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Park seeks funds for rescue tools

Photo courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Much of the 60,000 acre Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is remote, requiring special rescue equipment when someone gets lost or injured there. Local non-profit Friends of the Porkies aims to help with new rescue equipment purchased with donations.

HOUGHTON – The Friends of the Porkies is looking for donations to purchase emergency rescue equipment for the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and surrounding area.

Through its Rescue Me! campaign, the non-profit group seeks $27,000 to help the park staff provide better year-round emergency rescue services in the environs of the 60,000-acre park.

The Friends would like to buy a tracked utility vehicle, or side-by-side, with removable snow tracks to cover as much ground as possible at the park, much of which isn’t accessible by any vehicles. However, getting as close as possible to a rescue site with a side-by-side would shave critical hours off the time it takes to get someone out of the woods and on to medical care, when necessary.

“Even if we can cut off a few miles, we can save several hours,” said Park Interpreter Bob Wild. “These are very difficult situations. It’s very strenuous.”

For the more common, very remote locations, search and rescue rely on a 20-year-old wheeled litter, which will also be replaced if enough funds are raised.

“It’s basically a backboard with a wheel that we can carry people out of the woods with,” Wild said. “Most of our extractions are done by hand. We’re very appreciative of the Friends of the Porkies. They do a lot of hard work.”

Visit Friends of the Porkies on Facebook for more information.

“Last November, to kick off the Rescue Me! campaign, the Friends purchased a rescue tent with a heater for the park,” the group’s Facebook page says. “To raise the funds to purchase the rescue equipment, the Friends need the support of the local communities and visitors to the area. You can support this effort by donating today and sharing this site with your friends who ski, snowmobile, fish, hike, camp or anybody who enjoys getting outdoors.”

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