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New Hampshire fines Eagle Scout $25,000 for Rescue Services

$25,000 charge for Rescue Services is rescinded
Teen off the hook for $25k rescue bill
By David Brooks
Saturday, April 10, 2010

CONCORD – New Hampshire has decided not to go ahead with a controversial attempt to charge a Massachusetts teen $25,000 to cover costs for a search and rescue in the White Mountains last year that involved a helicopter.

New Hampshire Fish and Game said it has “decided not to pursue collecting the reimbursement because of (Scott) Mason’s personal circumstances and conditions at this time. The department reserved the right to bring action in the future, however.”

Mason, an Eagle Scout who as 17 at the time, spent three nights alone on Mount Washington last April after he sprained an ankle and turned off marked trails while hiking alone.

The search included a helicopter, but rescuers on the ground ended up spotting the teen and leading him to safety.

Mason’s lawyer, Pamela Kogut, said her client and his family were grateful to New Hampshire rescuers and appreciative of the decision to drop the fine. Mason is now 18 and a senior in high school.

“We have long maintained that Scott took his responsibility as a safe hiker very seriously, and that he was not negligent,” she said. “We also believe that for a young man and a hardworking middle-class family, assessment of more than $25,000 was not warranted.”

The fine was the largest of its kind ever imposed in New Hampshire, one of eight states with laws allowing billing for rescue costs.

Three states besides New Hampshire – Hawaii, Oregon and Maine – have laws allowing agencies to bill for rescues, but only Maine has attempted to recoup money a handful of times and the bills were never paid, according to an Associated Press review last year. California, Vermont, Colorado and Idaho have laws allowing state agencies to bill in limited circumstances, but the laws are rarely enforced.

National search-and-rescue organizations dislike the laws. They worry the possibility of big bills could cause hikers to delay calling for help, putting them and rescuers at greater risk.

State authorities praised Mason’s skills when he was lost – which included sleeping in a boulder crevice and starting fires with hand sanitizer – but said Mason wasn’t prepared for the conditions.

Three months later, the state presented him with the bill, which produced a long and heated debate about the need and propriety of charging people for rescue.

At the time, the news caused a firestorm of attention, with hundreds of Web sites, blogs and ABC News picking up the story. A scoutmaster from Maryland set up a Facebook page in Mason’s name to raise money. Despite some fallout, several state officials interviewed stood by the law.

The charge came about partly because the traditional funding for search and rescue operations in the state – a $1 surcharge on off-highway recreational vehicles and boat registrations – was falling well short of costs.

Fish and Game Lt. Kevin Jordan said there was a lot of compromise on both sides. Mason’s family sent the state $1,000.

“We’ve reached what all of us believe is a reasonable conclusion that pursuing the reimbursement at this time would not be appropriate,” Jordan said.

In a letter sent April 8 to Mason’s legal counsel, New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney and New Hampshire Fish and Game Executive Director Glenn Normandeau wrote: “We hope that the publicity about his experience has served as an important teaching moment to others considering hiking in the White Mountains, so they might know that the dangers and risks of doing so should never be underestimated.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/699918-196/state-wont-charge-teen-25000-for-white.html

    WARNING - *DISCLAIMER!*
Mountain climbing has inherent dangers that can, only in part, be mitigated