NH tougher than neighbors on negligent hikers

Print More

Though neighboring states are more lenient, tourism officials say New Hampshire’s latest effort to penalize unprepared hikers is unlikely to turn people away.

New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department now has the power to revoke the driver’s licenses of negligent hikers who don’t pay for the cost of their rescues.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife can recover costs related to search-and-rescue operations from the person who was rescued or from a person who knowingly provided false information that led to a search. Vermont doesn’t go after hikers for the cost of their rescues.

But a spokesman for the New Hampshire division of travel and tourism said the change in New Hampshire law won’t send hikers to other states.

Comments are closed.