Search & Rescue

Volunteers

The Act recognizes the value of volunteer citizens who freely give their time and dedication to help save lives in our forests, deserts, and wilderness areas. There are over 30 certified volunteer search and rescue Field Coordinators. Once activated, the volunteer Coordinator has the authority and responsibility to manage any search and rescue mission. They can activate resources such as Federal, State, Local, or other volunteers that may be able to aid in the search and rescue mission.

To become a certified Search and Rescue Coordinator, the applicants must be 21 years of age, they must possess a strong background in search and rescue, and they must have experience in the outdoors and the management of people. The applicant must complete a 40-hour search and rescue management course, sponsored by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, and serve as a trainee coordinator on a minimum of five missions before becoming a fully certified search and rescue Incident Commander. Each volunteer Coordinator is expected to respond to at least 1/3 of the missions that they are called to participate in.

Along with the Field Coordinators, the state also certifies volunteers as SAR section chiefs to work with the Field Coordinators during the operation of SAR incidents.

The bulk of the SAR personnel that perform duties on SAR missions are also volunteers that offer their time and skills in completing the SAR incident objects. Most are members of the 40+ volunteer search and rescue organizations in New Mexico and surrounding states. Many of these teams specialize in areas such as man tracking, high angle technical rescue, cave rescue, water recovery, missing aircraft, dog search teams, horse search teams, and 4WD search teams.

Below is a list of organizations that have achieved State Recognition as a SAR resource:

(* denotes a volunteer group)