Colorado May Significantly Raise the Price of Backcountry Search and Rescues, Good

The state of Colorado is considering raising the surcharge on all fishing, hunting, and OHV registrations to cover increasing backcountry Search and Rescue costs.

By: Jonathon Klein

Aug 18, 2025 at 8:31am ET

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The backcountry is a formidable, harsh place that doesn't give any real second chances. If things go wrong, they tend to go wrong in big ways. And it pays no mind to fools and those experienced alike. Its nature, and nature doesn't care about who you are or what you've done. It just is.

And while it's awesome to have the best gear, or access to the outside world via a satellite communicator like my always with me Garmin inReach, you still have to get out of the precarious situation, one that's likely life-threatening, still. In that situation, you're pressing the SOS button and hoping that the outside world will not only be able to save you, but also find you fairly quickly.

That requires trained, professional guides and Search and Rescue. But that rapid response costs a ton of money. Not just to compensate the folks involved, but gas for trucks or side-by-sides, and also helicopters and more. And Colorado, one of the biggest outdoor communities in the nation, wants folks who recreate on public lands to chip in a little more to help cover those situations.

How much more? Try a 400% hike in the current surcharge. But that's the clickbait figure, as it's only proposed to go up from $0.25 to $1.25. So a dollar a year extra. Yeah, I'd pay that.

According to Snowbrains, a site devoted to snowboarding and skiing, the new proposal is set to help SAR fund their operations due to an increase in their services being needed—i.e. more folks are going out into the woods, backcountry hunting and hiking and camping, snowmobiling, and more, and getting stuck or hurt to the point where they need rescuing.

The outlet states, "Currently, a $0.25 surcharge is assessed on the majority of wildlife licenses and registrations, such as vessel, snowmobile, and off-highway vehicle permits. This fee helps reimburse the approximately 2,500 active BSAR volunteers who selflessly spend an estimated $5 million annually of their own money on training and equipment to carry out rescues free of charge in Colorado’s backcountry."

At present, the fund is only generating about $500,000 of that $5 million in expenses, and this single dollar increase would go a long way to assisting in ensuring the calls get answered and those Search and Rescue members get reimbursed for at least some of their time and everything that goes into helping save your life. Basically, they just want it sustainable, and I'm in complete agreement with that sentiment.

What do you think?

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The public can comment on the proposal between August and November during Colorado Parks and Wildlife commission meetings that regularly occur, with the final decision set to be implemented in January of next year. And, hopefully, it passes as with more and more folks enjoying our public lands, but maybe not having the same presence of mind as those who've enjoyed them for decades, or even the old hats who just get themselves into trouble because they stopped thinking for a second, we need Search and Rescue to be ready to find and save our asses.

Ask me how I know SAR is important to your safety. Go on, ask.