The quick answer is: the volunteers and the taxpayers of La Plata County. The volunteers are NOT compensated for their time. They donate their time, energy and personal equipment on incidents, with the hundreds of hours of training and preparing, and by taking off of work or from their family to risk their well-being for someone else’s.
La Plata County Search and Rescue (LPCSAR) is a non-profit, self-funded organization that performs search and rescue at the direction of the Sheriff. Butch Knowlton, a Lieutenant with the Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Manager has been delegated by the Sheriff to direct search and rescue operations for La Plata County.
By money in the County budget generated through taxes being dedicated to pay for outside expenses during searches. The Sheriff pays for the helicopter, the aircraft, the snowcat, the food and support for the volunteers and lost or broken equipment. The only money the Sheriff recovers is through the Colorado Outdoor Search and Rescue Fund (COSAR). The hiking cards, hunting licenses and off-highway vehicle registrations pay into a fund that reimburses the Sheriff for those extra costs IF the person or their family has paid into the fund.
You can purchase a “hiking card” at local outdoor stores. The CORSAR card is available for $3 for a one-year and $12 for five-year card and can be purchased at over 300 retailers in the state. You may also purchase a card on-line at https://dola.colorado.gov/sar/orderInstructions.jsf
This information has been provided by Jim Wotkyns of the Wells Group. For more tips visit jimwotkyns.com
