information on park road and travel conditions, visitors can call 760-367-5500.

 

Grand Teton National Park

A seriously injured hiker was located and rescued from Avalanche Canyon on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 6th, following an extensive effort that involved 65 searchers from the park and several other agencies. Richard Felder, 58, of Houston, Texas, was descending Avalanche Canyon on Tuesday morning when he slipped on a snowfield just below Snowdrift Lake and tumbled at least 10 feet over a cliff. Felder suffered internal and head injuries and several broken bones and was unable to resume hiking. He spent an unscheduled night in the backcountry, enduring both his injuries and cold temperatures.  Felder and his wife, Patty, were on a backcountry trip, hiking the Teton Crest Trail together, when they opted to separate from one another at 7 a.m. on Tuesday after camping in the south fork of Cascade Canyon. Richard chose to hike out of the Tetons via a traverse over Avalanche Divide — a route he had read about in a recent issue of Backpacker Magazine. Patty continued to hike out the more traditional route through Cascade Canyon, intending to meet her husband at Jenny Lake sometime late Tuesday afternoon. When Richard failed to return by the appointed time, Patty reported him overdue to park rangers at the Jenny Lake Ranger Station. Rangers began to coordinate a field search for Felder and planned to get searchers on the ground at first light the next morning. At 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, a team of two park rangers hiked from Taggart Lake into Avalanche Canyon, while another team hiked from Jenny Lake into Cascade Canyon to reach Avalanche Divide. These two “hasty search” parties met at Snowdrift Lake in Avalanche Canyon without finding Felder. The incident commander for the search effort also summoned the assistance of an interagency helicopter to provide aerial search capabilities. Because the interagency helicopter was temporarily out of service for maintenance, air operations did not begin until 11 a.m. In the meantime, over 20 searchers — including the park’s trail maintenance crew and Teton interagency fire crews — began an extensive ground search using a grid system to methodically cover assigned sectors of Avalanche Canyon from Taggart Lake trailhead. Once airborne, the helicopter was able to deliver approximately 15 searchers into the upper canyon using a landing zone at Snowdrift Lake; these people fanned out to search assigned locations above the lake. Working a systematic search pattern from the air, rangers eventually spotted Felder, who was lying near some rocks at the base of a snowfield about a quarter mile below Snowdrift Lake outlet. He became visible to the searchers after he waved his arm at the helicopter. Rescue personnel responded by foot from Snowdrift Lake. These first responders provided emergency medical care for his serious injuries and prepared him for immediate evacuation by helicopter. Felder was placed into a rescue litter and flown by short-haul with an attending ranger directly to Lupine Meadows, where a park ambulance was waiting to transport him to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson. Felder’s injuries were serious enough that he may not have survived a second night exposed to the elements in the Teton backcountry.

 

Grand Teton National Park

A single-car rollover accident on the evening of Saturday, August 9th, resulted in the death of a sixteen-year-old boy. The accident occurred just after 7 p.m. near Elk Ranch Flats. Seven people – an extended family from Washington State and Hungary – were traveling in a Honda Odyssey minivan when the accident occurred. The driver and six passengers sustained injuries; one of the passengers, an eight-year-old boy, suffered life-threatening injuries. Four of the vehicle’s occupants were wearing seatbelts and remained in the minivan; two passengers, including the deceased teenager, were ejected from the vehicle. James Kochis, 70, of Port Orchard, Washington, was driving southbound on the highway when his vehicle left the pavement for unknown reasons and rolled one or more times before coming to rest on all four wheels. The cause of the accident is under investigation; however, it appears that the tires of the minivan dropped off the pavement, forcing Kochis to make an abrupt correction, which caused the vehicle to roll and come to a stop on the east side of the highway after crossing both lanes of the highway. The teenage boy was ejected out of the rear window of the minivan and was pronounced dead at the scene. The eight-year-old boy received fractures to both legs and sustained other internal injuries. A park ambulance took the young boy and his father to St. John’s Medical Center, where he was transferred by Life Flight to Salt Lake City later Saturday night. The other four occupants were transported to St. John’s Medical Center in Jackson for treatment of a variety of serious injuries. Approximately 20 park personnel (park rangers, emergency medical personnel, one Air Force EMT detailed to Grand Teton National Park and Teton interagency fire staff) responded along with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS staff, Teton County deputy sheriffs and a Wyoming Highway Patrol officer. Due to the serious nature of the accident and the multiple ambulances and emergency medical personnel required to treat the numerous injured people, Highway 26/89/191 was closed to traffic for more than two hours.

 

Voyageurs National Park

On August 5th, park staff received a report that a 75-year-old man had fallen into a boat from his dock and required medical assistance for possible neck and back injuries. The accident occurred at a remote water access only area along the U.S./Canadian border near the Kettle Falls hotel. Rangers quickly responded, using a concession-operated portage to transport their boat around the Kettle Falls dam and to the scene of the accident. Kettle Falls staff, park maintenance staff, and interpretive and protection rangers worked together to provide C-spine stabilization. The man was transported back to Kettle Falls by boat, where he was portaged around the dam to the park’s tour boat, which had just arrived with a group of visitors.  Rangers treated the man for the ensuing hour until the tour boat reached the Ash Visitor Center boat ramp, where an awaiting ambulance transported him to a local hospital 40 minutes away. The man was later medevaced to Duluth, where it was determined that he had sustained C-1 and C-2 fractures to his neck. Physicians there advised that the care he received had saved his life.

