A reminder from our local trail advocacy and bike community builders at PORCA: BC is home to an extensive network of trails and recreation sites outside of the provincial park system. These sites are managed by Recreation Sites and Trails BC in partnership with hundreds of community groups, First Nations and local governments. Right now these outdoor areas need your voice. Write to your MLA to show your support for a $4 million funding increase to give them the attention they deserve: https://www.orcbc.ca/support-rstbc/

We’re all aware of how much demand COVID-19 closures and restrictions put on local parks, trails and campgrounds last summer.

That situation is only going to grow unless some actual resources are deployed to assist.

The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC is advocating for a $4 million boost to the Recreation Site and Trails BC’s annual $12.5 million budget.

ORCBC writes:

This cherished recreation system has been broken for quite some time now. Decades of chronic underfunding have left us with overburdened trail networks, recreation sites that have fallen into disrepair, cultural and environmental damage, a huge backlog of deferred maintenance, too few staff, and volunteer groups who are burnt out by the sheer volume of work and a lack of support. 

Join us right now in asking the BC Government for a modest $4 million boost in RSTBC’s annual operating budget to $12.5 million in the coming budget to help RSTBC keep up with the continued growth in outdoor recreation in the new post-pandemic ‘normal’.

You can link to their site to send a letter to your email through their system, or take a minute to craft and email your own, to jordan.sturdy.MLA@leg.bc.ca (via https://www.leg.bc.ca/learn-about-us/members/42nd-Parliament/87)

The Premier has been written to, Feb 12, in a letter signed by 25 organizations representing more than 2,000 organizations and businesses in BC. Add your name to the wave of support. The letter clarified that in the Sea-to-Sky Corridor, trail use increased between 40-142% from summer 2019 to summer 2020, with even more dramatic increases in individual months or on specific weekends.