Wyoming Lawmaker Seeks to Charge for Backcountry Rescue
By Rocky Thompson on November 30th, 2012Rep. Keith Ginger of Jackson, Wyoming is pursuing legislation that would allow the sheriff’s departments to bill people they rescue from the backcountry. He says that last year Teton County alone spent $14,000 for rescue of snowmobilers. The Wyoming Search and Rescue Council normally reimburses the sheriff dept for rescues, and that money comes from donations paid by hunters, anglers and snowmobilers. So should a legal solution to backcountry rescue be implanted, and if so, do they only charge people who required rescue because of poor planning, or do they charge people who needed rescue through no fault of their own? Depends on your view of the role of government, I suppose.
Tags: backcountry, legal, rescue