Colorado Search and Rescue Association President Jeff Sparhawk has been hired as the agency’s first full-time executive director.

The new position is seen as an important step in CSAR’s efforts to design a more sustainable system for backcountry search and rescue in Colorado.

“In addition to our humanitarian services, we are part of Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy. Our communities and our recreation economy relies on backcountry search and rescue,” said Sparhawk in a news release. “It’s time for us to take a serious look at our current system and proactively evolve so we will be able to better adapt to the changing needs of Colorado.”

In 2019, CSAR, which is based in Denver, advocated for the passage of the Backcountry Search and Rescue bill (SB 21-245). It passed in June.

The bill is intended to aid search and rescue organizations in several ways, including providing funding for an injury training program for volunteer rescuers.

The bill also commissions a study by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to research options for improved worker’s compensation, long-term mental health benefits, reimbursements for volunteers’ for out-of-pocket expenses, and possibly retirement benefits.

The goal is to lessen the costs for communities supporting search and rescue operations by realizing economies of scale where possible, CSAR stated.

A full-time executive director is needed to move the mission forward so Colorado can continue to rely upon the low-cost volunteer model for backcountry search and rescue.

Local search and rescue teams are staffed by volunteers, who donate time for incidents and training, and pay for expenses out of pocket.

Keith Keesling, operations captain for Dolores County Search and Rescue, said the new bill and CSAR leadership is helpful.

He said rescue gear is provided for volunteers by the organization, but members typically buy $500 to $1,000 worth of gear themselves every year.

State and county search and rescue funds reimburse volunteers for fuel and broken gear, but not time. He said state SAR funding has largely covered operational costs, including helicopter rescues.

Paid compensation for members’ time has not been available.

Volunteers are often pulled away from jobs to rescue someone injured in the backcountry, Keesling said. For example, a recent successful rescue at El Diente Peak logged 84 hours of volunteer time.

State laws mandate that employers allow employees unpaid leave for rescues.

“They are not paid. Rescuers give up time at their paying jobs; you just have to hope you have a good boss,” Keesling said. “On top of that, I have to ask my team to take off work for training, which is hundreds of hours per year.”

It is a challenge to keep people in the field when a search and rescue operation lasts for days or weeks.

Support plans for team members vary county to county.

In Dolores County, search and rescue members become unpaid county employees when training or on a mission.

Rescuers’ injuries are covered under state workers’ compensation programs, Keesling said.

Other search and rescue organizations buy their own insurance.

Providing a retirement benefit for long-term search and rescue members should be looked into, Keesling said. That system is available for volunteer fire departments, but not search and rescue teams.

Stable funding for a daily stipend for on-the-job rescuers would help them cover out-of-pocket costs, he said.

“A statewide system that is viable and sustainable would go a long way for a dedicated group of people who are making sure people get out of the backcountry alive,” Keesling said. “Hiring a dedicated executive director is the right move and will help keep the issue on the forefront.”

Dolores County Search and Rescue, which has a volunteer team of eight to 10 members, responds to about 25 calls per year. It often teams up with Rico and West Fork fire departments.

Volunteers are needed. Training is available for mountain climbing and rope skills, but rescue teams also need shuttle crews, food and delivery equipment and grant writers.

Sparhawk brings a lot of experience to the post of CSAR’s executive director.

He has more than 30 years’ experience as a volunteer rescuer with Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, as a search dog handler with Front Range Rescue Dogs. He also has served on CSAR’s board for nearly eight years, the past four as president. He worked closely with Colorado state legislators to write and advocate for SB 21-245.

Sparhawk is an attorney with 12 years of private practice experience focused on nonprofit law, small-business transaction, trust and estate planning and entity formation.

“Jeff has dedicated significant personal time and energy to raising awareness of the new challenges our Colorado search and rescue teams are facing – from increased and more complicated calls for rescue to long term funding issues to healthcare and mental health support for search and rescue volunteers,” Dan Gibbs, executive director of Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said in the press release. “Jeff is the right person for the job as Colorado search and rescue teams rise to these new challenges and Coloradans are recreating in our outdoors – and getting lost or needing rescue assistance – in record numbers.”

jmimiaga@the-journal.com