 

Yellowstone National Park

On March 12th, a West District ranger and a field trainee ranger stopped a car that was being driven erratically on Highway 191 and arrested Joan Shriver of Bozeman, Montana. She was charged with driving under the influence, driving without insurance, and second offense driving suspended. During the search of her vehicle for inventory and incident to arrest, a loaded handgun was found under the driver's seat.  Pursuant to a plea agreement with the assistant US attorney, she was sentenced to 30 days in custody and fined $250 on the misdemeanor charges. The investigation showed that she had a prior felony conviction in Utah.   Through the service of a search warrant at her Bozeman residence and the location of a cooperative witness by Yellowstone special agents and rangers, five additional firearms and associated ammunition were recovered from her possession and taken into evidence. Over the ensuing months, Yellowstone special agents  performed an ATF gun trace, established the interstate case nexus, and were able to obtain evidence to certify her felony conviction. On July 24th, a Wyoming grand jury issued a true bill and indicted Shriver on one felony count of 18 USC 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) (convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition).  This charge carries a potential maximum jail sentence of ten years and a potential maximum fine of $250,000. On July 31st, Yellowstone special agents and Bozeman police officers served the felony warrant and arrested Shriver in Bozeman. She initially fled from and eluded the officers, and it took the better part of a morning to locate and arrest her.  She was taken before the US magistrate in Yellowstone and, following an initial appearance, was remanded to the custody of a US marshal pending arraignment and trial.

 

Haleakala National Park

Haleakala National Park is seeking a permanent GS-12 chief ranger interested in a lateral transfer.  The person selected for this position will be stationed at the Summit area of the park. 

Haleakala National Park is located on the island of Maui, approximately 30 miles from Kahului, the island’s largest commercial center (population approximately 25,000).  The Summit District is located at 7,000 feet, where weather is often cool, wet and windy. Summer temperatures vary from 50 to 70 degrees and in winter range from the low 30’s to mid 60’s. Complete shopping and medical facilities are available in Pukalani/Makawao area, about 19 miles from park headquarters.  Elementary schools are located in Kula, Makawao, Pukalani and Haiku.  High schools are located in Pukalani, Kahului and Wailuku.  Public transportation is not available to the park; personal transportation is essential.  Housing may be available in the Summit District.  Rental prices for an average one-bedroom cottage range from $800 to $1000/month, $1400 to $1600/month for a two-bedroom cottage, and $1800+ for a three-bedroom house. The median price of a home is $650,000.

Interested persons should submit the following items:

• 
  Resume


• 
  Copy of your latest SF-50 that indicates your current title, series, grade and step


• 
  OF-306 Declaration for Federal Employment


• 
  Copy of your latest performance appraisal

These forms will be accepted by e-mail to Jennifer_Chung@nps.gov or Elizabeth_Jameson@nps.gov or by fax to (808) 541-3696. For further information, please contact Claire Takemoto at (808) 572-4403. The closing date is August22nd.

 

Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

Kym M. Elder, a 21-year NPS veteran, has been named the first superintendent of Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site. Elder’s appointment became effective August 3rd. 

The position Elder assumes was recently created, as the Ford’s Theatre site is now a separate, stand-alone unit of the National Park System. Prior to this change, Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site had been managed as a part of the National Mall & Memorial Parks. Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site also includes the Petersen House, located across 10th Street from Ford’s Theatre, and the site where President Abraham Lincoln died. 

“We are delighted to begin a new chapter in National Park Service history with the naming of the first superintendent for Ford’s Theatre National Historic site and are proud to have selected Kym Elder for this position,” said Joseph M. Lawler, regional director for National Capital Region.  “Kym’s leadership and managerial skills will prove valuable as this site takes its new place as a National Park Service unit unto itself.”  

“We are so excited to welcome our newest partner, Kym Elder, as the new Superintendent of Ford’s Theatre National Historic site,” said Paul Tetreault, director of Ford’s Theatre Society. “We are looking forward to exciting times ahead with the reopening of the theatre and working closely with Kym and the entire NPS.”   

A graduate of Norfolk State University, Elder began her NPS career as a seasonal appointment at the Frederick Douglass National Historical Site as an interpretive park ranger, becoming a permanent NPS employee in 1990.  Elder served a special detail as a White House tour guide  in 1991 for then-First Lady Barbara Bush’s special education initiative.  Elder continued her work at the Frederick Douglass Site, being named supervisory park ranger and later as site manager there and of the Capital Hill Parks in 1996.  From November 1998 through May 2000, Elder served as the site manager of Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. In June 2000, Elder returned to the Frederick Douglass Site and remained there until early 2002, when she accepted the position of special emphasis recruitment officer for the NPS’ National Capital Region. 

Elder moved to the George Washington Memorial Parkway in 2004 and was named acting site manager of both the Clara Barton National Historical Site and Glen Echo Park.   Elder was named the permanent site manager of these two sites in March 2005, remaining in that position until her selection now as superintendent at Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site. 

Elder has received numerous commendations for outstanding interpretive skills and service, including being named an emerging leader after successfully completing the USDA’s Graduate School’s executive leadership program.  Elder also coordinated and hosted the formal state visit at the Frederick Douglass Site for Ireland’s President Mary Robinson in spring 1996 and was a member of a four-person team representing the NPS at the International World Congress Tourism Convention in London, England, in November 2002.