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Beam Me Up Vermont

New emergency locator system is tested in Vermont before being rolled out to other states

WASHINGTON, DC -- Vermont has several distinguishing characteristics. Among them is the fact that, in 1995, it had nearly as many cows as people. But, what set it apart as the state in which to launch a new locator technology is its highly wooded and hilly terrain that attracts large numbers of skiers and hikers each year. At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., this week, a Vermont Boy Scout troop will be given the use of a Personal Locator Beacon and then go off to get "lost" in the woods of Vermont.

Personal Locator Beacons were approved for public use by the FCC beginning July 1. The devices emit a 406-MHz distress signal that is sent to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite and back to Mission Control where is forwarded to Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and on to the appropriate state authorities. The system uses SARMaster search and rescue software from EMS Technologies, Inc. and has been in use in Canada and in the U.S. military.

The Vermont troops will test the equipment in a joint exercise with AFRCC, the U.S. Mission Control Center, the Vermont State Search and Rescue Coordinator and the Vermont Civil Air Patrol. According to Lt. Col. Scott Morgan, AFRCC commander, Vermont was chosen because each year dozens of rescue missions are launched as tourists and residents are lost in the backcountry. "Vermont, being a very small state -- I think you could probably fit ten of them in Oregon - they are doing about 30 or more missing persons a year -- a lot of out-of-bounds skiers ... so they are real excited about this," Morgan said. "And in Oregon -- it's about 10 times larger - and they had about 300."

Morgan said the locators will begin to appear at retail outlets in the U.S. after July 1 and on the Internet. Currently, the price range is $750 to $1000. "We are expecting the price to go down. We have one of the most active user groups, I think, in the world. We expect a fair amount of these to be sold, and just like GPS when it first came out, it was well over a thousand and now you can buy them for $90," Morgan added.

The goal is to eventually provide the same service and technology nationwide. "We see it as a state responsibility," he said. "However we do have the role of providing oversight and program management so that's why we are setting up this system."

Because agencies responsible for search and rescue vary from one state to the next, Morgan added that implementation will be customized. "Each state is a little different and they respond differently. So, for the 48 states -- plus we're helping set up Alaska and the parks - we're looking at 60 systems out there and each of those will respond 60 different ways," he said.

The device is about the size of a large cell phone and is activated by the user in a crisis. Morgan said that the location may be overlaid on local GIS maps to pinpoint a missing or injured person. Oregon will be next to roll out the system, followed by Washington State. According to Morgan, the program will be phased in state-by-state because each entity will have its own approach to implementing the system. "It will take about four years to get it all in place," Morgan estimated. The project is a partnership between AFRCC and NOAH with memoranda of agreement with participating states.