Colorado Parks and Wildlife is looking to squeeze more money out of hunters, anglers and off-highway-vehicle (OHV) users to fund search-and-rescue (SAR) activities, as a new surcharge has been proposed that targets these groups. Hunting and fishing licenses, as well as OHV registrations and permits, have long had a mandatory SAR fee attached to them, generating about $500,000 annually.

This new proposal requests a 400% increase over the current fee, and it is charged every time a unique hunting and fishing license or OHV registration or permit is purchased. Considering only about 15% of Americans aged 16 and older fish, and 6% hunt, a broader net needs to be cast. Mountain bikers, hikers, and climbers are not currently tapped, although a CORSAR card or Keep Colorado Wild pass may be voluntarily purchased, both of which help fund SAR activities.

Rescue missions have become more frequent, complex and costly; as climbers, hikers and even their dogs get stranded in situations that may be life-threatening. This uptick in calls can be partially blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic which pushed many “newbies” into the great outdoors, far away from crowded cities and metro areas. Popular outdoors social media sites are rife with posts from out-of-state visitors whose stated goal is to “bag” as many “fourteeners” as they can in the shortest time possible.

Solo climbers may start late in the day, without adequate water (or the other essentials), then get into trouble when thunderstorms roll in, trails peter out, or Fido gets pooped and says “no more.” With newer cell phones that can send satellite text messages, help is only a 911 call away, and it is about as easy as using a rideshare app — think “Uncompahgre Uber” or “Longs Peak Lyft.” Unfortunately, there are some outdoor enthusiasts who abuse the ready availability of SAR resources, due to their own carelessness or lack of planning.

Colorado is fortunate to have some of the best SAR teams in the world, coupled with the finest professional pilots, flying civilian and military rescue helicopters, who can pluck people from the riskiest predicaments imaginable. They respond to around 3,000 incidents annually with about 400,000 individual volunteer hours worked. Though many of these rescues are the stuff of legend, they come at a high cost.

SAR team members are all volunteers, with only the fittest and most dedicated candidates considered for membership. After extensive training, they may be called out for missions at any time — day or night, sometimes in the worst possible weather. They may encounter falling rocks, poor visibility and waist-deep snow fields, but they still press on with their mission to save a human or canine’s life. The equipment, fuel and vehicles to facilitate these rescues and recoveries all cost money, with a significant amount coming out of the volunteers’ own pockets — about $2,000 per year.

So how can things be made equitable for all outdoor recreation participants, so SAR teams are staffed and funded to respond appropriately? Nickel and diming those already paying and who have paid in the past is not the answer. Should Colorado start charging for rescues, as other states have done? The answer is “no” because this practice may discourage people from calling for help when they desperately need it.

The correct path is to charge everyone who may need the service, based on their risk profile. An annual “fourteeners license” should be created and made mandatory for those who climb Colorado’s 58 tallest peaks. For those who elect to stay at lower altitudes, an annual “recreationist license” would be required, and the fees collected would generate significant revenue for SAR coffers. This idea is not without precedent, as fees are charged to climb Mount Whitney in California, parts of the Appalachian Trail have user fees, and even Wyoming considered a trail-fee measure in the past.

What if you didn’t buy a license, but needed a rescue? You would still get one at no charge, along with a citation and a fine— similar to hunting or fishing without a license. This would incentivize people to participate and buy a license. Signage with QR codes at trailheads would make buying these licenses as easy as paying the user fees in our national forests.

No one should begrudge the funding of our SAR teams through licenses like this, especially those who may need to be snatched from the abyss someday. Gov. Jared Polis, here’s my money — I’ll take one of each, please!

Dr. John Michael Williams is a board-certified public health physician and retired Navy medical officer trained in wilderness and disaster medicine. As a Colorado native, he has spent considerable time in the backcountry while hunting, fishing, hiking, climbing and operating OHVs. He is also a retired reserve sheriff’s deputy who served with the El Paso and Teller County Sheriff’s Offices, while working closely with search-and-rescue agencies during wildfires, missing person searches, and other events in the greater Pikes Peak region.