The Trail of the Okanagans Society met with officials from Recreation Sites and Trails BC (RSTBC)  and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen along with MLA Roly Russell and Osoyoos Councillor Myers Bennett last week as part of the Union of BC Municipalities conference.  The topic was the potential for a 6.5 km section of the existing KVR rail bed on the western side of Vaseux Lake to be converted to a multi-use trail.  This section would deliver a key part of a 270 km multi-use trail envisioned by the Trail of the Okanagans to connect all communities between Sicamous and Osoyoos.  A 2019 environmental review of the area commissioned by RSTBC  determined that the existing rail bed adjacent to Vaseux Lake can be used for that purpose as long as the habitat on either side of the trail is protected with mitigation efforts identified in the report.  The attendees committed to work together to determine a path forward to prepare a Park Plan that will detail the construction work, mitigation measures and consultation required with follow up meetings set for later this fall.  Janice Liebe, President of the Trail of the Okanagans Society noted “This is a very exciting development and one that has been a long time in the making.  It has taken considerable effort on the part of government and volunteer groups over the last decade to get to this point.  Everyone at the meeting was onboard and excited to see this initiative move forward to the next stage.”