Park News September 18,2008

Midwest/Intermountain Regions

The Central incident management team continues to help Big Thicket with its recovery efforts. William Howard Taft NHP remains closed, but other affected areas in Midwest Region are largely back to normal:

Big Thicket –Saw crews yesterday were finishing the removal of trees from employee homes; they will be joined today by a saw crew from Lake Meredith NRA. Triage will continue as more employee’s homes are assessed for damage. Roads are being cleared to oil and gas wellheads as time permits. A 6500 kilowatt generator is now providing power to the park’s headquarters and maintenance facility, and the water system there is again operational. The IMT is also assisting the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas with support. Those Big Thicket employees who’ve been working through the incident are being identified so that arrangements can be made for them to deal with their homes and families for a day or two. Carbon monoxide detectors have been issued to those employees who have generators at their homes. Thirty-nine people are currently committed to the incident.

Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP – The Wright Cycle Company complex (park headquarters) has reopened to the public.

William Howard Taft NHS – Staff members have cleared most of the debris from around the Taft home.  Several staff members are still without power and are staying either with family or in hotels. Their homes received wind damage to siding and roofs and have trees blocking access to them. The west side of Cincinnati was the hardest hit, with many road closures due to downed trees and power lines.  The superintendent toured the area and the traffic congestion and numerous road closures lead him to close the park yesterday at 11:00 a.m.  Shelters are open in three new locations for residents to get food.

Cuyahoga Valley NP – Power has been restored to the park and phone and internet service are now working.

Jefferson NEM – The park continues to experience voice mail difficulties.

 

Big Bend National Park

A levee near the town of Ojinaja, Mexico, just south of Presidio, Texas, gave way on Monday, temporarily lowering the peak water levels of the Rio Grande and giving the park some extra time prior to the coming high water crest. Semi-permanent arrangements have been made for six NPS families affected by the flood evacuation of Rio Grande Village as well as for two concession employees and their families. Sandbagging is underway at Rio Grande Village to help protect the park’s housing, visitor center, and concessions store. The objective is to mitigate water damage to these structures, assuming that the water does not rise above the sandbags. Other actions being taken include the following:

• 200 Big Bend mosquito fish (Gambusia) have been captured, and 150 of these that are considered to have the purest genetic strain are being transferred to the fish hatchery in Dexter, New Mexico.


• Efforts are being made to stabilize historic structures in the path of the flooding. Historic adobe buildings at Rio Grande Village and Castolon will be sandbagged or bermed.


• About 6,000 gallons of gasoline was consolidated into one tank to secure this one tank in ground from the underground tanks at the Rio Grande Village concession store.

The Rio Grande is predicted to crest on Friday or Saturday of this week.

 

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Two days of heavy rains late last week – unrelated to the subsequent passage of the remains of Hurricane Ike to the park’s east – caused the Cottonwood River and its tributaries in Chase County, Kansas, to overflow into fields, closing a small section of the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway (K-177) that leads to the park from the south. Staff living in Cottonwood Falls, normally a 10-minute drive, were forced to take an extended 80-mile detour to report to duty on Sunday.  The road was closed for 24 hours before the waters receded and traffic was allowed through on Monday morning. These rains also impacted the park’s Bottomland Trail, closing it to visitation over the weekend. The waters receded by Wednesday, making it possible to resume full operations. 

 

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

On September 16th, rangers received a report that a vessel had been stolen from its slip at the Lake Mead Marina. The owners of the vessel reported that their son had stolen it and had used one of their credit cards to fuel the vessel without authorization. It was determined that the son has an extensive criminal history, including an arrest for obstructing a police officer, and was listed on the dangerous offender list. The rangers found the man in a group, but he slipped into the water and swam away before he could be arrested. An extensive search of the area was conducted, but he managed to evade arrest. On the following day, marina personnel reported seeing him changing his clothes and walking towards the Hacienda Hotel and Casino on an old power line road. Rangers and officers from Hoover Dam and Boulder City formed a perimeter around the area where he was located, then utilized the park’s dog team – ranger Todd Austin and “Onyx” – to assist in the arrest. He was taken into custody without incident. Both felony and misdemeanor charges are pending.

 

Colonial National Historical Park

The park received a report of a possible drunk driver on the Colonial Parkway between Yorktown and Williamsburg around 4 p.m. on the afternoon of September 1st. The caller also provided a description of the vehicle. A few minutes later, ranger Joe Meekins saw the vehicle pass his location, stopped it, then contacted the driver, Juan Maeba, and his passenger, Jose Tabares-Mata. Meekins immediately smelled alcohol on the driver and saw open containers within the car. Rangers Steve Williams and Sean Blake arrived on scene shortly thereafter. The three rangers determined that Maeba had been driving under the influence and that Tabares-Mata was intoxicated as well. As Meekins attempted to handcuff Maeba, he resisted and attempted to pull away. Williams and Meekins took Maeba down to the ground, but he continued to fight and resist. Meekins therefore drew his taser and drive-stunned Maeba. He immediately yielded to the rangers, who placed him under arrest. While this was going on, Tabares-Mata attempted to fight with Blake, who kept him at bay. Blake finally drew his taser and warned Tabares-Mata that he’d use it on him if he didn’t comply with Blake’s commands, at which point Tabares-Mata submitted. The two men were taken to a local jail. Maeba has previous arrests for both DUI and assault and battery. He’s previously been deported by ICE. This was the first deployment of tasers in the park, which put its taser program into effect last year.

 

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is currently seeking qualified applicants for a GS-0025-9 park ranger position (special park uses). A copy of the announcement with full details on duties and the application process can be obtained by clicking on the link below. The announcement closes on October 9th. For more information, contact Naomi Gillespie at 415-561-7039.



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Dates: 09/12/2008 - 10/10/2008





































The Denver Service Center has issued a vacancy announcement for four GS-0020/0101/0401/0807-11/12 interdisciplinary community planners/cultural resource specialists/natural resource specialists/landscape architects. These positions are located in the Planning Division of the Denver Service Center. The division provides expertise in park planning and related environmental compliance to National Park Service offices and park units throughout the national park system.

These positions are being announced as both merit promotion – NPS-WASO-CO-08-52-JM-M – and to all qualified candidates – NPS-WASO-CO-08-53-JM-D.

The announcements close October 10th.

 

Washington Office

The National Park Service is seeking a dynamic and energetic individual to provide policy, technical and administrative direction for the expenditure side of a revenue generating fee program, which includes management of facility projects proposed throughout the NPS for funding under this Congressionally approved mechanism. The announcement closes on September 30th.  For a copy of the announcement, including a detailed job description and application procedures, please click on “More Information” below.



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