Big Cypress National Preserve (FL)
Lost Hunter Found After Five-Day Search
On the afternoon of November 16th, Jamie Mosch, a hunter with no local experience, embarked on a hunt from a privately-owned inholding. When he failed to return by dark, his friends began looking for him. After about an hour, they heard a shot that they presumed Mosch had fired and fired shots in reply. Two more shots were subsequently heard, apparently further away each time. Mosch’s companions then placed a 911 call that was forwarded to the park. A search was begun, managed under ICS, and other agencies were brought in. Over the next few days, an intensive ground and air search took place that involved about 60 people. Ground searchers utilized grid searches, tactical tracking, blood hounds, cadaver dogs, and air scent dogs. Air searches were conducted and included FLIR/night vision during night operations (FLIR – forward-looking infrared – proved ineffective in this area due to the thick vegetative cover and ground water conditions). Rangers were assigned to teams as available to provide local knowledge. On the morning of November 20th, a bloodhound team found Mosch in very thick, swampy underbrush, making it necessary for them to crawl the last part of their approach to his location. He was alive and vocal and reported a hurt knee and ankle. Mosch was clad only in a tank top and long johns, having lost his shotgun and camouflage hunting clothes. He was surprised to learn it was Friday, and said he thought it was only Tuesday. He survived in part by drinking swamp water and reported catching a catfish by hand and eating it. Mosch was walked/carried overland through the swamp to a clearing where he was airlifted by a Collier County Sheriff’s Office helicopter to the incident command post. He was then airlifted by the Collier County EMS helicopter to Physicians Regional Medical Center in Naples, Florida, where he remains in stable condition, reunited with his family. [Submitted by Ed Clark, Chief Ranger]
Natchez Trace Parkway (AL,MS,TN)
Apparent Suicide Victim Found In Gas-Filled Car
On the morning of Wednesday, November 18th, park dispatch received a call from an employee who reported a possibly unresponsive person in a car parked at Garrison Creek. Rangers from the Liepers Ford District arrived on scene and found a 55-year-old woman lying in her car, covered with a blanket. Notes were visible in the car warning of a deadly gas. The Franklin County hazmat team responded and retrieved the woman from her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Other notes inside the car suggested that she may have been suicidal. The chemical containers found in the vehicle were a toilet bowl cleaner and a generic fungicide. The exact composition of the chemicals has not been confirmed. The Tennessee State Medical Examiner's Office and the Williamson County Sheriff Office are conducting an investigation into the cause of death. [Submitted by Calvin T. Farmer, Supervisory Park Ranger]
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (CA)
Body Of Missing Man Found In Surf Below Slide Ranch
On the evening of Sunday, November 15th, park communications put out a “be on the lookout” message for a missing endangered person to rangers and U.S. Park Police officers. While conducting a patrol of the northern areas of the park, rangers Maya Seraphin and Sam Eddy found the missing 30-year-old man’s parked and unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot at Slide Ranch. The rangers notified the on-duty supervisor, Pat Norton, who mobilized additional park staff to conduct a hasty search along the trails in that area. A California Highway Patrol helicopter was dispatched to the area and searched the shoreline with negative results. NPS staff met with the family of the missing person to gain additional information. The search was suspended around 1 a.m., but resumed the next morning with the assistance of a Marin County SAR team. As the team was assembling, the man’s father and brother reported that they’d found him lying in the surf below the Slide Ranch compound. Park staff and lifeguards utilized inflatable watercraft to assist with the transport of his body to Stinson Beach. The incident is being investigated by Park Police detectives and the Marin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
25
Weekly Legislative Activities Report
The Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs puts out weekly reports on hearings, new legislation and other activities on the Hill. The following is the November 20th summary.
In order to obtain the full text of any of the bills that appear below, click on the following link: http://thomas.loc.gov/ . That will take you to Thomas, the Library of Congress legislative tracking system. Enter the bill number in the “Search Bill Text” block, being sure to also click on the “Bill Number” option below the block.
*****************
New Public Laws
No new laws.
Floor Action
No floor action.
Committee Activity
On November 18th, the House Natural Resource Committee approved the following bills of interest to the National Park Service:
- H.R. 3603 (Marshall, D-GA), which would rename the monument as “Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument” to reflect the primary resource of the park. The committee adopted a technical amendment. The Department supports the bill as reported.
- H.R. 3804 (Tonko, D-NY), the National Park Service Authorities and Corrections Act of 2009. The bill would authorize 10-year extensions for the National Park System Advisory Board and the NPS Concessions Management Advisory Board, standardize the penalties for violations of NPS regulations at military parks and national historic sites, and raise the appropriations ceiling for the Volunteers in the Parks (VIP) program. It would also authorize NPS to enter into an agreement regarding ticket sales with non-profit historic sites at Pearl Harbor, authorize a land exchange to address an access issue on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, and clarify which federal agency is responsible for clearing snow from sidewalks in the District of Columbia. And, it would re-designate the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site as a national historical park, adjust the wilderness boundary at Lava Beds National Monument, and make several technical corrections. The Department supports the bill as reported.
- H.R. 3388 (Forbes, R-VA), to modify the boundary of Petersburg National Battlefield in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and for other purposes. The bill would expand the boundary of the battlefield by 7,238 acres and authorize a transfer of administrative jurisdiction between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army of a 1.7 acre parcel to accommodate security perimeter fence at Fort Lee Military Reservation. The Department supports the bill as reported.
On November 17th, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands (Grijalva) held a hearing on the following bills of interest to the National Park Service. The DOI witness was Steve Whitesell, Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities and Lands, National Park Service:
- H.R. 2889 (Defazio, D-OR), to modify the boundary of Oregon Caves National Monument, and for other purposes. This bill would add 4,070 acres of Forest Service land to the monument to enhance protection of cave resources and promote more recreational opportunities. The Department supports the intent of the bill but asked the committee to defer action for the six month period that began in July, during which the NPS and the Forest Service are exploring ways to maintain interagency coordination.
- H.R. 3444 (Farr, D-CA), to establish Pinnacles National Park in the State of California as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. The Department supports the part of the bill that establishes additional wilderness areas in Pinnacles National Monument and names the wilderness “Hain Wilderness” but asked the committee to defer action on reestablishing the monument as a national park while a Departmental task force looks at a comprehensive plan for renaming park units.
- H.R. 3726 (Christensen, D-VI), to establish the Castle Nugent National Historic Site at St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, and for other purposes. The proposed unit would preserve a 300-year-old agricultural landscape and an array of natural resources. The Department could support the bill but asked the committee to defer action until the special resource study on the site is completed.
New Bills Introduced
The following bills of interest to the NPS were introduced:
- H.R. 4081 (Schrader, D-OR) – A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Willamette Falls National Heritage Area in Oregon, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 4137 (Frank, D-MA) - To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide preservation and interpretation assistance for resources associated with the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Upcoming Committee Activity
Nothing scheduled.
*****************
For additional information, please visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office website at http://www.nps.gov/legal/
[Submitted by LaTonya R. Ward, Legislative Specialist]
PARKS AND PEOPLE
Washington Office
GS-0342-9 Support Services Specialist
The Washington Administrative Program Center has issued an announcement for a support services specialist. The announcement closes on December 1st. You can obtain a copy by clicking on the link below.
More Information...
Washington Office
GS-0343-12 Management Analyst
The Office of Property and Space Management in the Office of the Comptroller is seeking a GS-12 management analyst. You must be an NPS employee in the DC local commuting area. The announcement closes on December 3rd.
More Information...
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.