Bill 'em; Negligent hikers should pay for rescues.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

It has been a busy, perilous, pricey winter for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, which oversees rescue efforts in the White Mountains region.

The number of rescues has risen from 134 in 2004 to 155 last year. By mid-February this year, about a dozen mountain rescues had to be conducted.

In the four previous years the state spent an eye-popping $1 million-plus and 14,900 hours to save 725 people, state fish and game department officials said. In fiscal 2007, the Boston Globe reported recently, the state for the first time suffered a deficit in its search and rescue account.

State officials and others familiar with the sport of winter hiking and said the increase in rescue calls is due, in part, to an increase in the number of beginner "adventurers." Apparently, observers say, new gadgets such as cell phones and GPS devices give them the false confidence that leads them into trouble.

Rescuers are feeling the pinch. The Mountain Rescue Service, which has aided about 450 people over the past couple of decades, is seeking donations to boost its finances. The fish and game department has received $23,780 from 15 individuals or groups rescued in the last 10 years - but less than half the cost to the state.

Clearly, a tougher deterrent is needed, and a "negligent hiker" bill before the New Hampshire Legislature is a proper first step. While accidents can happen to even the most-experienced, best-prepared hikers, many of the costly rescues involve hikers who head into the often-treacherous N.H. mountains without the proper gear, clothing, survival skills or even an understanding of the extreme weather that suddenly can hit the mountains.

You can't legislate common sense, but the state can and should bill hikers for the public cost of their negligence - and put all self-styled adventurers on notice that taxpayers won't pick up the bill for their folly.