Help us show support for a BC Trail Fund
Zander strathearn photo
As someone who spends more time than most enjoying the outdoors, you know better than anyone else that BC's trails and recreation assets require ongoing maintenance and resources to keep them safe.
British Columbia has more than 44,000 kilometres of officially recognized trails that receive visits from millions of locals and visitors each year. The development and maintenance of these trails and the rest of our outdoor recreation infrastructure rely heavily on grassroots support from more than two hundred community-based recreation groups who report increasing burnout and face limited access to funding to support their work, especially for trail improvements.
The Trails Strategy for BC and recent user surveys have identified inconsistent and insufficient funding for the upkeep of BC's recreation infrastructure as a barrier to the sustainable development and maintenance of BC trails and to achieve the vision of a world-class trail system. These issues will continue to worsen especially with the growth in trail-based recreation and without improved access to dedicated financial resources that can address the current backlog of deferred maintenance and ongoing routine upkeep.
Nearly two years ago, we started working with the Provincial Trails Advisory Body to research how best to establish a reliable and diverse funding model to maintain the viability of BC trails. After exploring different models and reviewing what other jurisdictions are doing, we have come up with a model that we will proceed with.
The overarching objectives for the BC Trail Fund are to:
Maintain and enhance the existing recreational trail network.
Improve the quality of the existing recreational trail network or user experience, including safety improvements, signage, wayfinding, and barriers to access.
As funding permits, new trail and recreation infrastructure projects.
The fund will prioritize a number of criteria that ties in with the Trails Strategy for BC:
Indigenous support, involvement and respect for Indigenous values.
Collaboration in trail planning, development and maintenance.
Fostering diverse and inclusive participation in trail-based recreation.
Increasing opportunities for physical activities for all ability levels.
Sustainability and environmental stewardship.
Contribution to rural development and community-based tourism opportunities.
The fund will be managed by the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC (administration, grant dispersal, fundraising and promotion) in partnership with the Vancouver Foundation (fund management). A dedicated advisory committee will provide oversight and will review and recommend successful funding proposals to the ORCBC board of directors for final approval. Membership will include representatives from ORCBC, provincial and local governments, Indigenous organizations or governments, trail groups, tourism organizations and the outdoor sector at large.
This fund is intended for non-profit organizations, local governments and First Nations based in BC. Projects must be "publicly accessible," meaning a trail on public land or accessible to the public under reasonable conditions, and must be operated on a non-commercial basis. The landowner or land manager must authorize the proposed work.
We have created a proposal to the Province for an initial $10 million contribution, which will go into an endowment fund. Once the fund has been set up, we will solicit funds from corporations, individuals and foundations as part of an ongoing fund development program.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Before we present the proposal to the Province, we need to demonstrate that there's a need and broad interest in this fund from the recreation community, local governments, tourism associations, businesses and Indigenous Nations.
We hope that your organization or business is willing to send us a letter of support to include with the proposal.
Please send your letter to info@orcbc.ca by April 30, 2022 (DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED). You can find a template here.
