The Colorado Department of Local Affairs is offering residents and visitors a pretty good deal: For a mere $3, anyone who participates in the state's wide variety of outdoor activities can support search-and-rescue missions by purchasing a Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue card.
Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County's Office of Emergency Management, said at $3 for one year, the card is a bargain for La Plata County residents, who occasionally need to be saved from injuries and the elements by helicopter, plane and snowcat - forms of transport La Plata County Sheriff's Office has to rent.
Every year, search-and-rescue missions are conducted in La Plata County, where hikers lose their way and rafters get swept out of boats only to be carried downstream.
"At times, we've had to go out and rescue people in winter and lease snowcats to get back there and haul people out," Knowlton said. "The cards help us pay for the tractor."
"The card enables local officials and the Sheriff's Office to tap into statewide funds to help pay for search-and-rescue activities in their district," he said.
"So, simply put: Let's say you ride a mountain bike. You're way, way out in the backcountry when you crash and break a leg. When we come and get you, if we have any expenses incurred by relying on an outside resource - like if we had to hire someone with a medical helicopter and fly you back out to civilization - then, we can seek reimbursement from that fund for portions of that helicopter bill," he said.
Knowlton said the authorities won't search for cardholders more doggedly than non-cardholers, nor rescue non-cardholders with less enthusiasm.
"Not at all. We're obligated to conduct search-and-rescue missions whenever anybody goes missing," he said.
Last year, 1,236 search-and-rescue missions were conducted in Colorado, according to Department of Local Affairs. Knowlton said, "The cost of these missions are often in the thousands of dollars."
Though not a form of insurance, Knowlton said for locals who are serious about spending time outdoors, buying the card would prove a particularly savvy investment, ensuring "the taxpayers of La Plata County are spared the financial burden of paying for rescue missions."
