The impact of the events of September 11th have been felt at National Parks across the country. To provide you with a sense of the impact we have compiled a listing of the daily incident reports. This report is a listing of all of the incidents, primarily law enforcement, that have occurred at this park.

September 11 - Special Edition
The Secretary of Interior and the Director have each issued important memoranda regarding our reaction to today's terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

First, an update on our friends and colleagues in the New York and Washington areas. Bob Martin, regional chief ranger for Northeast Region, has sent along this note: "We have been in contact with the parks in New York and can assure you that all of our employees are safe. However, Federal Hall, Fire Island and Ellis Island are all involved in providing support for this incident. The United States Park Police in New York are also playing a major role. We, in turn, are assuring that they have the resources and personnel they need." We will keep you posted on developments with updates whenever circumstances merit.

September 12
National Park Service personnel systemwide are responding in many ways to the terrorist attacks yesterday on Washington and New York. Here's a summary, as of 11 a.m. today:

WASO/Servicewide - The National Park Service's Type 1 all-risk management team (Skip Brooks, IC) has been called out and is in place and operating at Shenandoah NP. The team is serving as a clearing house for information on incident-related activities throughout the agency.

Northeast Region - All parks in Northeast Region closed yesterday due to terrorist activity. Parks evacuated their visitors, implemented their continuity of operations plans, stepped-up their security - particularly at the Statue of Liberty, Federal Hall, Boston National Historical Park and Independence - and began sharing resources as needed. Protection rangers from some parks traveled to others that don't have protection staffs; two boats from Fire Island with a boat captain and protection rangers on each assisted the Park Police and helped move people and employees via New York harbor. Rangers and Park Police officers are working 12-hour shifts in the New York City area.

Federal Hall in NYC was used as a refuge by approximately 150 people escaping the collapse of the World Trade Towers. Park Police officers and a doctor helped them, and the park was closed after being evacuated. The regional all-risk Type 2 team (Brown) has been activated and will assist the parks, make contingency plans, and provide public information support. The team has set up shop at the regional office in Philadelphia. Regional SET teams continue to be on alert. All parks will be working to open up today except for the Statue of Liberty, Federal Hall, Manhattan sites, and Gateway sites, including Sandy Hook. Boston NHP will also remain closed. New York parks are assessing their employees' situations, as there will inevitably be connections with some of the many people who lost their lives. Parks will make CISD and EAP services available as needed

September 13 - Morning
Additional reports have been received regarding the National Park Service response to Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

"National Park sites throughout the nation reopened today and have resumed normal business activities. Secretary Norton and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella have asked superintendents at each of the 384 sites to use their discretion in determining whether to limit or augment personnel and operations in sites where such measures are deemed appropriate.

At National Park sites in Manhattan and the New York City area, operations are more limited, and most of the sites in Manhattan are closed today. At Federal Hall on Wall Street, a water tower on the roof collapsed last evening.

USPP/New York Field Office (NY) - All available personnel were called in for duty following the crash of the two planes into the World Trade Center. Officers were sent to Federal Hall to assist with the securing and protection of that building.

September 13 - Afternoon
All employees in the New York area have been accounted for and are okay. A CISD team is en route to the Statue of Liberty to provide support for NPS employees throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Federal Hall NM (NY) - Federal Hall is closed. It is located on Wall Street, just a few blocks east of the World Trade Center. The city is planning on reopening Wall Street on Friday, but Federal Hall will remain closed. A preliminary examination of the building is being made today to determine whether a more exhaustive evaluation will be required. Of primary concern is the effect that the collapse of nearby buildings had upon an existing crack in the southwest corner of the structure. The water tower did not break as had been reported. Minor damage is also reported. A USPP sergeant and four officers are providing security for the site.

September 14
President Bush has declared today a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the victims of Tuesday's terrorist attacks.

The White House has issued a directive ordering federal facilities to keep flags lowered to half-staff until Saturday, September 22nd. Flags are to be returned to full staff at sunrise on the morning of Sunday, September 23rd.

On Wednesday, Director Mainella authorized the wearing of black bands on badges for uniformed employees, and has specifically asked that ALL employees with badges wear such bands. Additional guidance has been received for employees who do not have badges or who are not in uniform.

Federal Hall NM (NY) - The Wall Street area is to reopen to public travel tomorrow. The park conducted a preliminary structural survey today. The only damage obvious to the untrained eye was a worsening of an existing crack in the southwest corner of the building and a broken window that permitted debris to enter one room.

September 15
The National Park Service response to last Tuesday's terrorist attacks continues.

Federal Hall NM (NY) - Federal Hall remains closed; work continues in the Wall Street/World Trade Center area. Structural engineers have examined all floors and the roof of Federal Hall and have made a list of structural concerns. A report and estimate for the cost of rehabilitation of the facility will be submitted on Monday. A request has been made to hire a contractor to clean up the building's exterior. The Type 2 team in NERO will be working to facilitate this request.

New York and Boston area parks have received assistance from rangers who responded from Assateague NS, Cape Cod NS, Colonial NHP, Fire Island NS, Richmond NB, Petersburg NB, Upper Delaware NS&RR, Delaware Water Gap NRA, Gettysburg NB, Shenandoah NP, and Blue Ridge Parkway.

