If I say the word 'Colorado' to you, what's the first thing you think of? For me, as a person who's never actually lived there, I automatically think of outdoor recreation. Now, I realize that my experiences are my own, but so far, I have yet to meet a person who tells me they're from Colorado who doesn't love to get outside and do at least one (probably more) type of outdoor recreational activity.
It seems to be a major draw for the state, you know? And for good reason; there's a lot of natural beauty to take in. It's also totally unsurprising that it's a state where, if you go to Colorado Parks and Wildlife to obtain your outdoor recreational licenses for your favorite activities, there's a small surcharge added on to support the Colorado Backcountry Search and Rescue Program (BSAR).
Why do I call it "a small surcharge?" Because that's exactly what it is.
In fact, up until about a week ago at the time of writing, that fee was set at a bank-breaking (she said, sarcastically) US $0.25. I made sure to type out the zero in that figure just to highlight that it was, in fact, a full 25 cents. In other words, a quarter, if you still carry US coins around in your pocket. Is there anything you can realistically expect to get for a quarter anymore? Certainly not a full search and rescue team coming out to look for you if you're out recreating in the wilderness and something goes wrong.
But as of November 13, 2025, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced that the fee, which had in fact not changed at all since 1987, has now been raised. How much did it go up? Here at the end of 2025, it's now a full $1.25. Not one hundred and twenty-five, a dollar and twenty-five cents.
Listen, bus fare in Chicago isn't even $1.25 anymore, and I doubt it's that cheap in a lot of other places, either. And yet, despite just how minimal the actual amount in question is, local news outlet the Denver Gazette chose to go with "Colorado's 'Backcountry Search and Rescue' Fee just increased by 400%" as its news headline.
That might be mathematically accurate, but please excuse me while I scream into a small pillow, because that's a great example of exactly how to mislead and misrepresent something with statistics in a purposely alarming, ragebaity headline. And yes, I know this is the Internet, and that everyone who writes pieces that appear on the Internet has to consider headlines that will best get folks to click into and engage with their pieces. Believe me, I've been doing this for a few minutes now, and frustrating though it might be, I'm aware. And I have fairly realistic expectations.
But I just want to take a minute to think about two things. One is, the Colorado Backcountry Search and Rescue Program is comprised entirely of volunteer organizations who aren't doing what they do for fame or glory, but because they genuinely want to go out and help people who need it. These volunteer responders are ready to go several extra miles to help look out for all the people who love recreating in the Colorado wilderness, and they both need and deserve your support, well above and beyond the $0.25 or $1.25 that have been appended to your snowmobile or hunting license that you've bought in the state for years.
And two is that, if you're reading this, you're doing more than a lot of folks who will just see an alarming headline like 'Colorado's 'Backcountry Search and Rescue' fee just increased by 400%,' grumble and exclaim about how these ridiculous fees are out of control, and then maybe yell about it at a passing cloud, or out their window, or both.
While it's true that the actual article on the Denver Gazette's website goes into the actual math and accurately describes the fact that the fee literally hasn't changed in decades, anyone who's been on the Internet for more than a minute knows that there are folks who read pieces, and folks who only read headlines. And that's exactly how both outrage and misinformation spread; two things we could use so much less of these days, I think you'll agree.
Lots of things cost too much in 2025, it's true. But I hardly think that a paltry $1.25 fee added to your snowmobile license in the event that someone needs Search and Rescue is one of them.
If there's one thing I hope you'll take away from this, it's that if you see a headline that's so obviously screaming for attention as this, you'll look into it more deeply and see what's really going on behind that headline. Is it accurate? And if it is technically accurate, as this one is, is it misusing statistics to present an overblown and hyperbolic picture of what the actual piece of underlying news is?
You got me; this post is all a covert plot, paid for by Big Critical Thinking Skills. Use 'em or lose 'em!
