Shuswap Trail Alliance has had 7 years of success in promoting, planning, developing, and maintaining trails (link).   We have often remarked that this kind of initiative should also be seen in the Kamloops area.   The first steps toward this goal were started this week.   A group met to start the first steps.   The initial group included the City of Kamloops, Kamloops Indian Band, BC Parks, Recreation Sites and Trails B.C., Tourism Kamloops, Venture Kamloops, Kamloops Outdoors Club, Kamloops Hiking Club, and Kamloops Naturalists Club.

After much discussion, two steps were agreed to.

• Formation of a new Society with the founding members coming from the first group.
• Agreement to host a General Meeting in the Spring

A committee was struck to begin the incorporation process, to develop an invitation list for the general meeting, to start some core planning, and to begin discussion of goals and foundation statements for the Society.   A consensus approach has been adopted and draft documents are already being circulated.

Preliminary statements of purpose shed some light on the direction to be taken:

1. To promote, support, upgrade, and build self-propelled*/non-motorized trails within the Kamloops Thompson area.  * Self-propelled includes walking, hiking, mountain biking, canoe and kayak,  skiing, snowshoeing and equestrian travel.
2. To build an alliance of partner stakeholders committed to sustainable development of trail and waterway routes in the Kamloops Thompson area.
3. To model and promote ecological integrity and environmental stewardship as a guiding principle throughout the system.

A key concept in the alliance is to consult all stakeholder parties, including motorized recreational users, landowners, lease holders, agencies, and partners.    This is an idea whose time is overdue.   If you want to get involved, please contact one of the partner groups, or the owner of this website.