AUTHORS: Ethan Collins '18, Environmental Studies; Peter Pettengil, Environmental Studies; Carol Cady*, GIS Program – St. Lawrence University
ABSTRACT: The Adirondack State Park is an extensive park within New York State that is utilized for a range of recreational activities including, but not limited to, hiking, paddling, hunting, fishing, climbing, and skiing. Numerous opportunities for outdoor activities also creates the potential for parties to become overwhelmed due to injury or illness and require a search and rescue (SAR). Reports of SAR incidents from 2015 and 2016 within the Adirondack Park were obtained and analyzed. There were 528 SAR operations involving 639 victims with 350 searches (54.86%), 268 rescues (42.01%), 18 recoveries (2.82%), and one prison escape involving 2 fugitives (0.31%). Geospatial analysis of the data was conducted to determine areas of high SAR occurrence and seasonal locations of SAR incidents. A model was constructed to analyze SAR incidents involving lost individuals in order to determine the average distance travelled from requesting a SAR to their found location. Finally, weighted raster analysis was utilized to determine areas in the ADK that are the most isolated from rescuers and medical care. Recent concerns have been voiced as the number of SAR incidents continue to grow with stagnant or decreasing numbers of responding personnel. Through geospatial analysis of SAR incidents, future management methods can be tailored to reduce the number of SAR incidents, improve victim outcomes, and reduce rescuer hazard.
