*** Colorado's "Search and Rescue Reimbursement Fund" ***

Tue Feb 14 17:53:44 1995
Message : #22111837    From: Andrew Davis
Address : drewd@lamar.ColoState.EDU
Group   : Usenet.rec.backcountry
Subject : Colorado SAR Fund Again
Org.  : Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523

Contact Howard Paul, Alpine Rescue Team   (303) 871-8356 (day)
January, 1995

        Colorado's "Search and Rescue Reimbursement Fund"
        The new "Hiker's Certificate"

Folks, it's not search and rescue insurance!

In 1988, Colorado's General Assembly created a "Search and Rescue
Reimbursement Fund" within, and administered by, the Division of Wildlife
of the Department of Natural Resources. After a lengthy search for a hunter
lost in Mineral County, Colorado's sheriffs and the search and rescue
community developed this method to help financially strapped counties deal
with large scale searches on which they spent considerable money.

Since then, each fishing and hunting license sold in Colorado has had a
twenty-five cent surcharge added to it, which goes into the fund. In 1993,
boat, snowmobile and off-road vehicle registrations were added to the fund.
These five state-mandated licenses and registrations were the only methods by
which the state could require outdoors folks to pay into the fund. In 1994 an
amendment created a "Hikers Certificate." Entirely voluntary, as of January 1,
1995 anyone can buy the $1.00 certificate and contribute twenty-five cents of
it to the fund.

The fund has an annual financial cap, which the legislature raised
from $300,000 to $500,000 in 1994. Each year, money collected in excess of the
cap is placed in the Division of Wildlife's coffers. Since 1988, more than $1
million of the $1.5 million collected "for search and rescue" has never been
seen by the search and rescue community.

What does the fund do?
It serves to reimburse a county sheriff (and it's search and rescue
agency) for some expenses involved in search and rescue missions: food for
searchers, gasoline, lost or damaged equipment, helicopter time, etc. Search
and rescue teams are the usual beneficiary of such money. Requests for
reimbursement must be made by a county sheriff.

Initially thought by some to be an easy source of money, requests for
"search and rescue reimbursement" by fire departments, EMS agencies and air
ambulance services were denied. One patient's medical insurance carrier even
told the air ambulance that transported the patient to send their bill to the
Division of Wildlife!

There are four tiers to spending fund money. The first tier is
reimbursement of costs for any search or rescue involving anyone who has
purchased one of the now six pieces of state paper. This is paid within 30 
days of receipt. Second is all missions involving a relative of a license 
holder: parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling. Third is the 
greatest benefit of the fund: a grant program to fund search and rescue
training and equipment (excluding vehicles designed for the road). Lastly
is tier four, all other uncompensated missions.

When the law was amended to include the grant program, everyone
involved (sheriffs, search and rescue community and the state legislature)
assumed it would consume all available money each year, leaving nothing for
tier four. Certainly appropriate, as the legislature and public, since 1988,
mistakenly believed the search and rescue fund actually provided money to
search and rescue teams! The public assumed that it took care of the problem
of undertrained and under-equiped teams, and that wherever one went, there
was a search and rescue team standing ready to jump into action -- of course
there still are areas today that have no search and rescue team.
 
What is the Search and Rescue Reimbursement Fund not?
First, it specifically is prohibited from paying the salary of any
permanent employee of any government agency (can't pay a deputy's overtime).

It is not insurance! The term insurance implies a bill for services
will be received. The search and rescue teams of the Colorado Search and
Rescue Board published, in 1987, their position that they will not charge for
their services. However, through grossly incorrect news stories the public 
was lead to believe that they would get an enormous bill (from "someone") for
search and rescue (after all, an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter "costs someone"
$2400 an hour to fly -- right?).

Fueling this misunderstanding, in 1992 the Division of Wildlife widely
promoted the Search and Rescue Fund as "insurance," until the Colorado search
and rescue community forced  them to cease.

In 1991, it was discovered the Tenth Mountain Trail Association actually
printed on it's literature, "...purchase a one day Colorado fishing license
and the State of Colorado will pay for your rescue."

It is really an "interagency expense pool" of money, through which a
sheriff and it's search and rescue team can recoup some costs; and which also
helps fund training and equipment. It is not insurance, and a search and
rescue team will respond when requested by a sheriff, whether or not you 
hold a license, registration or certificate! And that the question of the
existence of one will not determine the "quality" of the effort of a search
and rescue team.

Money for search and rescue teams?
In addition to the grants (which started in 1993), teams can recover
team or personal costs of missions. If you look at most team's financial
records, you really won't see much in costs directly attributable to a given
mission. As in the fire and EMS worlds, search and rescue costs are not in
responding and carrying out a mission, the cost is in preparing for one and
standing by: insurance, vehicles, telephone, training, maintenance, equipment
replacement, etc.

But there are some costs for which teams could apply for reimbursement:
gas for team and personal vehicles, at the state mileage rate; lost or damaged
equipment, be it a $1000 radio, a $120 rope or personal gear. Also maps,
replacement radio batteries, medical supplies, etc.
In short, don't ever wait to call for help from the search and rescue
team. Valuable time worrying about having to pay a "bill" will only compound
the situation. Don't try to perform a search or rescue yourself, afraid to
call for professional help -- you may very well endanger yourself or the
person in distress.

And remember, there really is no need for "search and rescue insurance"
in Colorado. But do buy a Hiker's Certificate. It helps ensure your local
team, and others across Colorado, are equipped and trained to do the job. 
And give a few bucks directly to your local team, too. After all, they do
have to buy all sorts of insurance: liability, worker's compensation,
vehicle coverage, medical coverage -- just like any business!

                --------------------------------------