Aside from its utility to receive weather forecasts, would my marine radio serve as a communication device, for rescue purposes, while on inland waterways? Would some (?park rangers, ?Fish and Game) be monitoring a certain channel on a regular basis?

Gary

You may want to call the various state departments and ask that question. Fish and Game, USFS, Marine Patrol (NH), etc. and see what they say. Regardless of the answers, you can expect that the VHF will have very limited utility as the terrain around inland waters tends to be irregular and unfriendly to line-of-sight VHF radio. Some campgrounds and marinas do monitor certain channels so it's worth asking locally or when launching from such a facility. For example, the campground on Richardson Lake in ME does monitor VHF.

I know mine was of no use last year when I really (dislocated knee, not mine thankfully) wanted it to work up in the Jackman Maine area but worked very well at the Flume the year before.

Bob L