Park News September 3,2008

Southeast Region

Several parks in the region remain closed and are making damage assessments following Hurricane Gustav’s passage (below), while others are keeping an eye on the Atlantic. With four named storms going at once – Gustav, Hanna, Ike, and Josephine – the tropics are exceptionally active today. The last time there were four named systems present on the same day was on August 24, 1999. The National Park Service is also supporting FEMA by providing 30 boat crews in conjunction with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The group is staged in Austin, Texas; some of them will be released today, but 14 boats will be held pending a FEMA mission assignment for Hurricane Hanna. The National Park Service has also been tasked with a second FEMA mission assignment for boat crews with the assistance of USFWS and USGS. Many of these crews are in Texarkana. Some will be released today, but three will be held for an assignment to Hanna.

• Cane River NHA/Cane River Creole NHP – The park is closed. Power and both regular and cellular phone service are out. Assessments are underway.


• Natchez Trace Parkway – The parkway is now closed from mile marker 0 to mile marker 87. Two campgrounds in the southern districts are also closed. There appears to be only a modest amount of debris needing clearance. Assessments are underway.


• Gulf Islands NS – The Mississippi District is closed. The island between Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens has been breached, with a full damage assessment now underway. Preliminary assessments indicate minor damage to Davis Bayou; sand across roadways and parking areas may delay opening the area. Assessments are underway.


• Jean Lafitte NHP/New Orleans Jazz NHP – The parks are closed. All utilities are out in Eunice, Louisiana, and it will likely take five to seven days to restore them. Sites in Lafayette have water and electricity. There are several large trees down and debris needs to be cleared. The assessment will continue.

 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

The park increased its staffing and law enforcement profile over the Labor Day weekend due to the anticipated spike in visitation.  There were a number of incident responses and arrests over the weekend. Although most were unrelated to the closure, four enforcement actions pertained to the consent decree – two were for driving on the beach at night and two more for turtle nest site closure violations. One new closure was put into effect on Saturday to protect a new turtle nest, but seven others were lifted because turtles had hatched. A number of turtle closure areas were damaged by an unusually high tide Sunday night but were repaired by the monitoring crew. A total of 37 people – including a Southeast Region SETT team – were committed to the incident as of Monday. The SETT and the IMT were demobilized yesterday.

 

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

In late November of 2006, Brian O’Dea, the NPS special agent at Glen Canyon, received a complaint of possible violations of park regulations associated with commercial use. Through a review of billing statements, emails, interviews, and a preliminary investigation, he determined that Gina Isakson, 42, of West Jordan, Utah, was conducting a business operation on Lake Powell involving the houseboat Desert Ruby without a permit.  The investigation showed that a person was being paid $1800 per year and allowed to use the houseboat in return for managing it under a company called Desert Ruby LLC. During the investigation, O’Dea also learned that Isakson had managed three different houseboats on Lake Powell and had embezzled an estimated $65,000 from the three multiple-owner boats. Without the knowledge of the approximately 75 owners of the three boats, she obtained debit cards and bought personal items with them, then made up false documents when the owners asked to see them.   Once the authentic bank records were obtained, it was apparent that she had forged and issued 23 checks totaling $230,815.71 from her then current employer, Interior Development of Midvale, Utah. The checks were laundered through Desert Ruby Inc. O’Dea took the case to the United States Attorney’s Office, then, upon their direction, to the Utah Attorney General’s Financial Crimes Unit. It was agreed that the prosecution would be handled by the state. The victims reported that Isakson spent $238,150.88 in unauthorized expenditures, with an additional $26,346.97 in unknown expenses. Isakson had made $188,340.04 in unauthorized deposits into the victim’s bank account. The investigation also showed that Isakson had been convicted of stealing American Express travelers’ checks from her employer, American Express, in 1998.  The company lost $220,000 and she was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison, but ultimately didn’t do any jail time and was placed on 36 months’ probation. On August 26th, the Utah Attorney General’s Office filed a 21-page criminal information against Isakson on eight counts of felony theft, 14 counts of felony forgery, three counts of felony money laundering, and one count of a “pattern of unlawful activity,” also a felony. Second degree felonies in Utah carry a one to 15 year sentence and a penalty of up to $10,000 on each count.  Third degree felonies carry a zero to five year sentence and up to a $5,000 penalty on each count. Isakson in this case had eight second degree felony counts and 18 third degree felony counts filed against her.  The August 26th filing of the criminal information in Salt Lake City effectively released the case facts and charging document worldwide via the internet. The filing of the charges via information is the Utah state equivalent to a federal grand jury indictment. While this case is being prosecuted by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, the investigation was led by the NPS Investigative Services Branch and by O’Dea, with critical assistance provided by NPS crime analyst Joan Yorkey and Utah Attorney General’s Office special agent Steven Sperry.  The case is pending arraignment and plea agreement or trial in Salt Lake City.

