TRAINING OPPORTUNITY

Yesterday Jack, Norm, Rebecca & I ("the cadre" see below) met at HPD to discuss training materials, agenda, PowerPoint presentations, and logistics for next month's course:

Two-Day Advanced Heritage Resource Investigations

(aka: “NM Cultural Property Act Light”)

Sponsored by:

New Mexico Dept. of Game & Fish, New Mexico State Parks,

& the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division (HPD)

Santa Fe, New Mexico

February 14-15, 2012

(Law Enforcement credit by NM Department of Public Safety- NM11191N;

16-hours archaeological C.E. credit - New Mexico HPD)

Participants for the class will be: law enforcement officers, archaeologists, attorneys and cultural resource specialists employed (or contracted) by state, federal, tribal and local government agencies. Enrollment is limited to 25 participants.



Classroom instruction will take place at the NM Department’s Game & Fish Headquarters in Santa Fe, NM.  An archaeological crime-scene practical exercise is included as part of the training.  In this exercise, class participants will be required to carry out crime-scene investigation and field damage-assessment procedures at a mock archaeological crime scene. Class participants are encouraged to bring materials that they would normally have with them for field-work (compass, GPS, digital camera, etc.) for use with their field work and classroom presentation of same.

This two-day Heritage Resources Protection and Investigations Law Enforcement Class will provide training on aspects of the investigation and prosecution of cultural resources crimes.  Instructors for the class are experts in this area of law enforcement and archaeological program management.  Topics to be covered in the class include:

• The Looting, Collecting and Trafficking Network: What is “hot” and why…
• Federal and State Statutes Protecting Archaeological Resources and Human Remains
• Artifacts and Tools of the Trade: Tools Used by Violators.
• Cultural Resources Crime Scene Management and Investigation
• Dealing with, and handling of, human remains

• Archaeological Damage Assessment Methods

Instruction Cadre:

Jack Young, Archaeologist (NM Dept. of Game & Fish),

Norm Nelson, Archaeologist (NM HPD)

Rebecca Procter, Archaeologist (NM State Parks),

Phillip A. Young, Sr. Special Agent (ret. NPS), Archaeologist (ret. HPD).

Class fee: $75.00 per attendee.        Enrollment deadline: January 31, 2012. 

Payment is due with the enrollment form to Insights Investigative Services LLC, c/o  Phillip A. Young, 22 Encantado Rd., Santa Fe, NM 87508 by January 31, 2012 unless secured by a Purchase Order or Letter of Commitment with the enrollment form.  Personal check, money order, or Purchase Order accepted.  No refund for individual cancellation after January 31, 2012 unless the entire class is cancelled. 

NM DPS certification is available for attendees.

Tribute to Ranger Margaret Angerson

“NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT
Wednesday, January 11, 2012

INCIDENTS

Mount Rainier NP
Thousands Honor Ranger Margaret Anderson

The memorial service celebrating the life of Ranger Margaret Anderson held
yesterday was extremely well attended, with the 3,000 seat auditorium
filled to capacity and scores of law enforcement agencies represented.

Rangers, officers and other first responders came from neighboring
communities and from throughout the state of Washington, as well as Idaho
and Oregon. A large contingent of Royal Canadian Mounted Police also
attended. The memorial procession was six miles long and included an
interagency pipe and drum corps and the Washington State Patrol rifle team.
Yosemite National Park personnel led a single riderless horse, followed by
a mounted team of Washington State Patrol officers.

People watching the live TV coverage noted that the clouds parted and Mount
Rainier came into view just as the service began. By the service's end, the
sun was shining.

Secretary Salazar, Director Jarvis and Superintendent Randy King spoke, as
well as Robert Danno of National Capital Region and Steve Mazur of
Voyageurs, both family friends of Eric and Margaret Anderson. Pastor Paul
Kritsch, Margaret's father, and Pastor Galen Gallimore of the Anderson's
family church shared remembrances.

The family asks that donations be made in lieu of flowers. They will be
used to help Eric raise their two girls. Donations should be sent to
KeyBank,

P.O. Box 159, Eatonville, WA 98328

. Checks should be made out to
the Margaret Anderson Donation Account. The National Park Foundation, the
official charity of the National Park Service, has also established a
memorial fund to benefit the children of Margaret and Eric Anderson.

