The pandemic did a lot of strange things to us humans. There was of course the obvious, where people got sick. But there was also the byproduct of our year-long-plus battle with COVID: some bad, like driving a wedge through the psyche of the American populace; and some good, such as more people getting outdoors to nurse that broken psyche back to health. Call it the outdoor boom, but from the mountains to the oceans, more people are now venturing outdoors than ever before. Unfortunately, that boom has also stretched search and rescue teams across the country extremely thin.
This interesting report from PBS examines that problem, focusing on Colorado, and looking at other states as well. And it brought up some fascinating data points: first Colorado SAR teams receive over 3,000 rescue calls a year. All of the state’s SAR members are volunteer and provide their own gear. In fact, the report found that most volunteers actually spend $1,500 bucks a year just to safeguard the outdoors. And considering outdoor recreation is a multi-billion dollar industry in the state, many people think some of that money should be earmarked for rescue volunteers. And they have a point.
Finding a way to pay for search and rescue is a national problem. In New Hampshire, for example, the state makes victims pay for the help they needed in an emergency – if subsequent investigations find that negligence was cause for said emergency.
All in all, a well-done piece from the Public Broadcasting Service and an issue that needs to be addressed given the recent surge in outdoor use. Bottom line? We all love to get out there. But be prepared and make good decisions so you can avoid scenarios like this whenever possible. It’ll save everyone cash, not to mention lives.
