About Share the Trails

Hosted by Horse Council BC in cooperation with the Outdoor Recreation Council (ORC), this forum meets the strategic goals of HCBC by building partnerships and improving government relations with the equine industry. It continues the dialogue started in 2011 during the BC Equestrian Trails Roundtable held in Kelowna, where there was a focus on building bridges between outdoor recreation groups with shared interests and learning how to represent the interests of the outdoor recreation community to government, industry and to the public. At each workshop, there has been a clear message that in order to be able to work collaboratively with all orders of government, First Nations, and private land owners, all trail user groups must work together when advocating for new trails or improvements to existing trails.

Share the Trails Workshop – May 12, 2017 Penticton, BC

The purpose of this year’s workshop was to bring together diverse users of rail trails in the South Okanagan to share their needs, learn about the views of other users, and explore options for more effective use of these trails.

Participants included government land managers, trail riders, cyclists, First Nations stewards, motorized vehicle users and hikers; after a welcome from Stilyx Elder Ms June Paul, the workshop heard from speakers:

  • Mike Overend, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association
  • Justin Shuttleworth, Regional District Okanagan Similkameen
  • James Pepper, Penticton Indian Band
  • Phillip Young, Summerland ATV Club
  • Ciel Sander, Trails BC
  • Terre O’Brennan, Horse Council BC
  • Tennessee Trent, Rec Sites and Trails BC

We were also fortunate to have the input of trail stewards off-site via video: Thanks to our interviewees – Chris Moslin of the Grand Forks Community Trails Society, Mike Nelson of Squamish Off-Road Cycling Association and Randy Ellenchuck of Tabor Mountain Recreation Society. Click here to view Chris’ interview, here for Mike’s and here for Randy’s.

After a day of discovery, finding commonalities as well as areas where conflicts may occur, a steering committee, comprised of attendees, has been formed that will in turn help guide local multi-user committees to a more effective model of trail sharing.

Many thanks to our sponsor Backroad Mapbooks for the terrific door prize and stuff bags, and congratulations to Bryn White on winning a basket full of BRMB folding maps, mapbooks and a provincial GPS CD.