All correspondence, including requests for information and condolences,
should be sent to MountRainierInfo@gmail.com.
[Patti Wold and Barb Maynes, Public Information Officers, Western Incident
Management Team]”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017202331_rangermemorial11m.html 

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/komo/article/Our-nation-has-lost-a-good-and-brave-ranger-2457279.php?fb_co%E2%80%8Bmment_id=fbc_5007052459034_731%E2%80%8B485_5007052666034&mid=5778301

Preparing for Petra… 2012

Today we’ve scheduled our next conference call for the Jordan Parks Project (Phase III). Park management has identified their desire for enhanced assistance with their Geographic Information System (GIS), search & rescue program (SAR), and transportation systems. I think we can help them along with our Park Ranger mentoring in those regards. Even though my weakest sub-discipline in Rangering (compared to emergency medical, fire, interpretation/education, law enforcement) is SAR, I’ve been know to tie a knot or two and certain help get folks up/down a cliff with some belays. In addition, our team jefe (leader), Bill Wade, is a former president of the National Association of SAR. Petra Archaeological Park (PAP) has been working towards an expanded transportation system to augment horseback rides from the entrance to the Siq (included in the price of your admission), camel rides to/from the Treasury & Lower Basin, horse cart rides to/from the entrance & Treasury for those with physical challenges, and donkey rides to various unauthorized destinations. The new transit (funded by UNESCO) is hoped be in the form of green-energy efficient buses shuttling visitors from the Lower Basin back to the vicinity of the new Visitor Center under construction in Wadi Mousa. As it so happens, team-member Bruce McKeeman worked at Yosemite when they instituted their bus system, plus the Dept. of Interior’s Int’l Tech. Asst. Prog. (ITAP) has already advertised looking for a transportation specialist within the Department for a short-term detail to PAP this spring. GIS & SAR are probably not far behind. As part of GIS, I can show field rangers some aspects of GPS (Global Positioning System)- though I’m far from earning a merit badge myself on the subject.



Sangre de Cristo Mtns.



This past week I traveled up to Colorado and visited with longtime friends from college days in Denver (Steve & Jackie [Lively] Norris, and Scott Halliday). We were all active in the Colorado Chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War in the early 70’s. Driving up I was treated to the breath-taking scene provided by the snow-capped Sangre de Cristo Mountains from Raton Pass, and roadways with names like: Abbey Road, Young Hollow. The four of us shared some interesting adventures so many decades ago, and it was great to reminisce. One was going to a Chicago concert (as I recall), with Jackie, her sisters and their dates. I was the escort of the youngest sister, Suzanne, and have always used that term because even though she was heart-stoppingly cute (and a bit "Lively"), she was also 10-years younger than me (and as Jimmy pointed out in the song “Livingston Saturday Night”… “15 may get you 20”): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gzzS0nyMfM




closed portajohns at Ad-Deir

 

One of the serious discussions we had was regarding the state of politics in this-here-land: the polarization partisanship of the extremes (“disgusting”). Even a conservative elder statesman (Senator Alan Simpson ® Wyoming) can’t believe what a mire we’re in. So, Steve mentioned a Third Party on-line alternative: Americans Elect. We need to get our elected representatives thinking of who they represent instead of party and special interests again while we can. I think I’ll check-it-out at: http://www.americanselect.org/?gclid=CNGt0NXsxa0CFRRZhwodUB5NAw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belaying

A very SAD start to a new year.

Indeed, not a good start = The National Park Ranger corp is a small tight knit society and we are mourning the tragic murder of a young Ranger, mother of two very young children (age 4 & 2), at Mt. Rainier NP... Phil Young Senior Special Agent (Ret.)

"The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees expresses its deepest condolences to Superintendent King and the staff at Mount Rainier National Park on the tragic death of Ranger Margaret Anderson.  Heartfelt sympathies are also extended to Margaret's husband, Eric, her 2 daughters, her family and friends.  We are all part of the National Park Service family, and this senseless death affects us all.  We are heartbroken.  How quickly a wonderful story of a dual career couple, finally working together in a beautiful place, can turn tragic.  Her loss is painful for all of us.  We must take strength from each other and provide whatever support is necessary to her family and the park staff at MORA."