 

Blue Ridge Parkway

On Sunday, August 24th, ranger Joe Darling found a vehicle parked off the side of the parkway in an area that has no trails but is known for illegal harvest of ginseng. When Darling entered the woods, he discovered signs of recent digging and eventually contacted Sage Adamson of Asheville, North Carolina.  Upon investigation, Adamson was found to have 34 freshly dug ginseng roots in his possession and admitted to digging them up on park property. On Friday, August 29th, Adamson appeared before the a federal magistrate and pled guilty to digging and removing ginseng.  He received 18 days in jail, was ordered to pay $1,000 in fines, and banned from the parkway and adjacent federal or US Forest Service lands for two years. Adamson further admitted to previously removing ginseng from other locations along the parkway and adjacent USFS areas and subsequently surrendered 481 additional roots, which when dried renders about two pounds of ginseng. Ginseng is presently bringing in more than $1,000 per pound, resulting in an increase in violations.

 

Northeast Region

Regional Director Dennis Reidenbach has selected Martha Bogle as the superintendent of Shenandoah National Park. Bogle will oversee the operations at the almost 200,000 acre park – 40% of which is Congressionally-designated wilderness.

Bogle, who has served as deputy superintendent at the 470-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina since 2005, begins her assignment in mid-September. She follows Chas Cartwright, who left Shenandoah earlier this year to become superintendent of Glacier National Park.

“Martha Bogle has prepared her whole life to be superintendent of Shenandoah National Park,” said Reidenbach. “Her deep love and respect for this area of the country and its people are obvious in her manner, and her broad range of experience makes her the ideal choice for this important position.”

Bogle has more than 30 years of federal service at 11 National Park Service sites and one national wildlife refuge. She began her career as a seasonal park ranger at Great Smoky Mountains NP, followed by seasonal positions at Everglades NP and Great Sand Dunes NM. Her permanent positions included the Smokies, Obed W&SR, Loxahatchee NWR, Carl Sandburg NHS, and Congaree NP.  She has worked as a dispatcher, park ranger, outdoor recreation planner, interpretive specialist, chief of visitor services, and in management positions as assistant superintendent, deputy superintendent, and superintendent. In addition, Bogle has served as acting superintendent at Virgin Islands NP and acting assistant superintendent at Cape Hatteras NS, Mammoth Cave NP and Independence NHP.

“I love these mountains; they have held a special place in my heart my entire life,” Bogle said about Shenandoah National Park. “I’m excited about the opportunity to work with the park staff, our adjacent communities, conservation groups, and nearby universities to ensure the long term preservation of the park and its precious resources. The health of the park and the economic health of our neighboring communities are inextricably joined. I  know that working together we will be successful in meeting the challenges facing the Shenandoah region.” 

Born and raised in Centerville, a small middle Tennessee community, Bogle attended the University of Tennessee, where she received her bachelor’s degree in botany in 1978. 

As superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, Bogle will be responsible for the management of 197,411 acres, approximately 250 employees, and an operating budget of over $11 million. The park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, includes the famous Skyline Drive, a 105-mile road that winds along the crest of the mountains through the length of the park and more than 500 miles of trails, including 101 miles of the Appalachian Trail. For more information about Shenandoah National Park, visit www.nps.gov/shen

For more information about the National Park Service Northeast Region, visit www.nps.gov/nero

 

Redwood National and State Parks

In recognition of his outstanding contributions in the fields of park management, research and resources management for the National Park Service, Terry Hofstra has been awarded the Meritorious Service Award of the Department of the Interior.

In a ceremony held before some 150 fellow staff, partners, and family members on August 27th, Hofstra received the award from Deputy Regional Director Patty Neubacher, acting for the Pacific West Regional Director and Secretary of the Interior. His citation read as follows:

Terry’s 34-year career with the federal government includes 28 years at Redwood National and State Parks, where he currently serves as chief of resources management and science. Terry has distinguished himself as both an exceptional park manager and professional wildlife biologist. The parks contain the largest stands of old growth redwood in the world and the largest areas of protected redwood habitat. Hofstra has developed and directed the largest and most complex program to restore logged redwood habitat that has ever been undertaken. The Redwood Creek basin, the focus of the restoration program, is a highly erosive watershed that contains the tallest trees in the world.

The complexity of managing this area is compounded by a history of mistrust of the federal government, since parklands were largely acquired by condemnation from timber companies that fueled local economies. Terry has improved community relationships and developed strong ties with landowners, timber companies, educators, professional scientists, Indian tribes, and state and federal agencies. He has worked with timber companies to develop cooperative relationships, resulting in a cooperative agreement between these companies, the National Park Service, and other government agencies for the common management of the Redwood creek watershed to halt erosion.

Terry has been a strong supporter of the partnership between California State Parks and the NPS, blurring agency boundaries to achieve ecosystem-based resource management and science programs. Among Terry’s many accomplishments at the parks were the development and activation of the park’s geographic information system to inventory, monitor, and manage park watersheds and the development of a comprehensive cultural resources program which included the construction of a state-of-the-art collections storage facility. Terry is widely admired and respected as a biologist and manager by all who deal with him professionally and he is known for developing and applying innovative resource management strategies.  

For the highest level of dedication and professionalism in the National Park Service, Terry Hofstra has been granted the Meritorious Service Award of the Department of the Interior.

 

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park is actively recruiting for qualified GL-9 protection rangers interested in lateral reassignments. There are currently two vacant permanent, full-time positions in the Old Faithful District.  

The rangers selected will participate in the district’s structural fire, EMS and SAR programs and will also be responsible for coordinating the first two.

The Old Faithful District, encompassing both the Madison Junction and Old Faithful developed areas, is located in the western portion of Yellowstone National Park.  This area is home to a large concentration of geysers and thermal features and abundant wildlife and is open to summer and winter visitation. 

In the summer, the concessionaires operate three hotels, two guest cabin areas, two general stores, two gas stations and one campground in the district. The residential housing area includes eight dormitories, two trailer courts, numerous apartment complexes, and single family homes. Visitation to the Old Faithful area can reach 25,000 people per day during the summer months and there are approximately 1,500 employees on site. 

In the winter the concessionaire operates one hotel, one self serve gas station, two restaurants and a gift shop.  Winter access to Old Faithful is restricted to over-snow transportation, with visitors being restricted to guided access only.  Personal vehicles are parked 30 miles away at the West Entrance housing area and are accessible via a one hour snowmobile ride. Daily snowstorms and temperatures below -20 are not uncommon throughout the winter. There are approximately 200 employees on site in the winter. 

These are required occupancy positions, with housing provided within the district.

Interested applicants should contact Old Faithful district ranger Colleen M Rawlings at 307-344-2702 or deputy district ranger Tim Townsend at 307-344-2706 before September 12th. 

       

 

National Capital Region

Dates: 08/04/2008 - 09/08/2008

National Capital Region has issued a vacancy announcement for a roads and trails maintenance mechanic supervisor (MVO) position in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. It is open to all qualified applicants and is a permanent, full-time position. The announcement number is NPS-NCR-08-32. Click on "More Information" below for a link to the announcement and application instructions.



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