Park News September 4,2008

Southeast Region

Several more reports have been received on the impacts that Hurricane Gustav had on parks in the south central states:

• Natchez Trace Parkway – The parkway remains closed to traffic from milepost 0 in Natchez to milepost 87 (I-20) near Clinton because of the impacts of Hurricane Gustav. This closure will remain in effect until further notice. Rocky Springs and Jeff Busby campgrounds also remain closed.


• Gulf Islands NS – All employees are accounted for and most returned to work yesterday. West Ship Island remained closed yesterday and concession ferry runs were cancelled for at least the remainder of the week, as significant damage was inflicted on concession ferry terminal docks and office facilities in Gulfport (non-NPS property). An assessment of the Davis Bayou Unit has revealed only minor damage. The unit will likely remain closed pending further assessments and cleanup. Horn, Petit Bois, East Ship, Cat and Sand Islands legally reopened yesterday, though staff had not yet been out to them. The Fort Pickens Unit remains closed to the public, as a broad but temporary breach occurred within the park section of the Fort Pickens Road. A comprehensive assessment of the road’s condition is planned. The Fort Pickens facilities suffered only minor damage. Opal Beach and J. Earle Bowden Way in the Santa Rosa Unit remain closed, as temporary breaches of the island occurred in two places. An assessment of damage to the breached area of the road is planned, and scheduled construction work on the western half of the road – destroyed by Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis – has been postponed. A limited section of Johnson Beach in the Perdido Key Unit was set for  yesterday morning, while remaining sections remain closed pending recovery operations. The visitor center in the Naval Live Oaks Unit is open, but other sections remain closed pending evaluation. The Fort Barrancas and Okaloosa Units are open.


• Cane River Creole NHP – A preliminary assessment revealed down trees and limbs and some minor wind damage, but a detailed assessment has yet to be conducted. There’s no power or phone service to the Oakland Plantation and Magnolia Plantation sites as of yet and they will remain closed until power is restored. Staff displaced from the Oakland offices will temporarily relocate to park headquarters and to the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches. All employees are accounted for.


• Jean Lafitte NHP/New Orleans Jazz NHP – An initial assessment indicates that most damage to the parks consists of downed trees and relatively light structural damage. Ten employees remain unaccounted for, but three of them live in Baton Rouge, which was hit hard by the storm and subject to significant phone and utility outages. Two rangers have been assigned to visit the residences of these ten employees and check on their welfare. Both parks will remain closed until Monday.

Meanwhile, areas on the Atlantic coast are getting ready for Tropical Storm Hanna, forecast to make landfall as a hurricane around the North Carolina-South Carolina border early Saturday morning, and for Hurricane Ike, now a Category Four hurricane that is forecast to reach the Bahamas by Tuesday:

• Everglades NP – Although the Tropical Storm Hanna’s track keeps it to the east of the park, the park has secured all facilities in accordance with its hurricane plan as a precautionary move. These preparations will remain in place as Hurricane Ike nears. The park is open and on a regular operational schedule.


• Cape Lookout NS – Since current models call for Hanna to pass over the park on late Friday and Saturday as a hurricane, the park has activated its hurricane evacuation plan. Outbound visitor traffic via concessioners has been limited to day use only. Rangers are notifying all overnight cabin, tent and vehicle campers and all concessioners and media of the impending park closure and mandatory evacuation.  Park and volunteer staff from the islands will be evacuated to headquarters housing at Shell Point, then, if necessary, to Morehead City, North Carolina. Steps are being taken to protect park buildings, equipment and collections. The IT network will shut down by close of business today, and telephone service will be limited until Sunday or possibly Monday.

 

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

This past Friday, August 29th, marked the 38th anniversary of the occupation of Mount Rushmore by members of the United Native Americans (UNA) to reclaim the Black Hills of South Dakota for the Lakota people. In remembrance and healing, the UNA obtained a First Amendment permit to honor the “historic event,” to recognize women of the Red Power movement, and to provide an opportunity for younger tribal members to experience living history in the oral tradition from elders who were part of the original occupation. The permit was issued to Quanah Parker Brightman, the youngest son of Lehman Brightman, who organized the occupation in 1970. The four-hour event was held in the park amphitheater and was attended by approximately 30 tribal members. In addition to a number of speeches, including one made by Lehman Brightman himself, there were a number of special musical performances and ceremonies. Unfortunately, many of the honored speakers for the event, including Madonna Thunder Hawk and Clyde Bellecourt, were unable to attend. The entire event occurred peacefully, with little impact on park operations and normal visitor activities.

