The Albuquerque Journal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you're ever lost in a New Mexico snowstorm and rescued in the nick of time, thank the volunteers.

Because the state didn't give them a carabiner, much less a rope to run through it.

New Mexico routinely emphasizes outdoor recreation to tourists and locals alike. It has a 30-year-old streamlined Search and Rescue Plan, which puts State Police in charge of rescue missions and deputizes volunteers. It has rugged terrain that routinely "eats" people, necessitating around 150 rescue operations a year.

And it has search and rescue groups so dedicated they are willing to pay their own way for training to join the best-prepared and most technically capable rescuers in the country.

They have to. Because state government won't even reimburse them when their equipment is lost or damaged. First aid kit fall down a canyon? Looks like it's car wash/bake sale/raffle ticket time again. Or dig into your own pocket.

While Colorado funds its search-and-rescue groups with a surcharge on recreational licenses and sale of a search-and-rescue card, in New Mexico "we scramble to try to find a radio here and a litter there," says Justin Nyberg, a member of Atalaya Search and Rescue in Santa Fe. Gary Williams, who helped write the search and rescue plan, says efforts at getting state funding have never gone anywhere - despite the state being flush with new cash fueled by oil prices.

The efforts need to get off the ground. The search and rescue folks have enough to cover already.

Copyright 2008 Albuquerque Journal