Maureen Finnerty, Chair
CNPSR

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

INCIDENTS

Mount Rainier NP
Suspect In Ranger Killing Found Dead

Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, was shot and killed on the road to Paradise
at Mount Rainier National Park on New Year’s Day morning. The body of her
assailant, Benjamin Barnes, who fled into the backcountry, was found by
searchers yesterday afternoon.

The intensive manhunt for Barnes came to an end when searchers in an
aircraft spotted a body lying face down, partially submerged in the
Paradise River in the vicinity of Narada Falls. Searchers on the ground
traversed challenging terrain to reach the spot and confirmed that it was
Barnes and that he was dead.

An investigation into the incident is being led by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation with park rangers and Pierce County Sheriff’s Department
officers assisting. The Western Incident Management Team (Denny Ziemann,
IC) is en route to the park to assist with planning a memorial service for
Anderson and with ongoing park needs. Information on the service will be
posted on InsideNPS once it becomes available. The park will remain closed
to the public through today to let staff begin to work through their grief.

On the morning of January 1st, Anderson set up a traffic block to intercept
a vehicle that had failed to stop at a chain-up checkpoint. The driver,
Benjamin Barnes, opened fire on Anderson, killing her, and then fled on
foot into the woods. Anderson had worked at Mount Rainier for three years.
She is survived by her husband, Eric, also a ranger in the park, and by two
young children.

Mount Rainier National Park closed during the hunt for the gunman, with the
park evacuating park visitors to get them out of potential danger.  There
were 125 visitors in lockdown at the Paradise Visitor Center from Sunday
noon until 3:30 a.m. on Monday.  They were escorted out of the park in
small groups of five vehicles, accompanied by law enforcement officers.
There were also 25 visitors at the National Park Inn at Longmire who were
evacuated out of the park.  Visitors had been held at these locations for
their own safety.

Approximately 200 personnel were involved in search operations on Monday,
January 2nd. Agencies participating in the search effort included the
National Park Service, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Federal Bureau
of Investigation, Tacoma Police Department, Washington State Patrol,
Customs & Border Patrol, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest
Service, Pierce County Fire Districts, Lewis County Sheriff’s Department,
Enumclaw PD, Portland PD, Seattle PD, Snohomish PD, and law enforcement
officers from other jurisdictions as well. Resources included K-9 units,
armored vehicles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

Director Jarvis issued this statement early on Monday morning:

“Yesterday morning, Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed while
making a traffic stop at Mount Rainier National Park.  As I write this late
Sunday night, the murderer is still at large in the park, which has been
closed.  We are working closely with the FBI and local law enforcement to
protect visitors and staff and to track down Margaret’s killer and bring
him to justice.

“This is a heartbreaking, senseless tragedy.  Margaret was just 34 years
old. She and her husband Eric, who is also a park ranger at Mount Rainier,
have two young children.  Margaret was killed while doing her job –
protecting the visiting public on one of the park’s busiest days of the
year.

“Last week, we mourned the death of U.S. Park Police Officer Mike Boehm,
who suffered a heart attack while responding to a serious incident in
Washington, DC.  Mike left behind a wife and a son.

“Our hearts go out to both families, and I ask you to keep them in your
thoughts and prayers in the hard days ahead.

“As updates from Rainier are available we will share them with all
employees through InsideNPS.  These losses are painful reminders of the
risks faced by National Park Service employees every day. Please be careful
out there and watch out for each other.”

[Lee Taylor, Mount Rainier, and Patti Wold, Western Incident Management
Team]

OBSERVATIONS: Lessons Learned (re-learned or remembered) 2011

Fron Grand Hyatt Amman

First call to prayer at 4:18- not a bad way to start the day.

You have enough stuff: more friends is better (and remember to tell them how important they are while you can). Ol’ friends are sometimes the best… they know how far you’ve come/grown…

“It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Carol” might be the best holiday movies ever made, but “Die Hard” isn’t bad…

When your physician tells you that you have a pre-arthritic condition it means you already have arthritis.

When you are on a dive vacation flight lay-over on the mainland be sure to have bug juice (and apply same).

People that generalize are ignorant (Oops…).

Get a professional to winterize your irrigation system (and obtain their guarantee in writing).

