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1 1 (January 19, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefdn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Cogresoa Reeac Servic Federal Land Management Agencies: Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations Each year, thousands of visitors to federal lands require the assistance of search and rescue (SAR) services. SAR operations take place in a wide range of environments and conditions and can include brief searches of buildings, medical assistance on trails, or more significant multiday aviation and maritime rescue efforts. This CRS product provides an overview of SAR operations and policies across the four federal land management agencies: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), all within the Department of the Interior (DOI), and the Forest Service (FS), within the Department of Agriculture (USDA). What Is Search and Rescue? According to the National Search and Rescue Plan of the United States (NSARP), SAR consists of operations provided to assist persons and property in potential or actual distress in a non-hostile environment. The NSARP is a voluntary agreement among several federal agencies, including DOI (although not USDA) that provides a uniform policy and guidelines for SAR services. The NSARP specifies that SAR services include distress monitoring, communication, coordination and SAR functions, including provision of medical advice, initial medical assistance, or medical evacuation, through the use of public and private resources including cooperating aircraft, vessels and other craft and installations. SAR Activities by Agency SAR operations vary across agencies, regions, and individual federal land units. Each federal land management agency has general authority to conduct SAR activities on federal lands under a variety of statutes; however, the authority is discretionary. For example, FS has authority to incur necessary expenses in SAR operations, but this authority does not require FS to provide such services (16 U.S.C. §575). Similar authorities apply to DOI agencies (43 U.S.C. §1742). Due to a number of factors, the degree to which agencies conduct SAR activities varies. Some federal lands may not see enough visitation or demand for SAR services to require a fully staffed and trained SAR team. In other instances, agencies view SAR operations as the responsibility of local authorities or entities. As a result, depending on where an incident takes place, SAR responses by federal land management agencies range from support of local law enforcement authorities and volunteer groups to primary SAR coordination and operations. SAR Response on FS, BLM, and FWS Lands On FS, BLM, and FWS lands, the responsibility for SAR response efforts generally lies with the local law enforcement authority in the county where such lands are located. (For agency lands in Alaska, which has no S January 19, 2022 counties, Alaska State Police is the authority responsible for SAR activities.) According to these agencies, SAR responses on their lands are typically led by the applicable nonfederal authority that has adequate SAR resources and with whom the agency has a standing agreement or relationship. Agencies may occasionally take a lead role in SAR emergencies if an immediate and quick response will reduce suffering or save lives; however, once designated local authorities are available, the agency assumes a supportive role to provide assistance where requested. BLM, FS, and FWS also may serve as the primary SAR responder in certain scenarios. Typically, these are small- scale or minor SAR incidents where agency personnel can respond without outside assistance or incidents that do not require substantial resources to conduct. SAR Response on NPS Lands NPS is the lone DOI agency that generally serves as the primary responder to SAR incidents on its lands. NPS management policies direct the agency to make reasonable efforts to search for lost persons and rescue sick, injured, or stranded persons (NPS, Management Policies 2006, §8.2.5.3). Agency policy also allows for qualified SAR organizations or authorized local authorities to conduct or assist with SAR efforts pursuant to a formal agreement; however, local authorities are typically not the lead entity in such scenarios. SAR Data Tracking There is no comprehensive source of SAR data across federal land management agencies. Some agencies track SAR data on an annual basis, whereas others do not. For example, since FS is not the entity primarily responsible for SAR operations on National Forest System lands, the agency does not track annual SAR data. For DOI agencies, data are more readily available. DOI's Office of Law Enforcement and Security oversees implementation of the Incident Management Analysis and Reporting System (IMARS), which tracks law enforcement incidents across DOI agencies, including those requiring SAR services. However, use of the IMARS system is not mandatory and agencies have not used the system consistently since its introduction. For example, FWS uses its own Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS) to track SAR incidents. As a result, data on SAR incidents across DOI agencies are not contained in a single system. In addition, in 2018, NPS established a new system of record for reporting SAR incidents. According to the agency, that system has not reached 100% reporting compliance, which may account for the apparent decrease ittps://Crsreports.congress.gt

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