Influencer II
This article applies to the United States, but the information may be useful to those outside of the U.S. as well. Being that search and rescue is typically a responsibility that falls to local law enforcement and varies state-to-state, it is difficult enough to scope this article for just the U.S. - it would be a daunting task to try to scope it internationally or globally.
As overlanders, we often find ourselves in remote backcountry areas, whether it be with / in our vehicles while on an expedition or at camp, or away from / outside of our vehicles participating in outdoor recreation of some type. When venturing into the backcountry, it's important to understand the risks associated, and have an understanding of what may happen if you require search and rescue assistance.
Typically, search and rescue operations fall to local law enforcement / county sheriffs departments, however there are some non-profit volunteer organizations in some areas (e.g. Teton County Search and Rescue, a Wyoming-based SAR organization which provides search and rescue services, free of charge, to Teton County and the surrounding areas) that also provide SAR services. Far and away, though, it is typically the county sheriff and local law enforcement that carry out SAR missions.
Search and rescue missions can be costly (e.g. Grand County in Utah says the average SAR operation costs about $2,000), and especially taxing on the budgets and funds of local law enforcement. But, whether the person(s) being rescued receives a bill for SAR services rendered, varies state-to-state, and even within a state, it could vary county-to-county. Some states have broad laws about whether the costs of SAR services can be billed back to the person that needed them, while some states have more narrow laws and only allow bill back if the person was being reckless. Receiving a bill for SAR services could be costly; for example, a 59-year-old hiking solo in New Hampshire was billed $9,300 for SAR services and a 64-year-old man who spent four days hiking out of Blue John Canyon in Utah when the rescuers found him was billed $4,000 by Wayne County's Search and Rescue team.
This brings me to the topic of this article: SAR cards and SAR insurance.
What's the difference?
Well, it depends on the state, but most SAR cards (like those available in Colorado and Utah) are NOT a form of insurance against back billing, but rather go to replenish the funds of SAR teams to provide them the resources necessary to carry out SAR missions. So, while these cards might not protect you against back billing, they certainly can reduce the need for local law enforcement or the state to back bill the person being rescued. If every person venturing into the backcountry for recreational purposes supported SAR teams through things like SAR cards and donations to SAR organizations, these teams and organizations would be better funded and thus have less need to recoup the cost of the mission through back billing. My CORSAR card here in Colorado was $12 for 5 years. Also, a CO fishing license includes SAR.
However, ever the cynic, there's always still the chance that even the most well-funded SAR teams might bill you for services rendered, even if everyone venturing into the backcountry was buying SAR cards. To protect against this, there are insurance plans, like those offered by GEOS.
I will talk about GEOS, because they are probably the largest and most widely used SAR insurance, and they also happen to be the organization that personal satellite communicators (did you see my article on those in Bootcamp?) like the Garmin inReach devices and SPOT devices communicate to when the SOS button is pressed.
GEOS has several types of plans, the high-level plans being:
Within the Search and Rescue Membership, they offer the following tiers:
There are some terms and limitations to the coverage, so I would recommend - whatever type of insurance you choose - you read the plan documentation on the insurer's website carefully.
Feel free to discuss SAR cards and SAR insurance in this thread!
Because SAR typically falls to local law enforcement, the more research I have done on the subject, the more it has become evident that oftentimes it is the county, not the state, that absorbs the costs of SAR missions. Sometimes these SAR missions are outsourced by county sheriff's offices to non-profit SAR organizations or teams. It's also becoming more evident that states, like Colorado, that offer SAR cards to help fund SAR missions, are in the minority.
As you can imagine, counties - especially those more rural counties where a lot of our backcountry in the U.S. is - are oftentimes not as well-funded as the states in which they reside. Because of this, I have started compiling a list of SAR resources by state, in case anyone wants to get involved with SAR as a volunteer, or in the case that anyone wants to provide donations directly to teams if SAR cards aren't available in your locality (whether they be monetary in nature, or in the form of gear that may help SAR teams in their local area). As I have been compiling this list, I've noticed that many SAR teams and organizations that once had websites now no longer have them. It doesn't cost a whole lot of money annually to keep a basic website up and running, so you can probably imagine the funding challenges these SAR teams and organizations face.
