In case you missed it, signs seem to point to the Colorado Search and Rescue Association (CSAR) no longer managing the state’s search and rescue effort after 53 years of taking on the role.

Per a March interagency agreement related to backcountry search and rescue that involved Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (CDHSEM), the responsibility of managing statewide search and rescue operations will now fall on Colorado Parks and Wildlife, who will contract out the task for what’s been described as a “structural change.” Per reporting from The Colorado Sun’s Jason Blevins, two companies applied for the role, but the Colorado Search and Rescue Association didn’t submit a proposal despite expectations that the volunteer-powered organization would.

With the state’s contract with Colorado Search and Rescue Association to manage these efforts set to expire in June 2026 and a new one-year management contract expected to start on August 1, questions remain about how the search and rescue program will be managed in the meantime. While the state is apparently seeking to extend the contract deadline with the Colorado Search and Rescue Association, “it does not appear the association is ready to operate under the new Colorado Parks and Wildlife management plan,” wrote Blevins.

Stay tuned as more developments in this situation are likely to become public in upcoming days. Per Blevins, Colorado Parks and Wildlife was expected to award one of the two applicants with the contract on June 9, though that date has come and gone without a public announcement.

Find a full report on this situation that’s much more in-depth than this brief overview from The Colorado Sun here.

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