The National Park Service has finished an initial report on the July 8 security breach at Mount Rushmore National Memorial that allowed Greenpeace protesters to unfurl a large banner from the monument.

But there are other reports on the incident to come, along with suggestions on ways to make the monument more secure.

Patty Rooney, a regional spokesperson for the NPS in Omaha, Neb., said Monday the agency hopes to release some information from the report within the next few days.

"Hopefully, yet this week we can get something out on that. We'd hope we could share information from the report," Rooney said. "Not that we could hand over the total report, because there's too much sensitive information in there for that."

The NPS said it would release the results of its review of the Greenpeace incident by the end of July. Last week, the agency contacted congressional offices to inform them the initial review was completed, and the report by the NPS regional law enforcement office was finished.

Additional reports are not finished by the Department of Interior and the Department of Homeland Security, Rooney said.

Acting NPS director Dan Wenk, who formerly served as superintendent of Mount Rushmore, and other NPS officials will decide what will be released from the agency's law enforcement report.

"They will determine what parts we can share with the public and media without compromising security processes and procedures," Rooney said.

Security at Mount Rushmore has been a high-profile NPS issue since the Greenpeace demonstration. Five climbers were able to reach the top of the mountain and use rock-climbing gear to rappel the granite face and unfurl the banner protesting global warming.

Twelve Greenpeace members, including the climbers, were taken into custody by federal law officers. Eleven of them stand charged with federal misdemeanors.

NPS officials have declined to confirm reports that the failure in the system included cameras and sensors that were not functioning properly. But Sen. John Thune, who has met with and been briefed by NPS officials, confirmed that "obviously it comes down to sensors and cameras."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com