Manhattan Sites - Park Police officers are providing round-the-clock coverage of all sites.

September 16
Federal Hall (NY) - On Saturday, the Park Police detail assigned to Federal Hall was pulled for an hour when a bomb dog alerted to a tractor trailer parked outside the New York Stock Exchange, which is across the street. An inspection of the vehicle by the bomb squad revealed that the alert was unfounded. The officers resumed their posts.

September 18
Director Mainella will be traveling to New York on Thursday to meet with employees from parks throughout the area. A primary focus of current NPS operations in New York is the provision of assistance to the these employees, including staff in all divisions, US Park Police officers, and concessions personnel. The NPS dispatched a team of five CISD counselors to the area to conduct an initial assessment over this past weekend and now has nine peer supporters, representing all divisions, on site at Ellis Island. They will be providing individual and group debriefings to all employees in the metro area. Quite a few saw the first airplane hit the World Trade Center, even more saw the second (it passed low over Liberty and Ellis Islands), and many others have been directly involved in on-scene search and recovery operations.

Manhattan Sites (NY) - Asbestos testing is being done throughout lower Manhattan. Federal Hall will remain closed until the testing is concluded. All utilities at the site are in working order and cleanup is continuing.

September 19
The National Park Service continues to provide support to its parks and employees, gather information on the status of field areas for DOI, and deal with security issues throughout the country. Director Mainella will travel to New York this afternoon to meet and talk with employees and to visit sites affected by the attacks.

New York Area Parks - There are 13 trained NPS peer supporters working with personnel from all of the New York area parks. The team's goal is to provide a one-on-one contact with all employees. Work area debriefings are scheduled throughout next week. The team is in contact with mental health professionals from EAP, Red Cross, and Gilmartin/Harris (well known mental health advisors to the NPS). The CISM team may be contacted with any questions or concerns.

September 20
Director Mainella is in New York today to meet and talk with employees and to visit sites affected by the attacks.

Federal Hall NM - The site remains closed due to asbestos concerns.

September 21
The National Park Service continues to provide support to its parks and employees, gather information on the status of field areas for DOI, and deal with security issues throughout the country. Director Mainella was in New York yesterday. She held an all-employee meeting for staff from the New York area that was attended by over 300 employees from all park divisions and from the Park Police and concessions. Among the issues raised and discussed were security at New York sites and employee stress. The latter was caused by many factors, including witnessing the disaster from close proximity; ministering to hundreds of people fleeing from the towers, many of them injured or ill; participating in water rescues on the Hudson River; hastily evacuating sites; and losing friends and colleagues in the collapsed towers. Director Mainella also visited affected parks and participated in discussions on security issues in lower Manhattan. She will be meeting with staff to examine options for enhancing security there.

Federal Hall NM (NY) - The site will remain closed until it can be thoroughly cleaned. The asbestos problem has been resolved. Air quality monitoring will be conducted after the building is cleaned.

September 25
Federal Hall NM and Castle Clinton NM in lower Manhattan remain closed.

September 28
Federal Hall and Castle Clinton - Closed until new security systems are evaluated.

The peer support team working in the New York area will be demobilizing on Sunday. EAP services are in place and will be available to employees there. The CISM team made one-on-one contacts and conducted group debriefings for over 85% of the park, USPP and concessions staff in the New York area - a total of over 400 people. Peer support will continue on an as-needed, intermittent basis. Park personnel very much appreciate all the support they've gotten from around the NPS. If you know someone working in the NYC area, take a minute to send her or him an email note or a card.

October 4
Eastern National has established a "Recovery and Remembrance Fund" to benefit the national parks of the New York and National Capital Region areas and their staffs. The events of September 11th had a marked impact on the many NPS employees working in these areas who witnessed the events first hand, helped with the evacuations, provided first aid, and assisted with recovery and clean up efforts. Northeast Region RD Marie Rust has noted that it will take considerable effort to mitigate the impacts of these events: "People from all over the nation have reached out to help their fellow employees. Unfortunately, there is still much that remains to be done." In response to this need, Eastern National, a non-profit partner of the Service, came forward with an offer to assist the parks and their employees. RD's Marie Rust and Terry Carlstrom, together with the superintendents involved, have identified three specific areas of need that this fund will be used to support:

• Employee Assistance: Provide additional support to the employees who witnessed and who have been severely affected by the tragic events of September 11th.
• Oral history project: Provide support to document the oral histories of the park employees who witnessed and have supported the recovery efforts
• Interpretation: Provide support to create waysides, interpretive material and educational programs about the September 11th events and the NPS involvement.

Donations are tax deductible and will be acknowledged in an upcoming issue of The Arrowhead, the newsletter that Eastern publishes for the NPS. Send your donation to Eastern National, Park Recovery and Remembrance Fund, 470 Maryland Drive, Suite One, Ft Washington, PA 19034.

October 15
Federal Hall reopened to the public.

October 22
Castle Clinton reopened to the public.

 Incident Report from all National Parks - (PDF file)
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