This compilation will be on-going, as it has proved to be a tedious and time consuming undertaking, but I think it is important to highlight the local resources that are operating out there every day to have OUR back when we venture off the beaten path. I give to the Colorado Search and Rescue Fund by purchasing the CORSAR card, but if there is not a similar fund in your state, please consider donating to the team or teams in your locality, as one day you may need their assistance or be out of your locality and require assistance from another team.
Many of their websites (especially those organizations that are non-profit, but run under the direction of the county sheriff's office) also have information on how to get involved as a volunteer, if that interests you or you have the skillset for the work.
Direct Links to U.S. SAR Resources by State (and link to SAR card, if available):
As overlanders, we often find ourselves in remote backcountry areas, whether it be with / in our vehicles while on an expedition or at camp, or away from / outside of our vehicles participating in outdoor recreation of some type. When venturing into the backcountry, it's important to understand the risks associated, and have an understanding of what may happen if you require search and rescue assistance.
Typically, search and rescue operations fall to local law enforcement / county sheriffs departments, however there are some non-profit volunteer organizations in some areas (e.g. Teton County Search and Rescue, a Wyoming-based SAR organization which provides search and rescue services, free of charge, to Teton County and the surrounding areas) that also provide SAR services. Far and away, though, it is typically the county sheriff and local law enforcement that carry out SAR missions.
Search and rescue missions can be costly (e.g. Grand County in Utah says the average SAR operation costs about $2,000), and especially taxing on the budgets and funds of local law enforcement. But, whether the person(s) being rescued receives a bill for SAR services rendered, varies state-to-state, and even within a state, it could vary county-to-county. Some states have broad laws about whether the costs of SAR services can be billed back to the person that needed them, while some states have more narrow laws and only allow bill back if the person was being reckless. Receiving a bill for SAR services could be costly; for example, a 59-year-old hiking solo in New Hampshire was billed $9,300 for SAR services and a 64-year-old man who spent four days hiking out of Blue John Canyon in Utah when the rescuers found him was billed $4,000 by Wayne County's Search and Rescue team.
This brings me to the topic of this article: SAR cards and SAR insurance.
What's the difference?
Well, it depends on the state, but most SAR cards (like those available in Colorado and Utah) are NOT a form of insurance against back billing, but rather go to replenish the funds of SAR teams to provide them the resources necessary to carry out SAR missions. So, while these cards might not protect you against back billing, they certainly can reduce the need for local law enforcement or the state to back bill the person being rescued. If every person venturing into the backcountry for recreational purposes supported SAR teams through things like SAR cards and donations to SAR organizations, these teams and organizations would be better funded and thus have less need to recoup the cost of the mission through back billing. My CORSAR card here in Colorado was $12 for 5 years. Also, a CO fishing license includes SAR.
However, ever the cynic, there's always still the chance that even the most well-funded SAR teams might bill you for services rendered, even if everyone venturing into the backcountry was buying SAR cards. To protect against this, there are insurance plans, like those offered by GEOS.
I will talk about GEOS, because they are probably the largest and most widely used SAR insurance, and they also happen to be the organization that personal satellite communicators (did you see my article on those in Bootcamp?) like the Garmin inReach devices and SPOT devices communicate to when the SOS button is pressed.
GEOS has several types of plans, the high-level plans being:
- Search and Rescue Membership
- Medical Evacuation Membership
- Medical Evacuation High Risk
Within the Search and Rescue Membership, they offer the following tiers:
- SAR 50 - The GEOS SAR 50 membership covers expenses up to $50,000 USD per incident, with an annual maximum of $100,000 USD per year. This plan also covers multiple incidents under $50,000 USD as long as no single incident exceeds $50,000 USD, or the $100,000 USD per year maximum.
- SAR 100 - The GEOS SAR 100 membership covers expenses up to $100,000 USD per incident, with an annual maximum of $100,000 USD per year. This plan also covers multiple incidents under $100,000 USD as long as no single incident exceeds $100,000 USD, or the $100,000 USD per year maximum.