 

Glacier National Park

Due to a lack of clues regarding the whereabouts of hiker Yi-Jien Hwa, who’s now been missing for two weeks, the park has significantly scaled back its search operation pending the emergence or discovery of information that might explain his disappearance. Searchers have committed more than 2,500 hours in the effort to find him in difficult terrain and challenging conditions. Beginning on August 20th, the day after Hwa was reported missing by his family, the park sent teams of hikers and professional alpine searchers into the most forbidding areas of the backcountry to look for him or for evidence that he had passed through areas he planned to hike. Hwa, a native of Malaysia, had drawn up an itinerary for himself and his wife that encompassed nearly 100 miles of hikes as well as climbs and descents of more than 14,000 feet. His wife did not accompany him because of a family emergency. Each day, between 30 and 60 searchers were shuttled in and out of remote areas by helicopter. The searches included use of human-scent dog teams and horse-mounted patrols. Searchers also had access to aerial heat-sensing equipment. Hikers and mountaineers searched through some of northwestern Montana’s most forbidding terrain as fall weather arrived early. The search area encompasses lakes, extensive cliff bands, glaciers, glacial melt ponds, crevasses, ice and snow bridges, forests, and shaded areas near ridges. Fresh snowfall, rain, fog, and high winds made search operations and footing especially difficult in this diverse terrain. Agencies that helped to plan the searches or contributed personnel included the Flathead County and Glacier County sheriff’s departments, the US Border Patrol, and the US Forest Service. The Federal Bureau of Investigation helped to follow up on information received from the public by the National Park Service. Over this past weekend, one or two teams of searchers continued to scour locations adjacent to areas that were identified as most likely to have been hiked by Hwa, assuming that he had followed his plan as outlined in his backcountry permit. Human-scent dog teams also were used. No new clues turned up in those efforts. In a meeting on Tuesday, the search’s managers therefore decided to discontinue regular searches. Anyone who has seen Hwa or who has information that might help to locate him should call Glacier National Park at 406-888-7801. Patrick Suddath was IC for the operation.

 

Olympic National Park

A 41-year-old Auburn man was airlifted from the Bailey Range on Sunday, August 31st, after falling about 150 feet down a steep slope. Trevin Lambert sustained multiple injuries, but was able to walk, with assistance from rangers, to a helicopter. He was flown to Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles, then transported via ambulance to Olympic Memorial Hospital. Rangers were alerted to Lambert’s injury at approximately 11:20 a.m. on Sunday morning when the park’s dispatch center was contacted by a personal locator beacon (PLB) service with the information that Lambert’s PLB had transmitted a 911 message. The 911 message included Lambert’s precise location, using GPS coordinates. Three rangers responded by helicopter and found Lambert just south of Eleven Bull Basin. Although he was still able to walk, the terrain was extremely steep and unstable and rangers used a technical rope rescue in order to bring him to the helicopter landing area. The helicopter met the injured man at approximately 7:10 p.m.; he reached the Fairchild International Airport at about 7:30 p.m. Personal locator beacons use satellite technology to transmit location and brief messages.  More information can be found by going to http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/ and clicking on "Emergency Beacons." The Bailey Range is an extremely rugged area of the park’s wilderness and is recommended only for very experienced and fit hikers who are comfortable with route-finding and traveling on steep, exposed slopes  and loose rock. Lambert is described as being very experienced and fit; he fell after losing his balance on loose rocks. Lambert was in his second day of a planned five-day traverse of the trail-less Bailey Range.

 

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Thomas Sonnier, 48, of Parsonsburg, Maryland, visited the beach near Ramp 43 on Labor Day morning. Just before noon, he went swimming in the ocean. Several witnesses, including his son, saw him swimming in a northerly direction 50 to 100 feet from the shoreline. The surf at that time was rough, with average swells of six-and-a-half feet and winds from the north-northeast averaging between 13 and 16 knots. Many riptides had been observed earlier that day along the seashore, but not in the location where Sonnier was swimming. Approximately 20 to 25 minutes later, Sonnier was seen to be stationary and not swimming; shortly thereafter, he was seen facedown in the water. Emergency personnel and rangers were notified of a possible drowning just after noon. When Sonnier was pulled out of the ocean, he was cyanotic, had no pulse, and was not breathing. CPR was begun immediately, but terminated on a doctor’s orders after about a half hour. His body was taken to a funeral home in Manteo, and members of his family were escorted off the beach and counseled by district ranger John McCutcheon, who is the lead investigator. 

 

Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park has issued vacancy announcements for two permanent, subject-to-furlough GL-5/7/9 protection ranger positions.  For copies of the announcements, click on the "More Information" link below. The positions are open government-wide until September 12th and to all sources until September 16th.  For more information, feel free to contact Curt Dimmick, chief ranger, at (775) 234-7331 x216.



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