{"id":111366,"date":"2015-07-01T16:29:31","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T22:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rescue-cards-for-backcountry-can-save-your-wallet\/"},"modified":"2015-07-01T16:29:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-01T22:29:31","slug":"rescue-cards-for-backcountry-can-save-your-wallet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/rescue-cards-for-backcountry-can-save-your-wallet\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescue cards for backcountry can save your wallet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Knowlton\"
Knowlton<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

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\u2019s wide variety of outdoor activities can support search-and-rescue missions by purchasing a Colorado Outdoor Recreation Search and Rescue card.<\/p>\n

Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County\u2019s 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 \u2013 forms of transport La Plata County Sheriff\u2019s Office has to rent.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times, we\u2019ve had to go out and rescue people in winter and lease snowcats to get back there and haul people out,\u201d Knowlton said. \u201cThe cards help us pay for the tractor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe card enables local officials and the Sheriff\u2019s Office to tap into statewide funds to help pay for search-and-rescue activities in their district,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, simply put: Let\u2019s say you ride a mountain bike. You\u2019re 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 \u2013 like if we had to hire someone with a medical helicopter and fly you back out to civilization \u2013 then, we can seek reimbursement from that fund for portions of that helicopter bill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Knowlton said the authorities won\u2019t search for cardholders more doggedly than non-cardholers, nor rescue non-cardholders with less enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot at all. We\u2019re obligated to conduct search-and-rescue missions whenever anybody goes missing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Last year, 1,236 search-and-rescue missions were conducted in Colorado, according to Department of Local Affairs. Knowlton said, \u201cThe cost of these missions are often in the thousands of dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cthe taxpayers of La Plata County are spared the financial burden of paying for rescue missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

cmcallister@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outdoor enthusiasts are encouraged to buy $3 item<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6363],"tags":[188,13,1807],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-111366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ds-news","tag-dolores-star","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-la-plata-county-search-and-rescue"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111366"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=111366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}