- SAR HR - The GEOS SAR High Risk or SAR HR membership is the same in coverage as the SAR 100. This plan also covers multiple incidents up to $100,000 USD as long as no single incident exceeds $100,000 USD, or the $100,000 USD per year maximum. SAR HR removes many of the restrictions found in the basic SAR 50 and SAR 100 memberships.
- Group SAR - Group SAR by GEOS comes in various options, such as; 6 Pack, 12 Pack and 24 Pack. Each Group SAR package offers up to $100,000 USD per year per incident for the number of individuals included in the purchased Group SAR pack.
There are some terms and limitations to the coverage, so I would recommend - whatever type of insurance you choose - you read the plan documentation on the insurer's website carefully.
Feel free to discuss SAR cards and SAR insurance in this thread!
Because SAR typically falls to local law enforcement, the more research I have done on the subject, the more it has become evident that oftentimes it is the county, not the state, that absorbs the costs of SAR missions. Sometimes these SAR missions are outsourced by county sheriff's offices to non-profit SAR organizations or teams. It's also becoming more evident that states, like Colorado, that offer SAR cards to help fund SAR missions, are in the minority.
As you can imagine, counties - especially those more rural counties where a lot of our backcountry in the U.S. is - are oftentimes not as well-funded as the states in which they reside. Because of this, I have started compiling a list of SAR resources by state, in case anyone wants to get involved with SAR as a volunteer, or in the case that anyone wants to provide donations directly to teams if SAR cards aren't available in your locality (whether they be monetary in nature, or in the form of gear that may help SAR teams in their local area). As I have been compiling this list, I've noticed that many SAR teams and organizations that once had websites now no longer have them. It doesn't cost a whole lot of money annually to keep a basic website up and running, so you can probably imagine the funding challenges these SAR teams and organizations face.
This compilation will be on-going, as it has proved to be a tedious and time consuming undertaking, but I think it is important to highlight the local resources that are operating out there every day to have OUR back when we venture off the beaten path. I give to the Colorado Search and Rescue Fund by purchasing the CORSAR card, but if there is not a similar fund in your state, please consider donating to the team or teams in your locality, as one day you may need their assistance or be out of your locality and require assistance from another team.
Many of their websites (especially those organizations that are non-profit, but run under the direction of the county sheriff's office) also have information on how to get involved as a volunteer, if that interests you or you have the skillset for the work.
Direct Links to U.S. SAR Resources by State (and link to SAR card, if available):
- Alabama
- <still looking for state-level SAR resource...>
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams
- Alabama Association of Rescue Squads
- Carbon Hill Volunteer Rescue Squad
- Central Alabama Search and Rescue
- Daphne Search and Rescue
- Eagle Search and Rescue
- HEMSI Search Dog Unit
- HEMSI High Angle Rough Terrain Team
- Huntsville Cave Rescue Unit
- Huntsville-Madison County Rescue Squad
- Lower Alabama Search and Rescue
- Montgomery County Search and Rescue
- North Alabama Search Dog Association
- North Chilton Fire Department Canine Search and Rescue
- Red Mountain Search Dog Association
- Search and Rescue K9s of Alabama
- Southwest Panhandle Search and Rescue
- Alaska
- Alaska Department of Public Safety, State Troopers - Search and Rescue
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- AK Dive Rescue Team
- Alaska Air National Guard
- Alaska Mountain Rescue Group
- Alaska Search and Rescue Association (ASARA)
- Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs (ASARD)
- Alaska Snowmachine Search and Rescue Recovery Team (ASSERT)
- Alaska Solstice Search Dogs
- Alaska Wilderness Search and Rescue
- Alaska Wing - Civil Air Patrol
- Anchorage Mountain Rescue Group (May now be Alaska Mountain Rescue Group?)
- Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol
- Anchorage Search Team
- Bethel Search and Rescue
- Cordova Volunteer Fire Department
- Emergency Operations Center / Rescue Coordination Center (RCC)
- Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department
- Juneau Mountain Rescue
- Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad
- Kodiak Island Search and Rescue (KISAR)
- MAT+SAR Alaska
- MAT+SAR K9
- North Slope Borough Search and Rescue
- Sitka Mountain Rescue
- Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search (SEADOGS)
- Arizona
- Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs
- Arizona Department of Public Safety, Arizona State Troopers
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Arizona Search and Rescue Coordinators Association
- Arizona Search Dogs
- Arizona Search Track and Rescue (AZSTAR)
- AZ Extreme Terrain Search and Rescue
- AZ Task Force One (AZ-TF1) Urban Search and Rescue
- Central Arizona Mountain Rescue Association
- Coconino County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
- Grand Canyon National Park Rescue Team
- La Paz County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Team
- Maricopa County Sheriff's Office "Posse"
- Maricopa K9 Search and Rescue
- Marine Corps Air Station Yuma
- Pinal County Sheriff Search and Rescue
- Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Southern Arizona Mounted Search and Rescue (SAMSAR)
- Southern Arizona Rescue Association
- Superstition Search and Rescue
- Tonto Rim Search and Rescue Squad
- Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Yuma County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Unit
- Arkansas
- Arkansas Department of Emergency Management - Search and Rescue
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- California
- California Governor's Office of Emergency Services - Search and Rescue Mutual Aid
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Colorado
- Colorado Department of Local Affairs - Search and Rescue Fund
- Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue Card (CORSAR Card)
- Colorado Search and Rescue Board
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue
- Alpine Rescue Team
- Douglas County Search and Rescue
- El Paso County Search and Rescue
- Larimer County Search and Rescue
- Mesa County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Control (SARC)
- Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
- Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado (SARDOC)
- Summit County Sheriff Search and Rescue
- Connecticut
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Deleware
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Florida
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Georgia
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Hawaii
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Idaho
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Illinois
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Indiana
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Iowa
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Kansas
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Kentucky
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Louisiana
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Maine
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Maryland
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Massachusetts
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Michigan
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Minnesota
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Mississippi
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Missouri
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Montana
- Montana Department of Transportation - Search and Rescue
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Absaroka Search Dogs
- Beaverhead Search and Rescue
- Big Sky Search and Rescue
- CAN-AM Lifeline Search and Rescue
- Carbon County Search and Rescue
- Cascade County Search and Rescue
- David Thompson Search and Rescue
- Elkhorn Search and Rescue
- Flathead County Search and Rescue / North Valley Rescue
- Gallatin County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
- Missoula County Search and Rescue
- Missoula County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Park County Search and Rescue
- Powell County Search and Rescue
- Ravalli County Search and Rescue
- Red Lodge Fire Rescue
- Ruby Valley Search and Rescue
- Sanders County Search and Rescue
- Stillwater County Search and Rescue
- Teton County Search and Rescue Team
- Toole County Search and Rescue
- True North Search Dogs
- Valley County Search and Rescue
- Western Montana Search Dogs
- Nebraska
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Nevada
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- New Hampshire
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- New Jersey
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- New Mexico
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- New York
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- North Carolina
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- North Dakota
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Ohio
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Oklahoma
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Oregon
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Pennsylvania
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Rhode Island
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- South Carolina
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- South Dakota
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Tennessee
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Texas
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Utah
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Vermont
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Virginia
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Washington
- State of Washington Search and Rescue Volunteer Advisory Council
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- West Virginia
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Wisconsin
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Wyoming
- Wyoming Office of Homeland Security - Search and Rescue
- SAR Organizations / Associations / Teams:
- Albany County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
- Capital City Canine Search and Rescue (CCCSAR)
- Converse County Search and Rescue
- Goshen County Search and Rescue
- Grand Teton National Park Rescue Team
- Great Basin K9 Search and Rescue
- Johnson County Search and Rescue
- Park County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue
- Star Valley Search and Rescue (SVSAR) Lincoln County Search and Rescue (LCSAR)
- Sublette County Tip Top Search and Rescue
- Sweetwater County Search and Rescue
- Teton County Search and Rescue
- Unita County Search and Rescue
- Wyoming K9 Search and Rescue
- Wyoming Mounted Search and Rescue
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