This week began with an impromptu ride out of the boat with the curatorial and maintenance teams. In just a few hours we needed to clean the large flag cases, find a few lock boxes, collect donations, and prepare to renovate the accessible elevator.
Because there’s really no such thing as “break time” for LE, we spent a good chunk of midday troubleshooting a faulty alarm ringing throughout the tunnels of Fort Moultrie. They’re old alarms, and they’ve become increasingly sensitive to non-emergency stimuli (for example...dust). They present a unique challenge because their system is outdated, licensing was completed by a previous employee, and renewing them will require investigating the old information in order to install a whole new system.
Administration-wise, we completed a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Non-commissioned rangers dealing with contacts that could potentially require LE. Part of bringing law enforcement into a park is helping the other units, who have already ...their own pattern without law enforcement, figure out how they should address visitors and conflicts differently. The SOP aims to help staff recognize situations in which they can get involved- like educating a family as to why their children shouldn’t climb on cannons; recognize situations in which they need to walk away; and recognize situations in which LE should be called immediately.
In anticipation of our 3rd Ranger (and in hopes for more in the future), I drafted a model of potential patrols between the mainland sites and Fort Sumter out in the bay. What’s most important having a presence out on the island while simultaneously having unhindered ability to respond to greater issues on the mainland, which will only truly be possible with more Rangers. After a long week of interviews, gaining insight into how rangers uniquely approach their jobs, I’m excited to see who will be welcomed into the family. (I did learn one extremely important thing though...phone interviews are awkward no matter what side of the phone you’re on).
This Summer has been an intense period of assessment and problem-solving. One of our major topics to tackle is properly assessing the risks to our cultural resources, and finding ways to balance the cultural and environmental aspects of the park, especially when they are at odds with one another. A Park Guide and NEPA specialist, the acting Integrated Resources Program Manager from Congaree National Park, and a team of representatives from curatorial, compliance, law enforcement toured the park and assessed what issues existed and which should be prioritized. It became obvious we need to prioritize certain safety plans, like the fire hazards and prevention assessment for the historic wooden home at our Charles Pinckney site. But issues of balancing animal habitat and vegetation growth with our duty to cultural and historical representation and preservation is something we tackle daily.
The week ended with a combo of science and history. A classic Drum and Fife group performed a number of musical presentations out on the fields of Fort Moultrie. Meanwhile in the background, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) shuffled to and from the beaches, tediously sifting through sand to remove tiny, toxic, plastic particles that have washed up along the shore of Sullivan’s island. If you’ve forgone any concern about plastic pollution until now, or ignored phenomena like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch before (it’s 3x the size of France), I highly recommend reading up on your chosen beach vacation destination before building any sand castles, and encourage channeling your inner tree-hugger.
No comments:
Post a Comment