NATIONAL PARKS FIGHT DRUG WAR

Seasonal Workers Are Main Offenders, Federal Officials Say

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. - When Christopher Cranford came to Old
Faithful, it wasn't as a tourist - it was to make money peddling drugs. And
in the heart of the world's first national park, officials say he found a
market.

By park standards, Cranford's arrest last spring was a big-time bust - one
that investigators say crimped the flow of drugs into Yellowstone National
Park.

But they know, too, there are others like Cranford ready to step in to sell
drugs to the mostly young workers who spend their summers at park hot spots,
busing tables, selling souvenirs and cleaning guest rooms.

"I think it's a matter of users drawing suppliers," said Chris Fors, a
Yellowstone special agent. "Service workers create demand."

Drug use among service workers is among the many headaches law enforcement
officers in Yellowstone and nearby Grand Teton National Park must deal with.

Park officials say drug cases largely involve seasonal workers, many of them
young college students on summer break who are employed through private
concession companies.

And while most arrests are for simple possession, park officials and the
concession companies that hire the workers take each case seriously, aware
that those involved with drugs are also more likely to be involved in other
crimes in the park.

"Someone with a significant illegal drug habit is more likely to embezzle
and steal from guests' rooms and cars," said Brian Smith, supervisory
special agent at Yellowstone. "The public has a right to feel that they're
safe and not going to be victimized when they come to a national park."

Employers and park officials tell workers upfront the consequences of drug
use, which range from being fired to facing federal drug charges.

"We're very aware of the drug situation, but I don't think we have a
problem," said Clay James, president of Grand Teton Lodge Co., which runs
gas stations, shops and other tourist businesses in Grand Teton and has
about 1,050 employees by early summer. Drug use is taken seriously and "we
respond very quickly if we have a need to do so," he said.

Park officials say concessionaires cooperate in investigations and that
other employees often provide tips.

Yellowstone's leading concessionaire, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, declined
requests from The Associated Press for comment. But on its Web site, the
company warns prospective employees that drugs are not tolerated and that
employees may be subject to drug tests.

Fors said drug use among workers is not an overwhelming problem in
Yellowstone, but is a persistent one. And busy rangers, whose duties range
from directing traffic at "bear jams" to patrolling the park boundaries for
poachers, may not be able to devote the time some law enforcement agencies
can to go after drug sellers and users.

Investigators said Cranford was selling marijuana and other drugs in the
park for several years before he was finally arrested last May. He often
timed his visits to coincide with employee pay days, officials said.

Found with 93 grams of marijuana, he pleaded guilty to a federal drug
distribution charge in December and was sentenced to a year in prison,
officials said.

Possession, often of marijuana, comprised the bulk of the 72 drug cases at
Yellowstone last year, and the 26 cases at Grand Teton, officials said.

While they do not keep a tally of how many of those arrests were of seasonal
workers, Fors said they make up the "overwhelming" number of the arrests.