When eating mensef at a wedding use your right hand (put your left somewhere) 

The older you get the less likely it is that your thumbnail will work as well as a straight-slot screwdriver.

Just because it is categorized as non-fiction doesn’t mean that it is…

Some politicians won’t trust gov’t employees as they suspect all are “lazy & shiftless.” (see 5^th one above) BTW- Incumbents are the problem (as are those that vote for them).

Meme (L)

Even though your kid (or climbing partner) moves half-way across the country doesn’t mean they are off-the-books; it is also a good time to establish a FedEx account.

Removing your gold & diamonds from your safe deposit box and keeping it in the trunk of your unlocked car isn’t a good idea.

Stay away from Atlanta: they have zombies there.

“Climate Change” doesn’t mean it is going to be warmer where you live.

Way 2 much plastic floating around the Caribbean, and the Red Sea is cold in early May.

When they tell you at the theater box office that the movie is scratched, but they’ll provide a full refund during the first half-hour, you can be assured the film is fine for the first 31-minutes.

Sex & politics have been bed-partners since… way before Cleopatra…

When your local computer store starts selling fishing supplies too, it is time to move on.

Annual Reflections

Happy Hanukkah, Fabulous Festivus, Super Solstice, Cheerful Christmas, Kool Kwanza,

Mele Kalikimaka (and Happy New Year: Year of the Dragon: Jan. 23rd)...

‘Tis the season to be jolly-n-gay and to think about what has been, or still can be. We hope that you are spending time with those you love in places that enhance your joy. I customarily send out cards with letters/blurbs, but this year thought I'd use this new (for me) medium. Many of us have had a year of change: some losing family and/or cherished ones, some in & out of care facilities, and others adding to their families & relationships. They say that losses/bad things come in 3's; if so, I can name 3 for this year: Maureen Helene (Shapiro) Thompson from Burbank HS, Mike Taylor roomie in college (Denver daze), & Rick Foster (paternal cousin; Golden, CO). Some of us have "the blues" this time of year, but being thankful for the good things we have (like winter solstice) never goes out-of-season. A positive change in Santa Fe came when Randy Crutcher & Karin Lubin relocated here earlier this year. Randy was a house-mate & travel compadre extraordinaire back in the Humboldt State portion of this trip, and now we're hitting partners trying to get tennis balls back over the net when our schedules coincide. They seem to be enjoying the area as much as we are as Randy writes: "feels like we won the lottery to be in such beauty and comfort. It’s perfect for us!"               http://quantumleapcoaching.org/



 We continued our northern New Mexico activities of work (Meme @ Office of the State Engineer/Water Rights; me (tennis refing & heritage resource volunteering) and play (climbing, tennis, yoga). In addition we took a dive trip to Isla Marisol, Belize in February and Meme joined me the last 10-days of my 2-months of work at Petra Archaeological Park, in Jordan during “Arab Spring.” We got in a couple of dives at the Red Sea, and floated in the Dead one too. I went back for October; many new special friends this year.

On the home front we continued with “home improvements” this year: new doors, windows & stucco (we’re no longer that darker brownish home, became the light brown [beige] one). The Hot Springs spa turned 17 and took a 1-week rest this month while we got a new pump: so good to be back in “hot water” again. Lucy (the Bull Terrier) turned 3, and she continues to entertain… though she is hesitant to get started on her walks, she picks up after we hit the green-belt and is absolutely true to her breed at pulling when the ground is covered with snow (we’re expecting the 5^th snow of the month tomorrow).

Justin moved to Chicago in August (hoping to further theatre endeavors; not sure what he pursuing, but from his periodic need for funds we're pretty sure he is NOT dealing drugs or guns). He came home for the holidays in time to watch Lucy while Meme & I went over to visit my mom for her 87^th B-day last week. It has been a challenging year for mom, but she is back living at home with great assistance from sister-in-residence Laura, and sister-near-by Chris. Pilgrimage to a ballgame during "The Season" took us to San Diego/Pacific Beach (and me to Phoenix a couple of times to check-in with family).

Los Tres Amigos @ work, Wadi Mousa

2012 looks like it’ll be another year of change (of course that is a constant we can always count on). In addition to more college & USTA tennis umping, I’ve got SiteWatch steward orientations to again present, + a special heritage resource investigations training scheduled (Feb.), and a potential return to Petra (spring). I hope the year brings you health, strength, prosperity, peace & happiness.

