Public Lands – Bill to improve SAR in National Parks

21. December 2025 · Write a comment · Categories: Around The Campfire, Public Lands


Much of Wyoming outside of Yellowstone and Grand Teton also struggles with emergency response time.
By Katie Klingsporn, WyoFile

Wyoming’s U.S. Sen. John Barrasso is pushing legislation to upgrade emergency communications in national parks — a step he says would improve responses in far-flung areas of parks like Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

“This bill improves the speed and accuracy of emergency responders in locating and assisting callers in need of emergency assistance,” Barrasso told members of the National Parks Subcommittee last week during a hearing on the bill. “These moments make a difference between visitors being able to receive quick care and continue their trip or facing more serious medical complications.”

The legislation directs the U.S. Department of the Interior to develop a plan to upgrade National Park Service 911 call centers with next-generation 911 technology.

Among other things, these upgrades would enable them to receive text messages, images and videos in addition to phone calls, enhancing their ability to respond to emergencies or rescues in the parks.

A rescue litter is delivered to Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers. A new report compiled by ranger George Montopoli and his daughter Michelle Montopoli show trends in search and rescue incidents in Grand Teton National Park. Photo: Courtesy of Grand Teton National Park

Each year, rangers and emergency services respond to a wide range of calls — from lost hikers to car accidents and grizzly maulings — in the Wyoming parks’ combined 2.5 million acres.

Outside park boundaries, the state’s emergency service providers also face steep challenges, namely achieving financial viability. Many patients, meantime, encounter a lack of uniformity and longer 911 response times in the state’s so-called frontier areas. 

Improving the availability of ground ambulance services to respond to 911 calls is a major priority in Wyoming’s recent application for federal Rural Health Transformation Project funds.

READ MORE

Public Lands – Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons (SAW) Act

21. December 2025 · Write a comment · Categories: Current Events, Public Lands

Bipartisan legislators in the House this week co-authored a bill to outlaw the intentional use of snowmobiles and other motorized vehicles to ram and crush coyotes, wolves, and other animals on federal land.

The Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons (SAW) Act would “close a glaring gap in federal wildlife protections,” according to the conservation group, Animal Wellness Action.

While several states prohibit hunting wildlife “from motor vehicles,” most states, not including Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado, do not explicitly outlaw ramming or running over animals with a motorized vehicle on federal land.

“At a time when the House is taking up problematic legislation to remove federal protections for gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act, it’s more important than ever to stand up for responsible stewardship of our public lands and wildlife,” said Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore. “This bipartisan legislation shows we can work through thoughtful policy debates on conservation and wildlife management without condoning cruel and dangerous practices that threaten animals and public safety.”

The bill was co-sponsored by Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.

saw_act_full_bill_text