Support SAR Team in Great Smoky Mountains

Dear reader,

My name is Cody Watson, and I’m the Quartermaster for Team BUSAR, a search and rescue team operating within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains the most visited national park in the United States. With over 12 million visitors a year, the Park needs a highly trained, physically fit and dedicated team of rescuers to supplement park search and rescue operations.

BUSAR is composed of members with extensive backcountry and outdoor experience, as well as specialized professional expertise from the NPS, Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. We love the outdoors and we love the park…our mission has always been to support and assist with search and rescue operations within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since our founding in 2016, we have played a critical role in every major incident with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And our team has been recognized at the national level for our significant contributions to the National Park Service’s Search and Rescue program.

But we need your support. Your financial support enables BUSAR to:

Equip our team with the gear needed to respond quickly and safely in extreme conditions.

Train our rescuers to maintain peak readiness.

Pre-deploy team members in the Park on holidays and other busy days to expedite response time and provide vital resources when needed.

Expand preventative search and rescue programs to teach the community about outdoor safety and reduce preventable emergencies.

BUSAR embodies a spirit of service, sacrifice, and dedication to public safety. Your donation isn’t just funding equipment or training, it’s an investment in saving lives.

Our goal is to raise $15,000.00 US Dollars to help fund new cold weather jackets for our entire team. This item is essential to our pack-out capabilities when going into the backcountry during SAR operations in inclement weather. If you are unable to donate, we would truly appreciate sharing our message and goal!

Thank you to all, and get outdoors!