“Happy Trails” to all, “Inshallah” (God willing).

Thinking about some of the family & friends (current & former) that we’ve lost this year I find myself singing this ol’ song by The Association: “Cherish” (“…and I do…”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6-mOvl7WlE

“The answer my friends is blowin’ in the wind…”

‘tis a cold December thus far in Santa Fe. Warm thoughts to those that have served in the military continued with “Wreaths Across America” on Monday- held in each state capital. On this Pearl Harbor 70^th anniversary & remembrance morning I hope to pause at 11:10AM (MST), the minute in Honolulu time that an armor-piercing shell hit & quickly sunk the USS Arizona.  I noticed my weather sensor read 10F (or -12.2C) at 6AM, up from yesterday’s 4F/-15.5C; birds have taken refuge in the woodpile, and Lucy prefers staying curled up in her daybed in the den (nearer the fire). Many of us do that: find a warmer locale out of the winds and hunker down. It is easier. Of course, I’m wondering about the political winds at present. Many of us have been clamoring for “change” for sometime. I have friends advocating everything from term limits to revolution and the return of the guillotine (and those are the conservative ones). How about you?

I recently read Wm. Leuchtenburg’s bio: Herbert Hoover. Far from being a Hoover apologist, best known for his works on Hoover’s successor President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he does explode a lot of myths about HH (some even made common by newspaper reporters of renown and a Pulitzer Prize. Can you imagine a professional news organization today trying to get away with reporting “eye witnessed” events that actually never took place? Hmmm…)

I’d always heard of a professional nexus between Hoover and my maternal grandfather (Henry Newlin- photo below); they were both engineers by training (and personality). Henry’s 1^st wife was a Mellon; after she died my grandmother (Ann- photo) and Henry had a family of four. While Hoover was a cabinet secretary (Commerce) in the 1920’s (before being elected President), a fellow cabinet member was Andrew Mellon (Treasury), and he kept Mellon as Secretary of the Treasury when elected President. So, it sounds like “family history” isn’t far off-base on this one. I mention this because Hoover has usually been represented and characterized as a heartless ogre, but as I read I found a much more complex individual that wasn’t “in bed with the bankers” and sometimes showed a humanistic streak.

Henry & Ann Newlin

Albright & Hoover
in Yellowstone NP

Having had a career in the National Park Service I found references to President Hoover’s conservation efforts most interesting: “augmented the national forest reserve by two million acres…rescue of sequoia groves on the Pacific Coast… edict restricting the gunning down of migratory birds… Nine days after taking office, Hoover announced that no more oil exploration would be permitted on public lands, within the next year more than twelve thousand leases were canceled. But his most important step on behalf of conservation was approving as director of the National Park Service the superbly qualified Horace Albright… Under Hoover and Albright, the government added three million acres to U.A. parks and monuments- a phenomenal 40 percent increase…opened preserves in the Grand Tetons and Carlsbad Caverns, and took steps toward creating the first national parks in the East, including the Great Smokies and the Florida Everglades.” I was lucky enough to get to know and assist Horace Albright years later, during my tenure as a District Ranger at Santa Monica Mountains.

Anyway, in the public eye and the media of the day President Hoover was seen as heartless, but one wonders what might have been… “if only?” If only, he hadn’t named the financial downturn a “depression” (trying to avoid the previously used term of “panic”); If only, it had been a shorter decline as most expected (including his political adversaries); If only, Europe’s economic situation went down-the-drain a couple years later and a worldwide “Great Depression” followed. History is filled with “if only.” However, as Meme’s family saying goes: “If wishes were fishes, we’d all be sardines.” We were, and are, faced with great challenges.

Maybe it is time to fly from the wood pile and see how we can help and serve (THANKS to those that have). After all it is the season… and giving & hope are good things…

USS Arizona Memorial

FYI, this was on front page of the Opinions section of the Santa Fe New Mexican on 04 Dec:

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/myview/Their-view--Phil-Young--and-William-Wiley-Don-t-let-Congress-gi

On page two was this editorial:

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Opinion/Our-view-Giving-away--the-wilderness