EDITORIAL · KETTLE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL · PRINCETON TO BROOKMERE

Tamara Davidson’s ministry will spend $20 million to dismantle the Kettle Valley Rail Trail at Princeton.

Sixty-seven kilometres of the Trans Canada Trail between Princeton and the Coquihalla Highway have been closed since the flood of November 2021. In February the Ministry of Environment and Parks said it would decommission the section for about $20 million, most of it federal disaster money, although its own engineers had priced restoring the flood damage at $37.1 million. The bulletin quotes no one, so the minister accountable for that ministry is named here: Tamara Davidson, who told the House that her duty is to administer the province’s recreation sites and trails. This is what is closed, what the money buys, what the closure is costing Princeton, Tulameen, Brookmere and Merritt, who lobbies the minister, and every office that has a say in what happens to the trail from here.

Backcountry Coalition ·

Backcountry Coalition is independent. This article is not authorized by any party or candidate.

Sixty-seven kilometres of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail between Princeton and the Coquihalla Highway have been closed since the atmospheric river of November 2021. On 6 February 2026 the Ministry of Environment and Parks announced that the whole section would be decommissioned, at an estimated cost of $20 million, with most of that paid by federal disaster funding.01 The bulletin quoted no minister. Neither did the revised plan the ministry published on 18 June, and we found no public statement on the trail issued in any minister’s name.0228 The minister accountable for that ministry is Tamara Davidson.33

This file sets out what is closed, what the Province’s own engineering report says it would cost to fix, what the closure is costing Princeton, Tulameen, Brookmere and Merritt, and every office that has a hand in what happens next. Where an office has said something in public, it is quoted. Where it has said nothing, the page says so and lists where we looked.

A section of the Trans Canada Trail is being taken out on the strength of two information bulletins that quote no one. The decision belongs to a ministry, and that ministry answers to Tamara Davidson.

Section 01Sixty-seven kilometres of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail have been closed since the 2021 flood, and the Province says most of it will not come back.

The trail was failing before the flood. In July 2020 the forests ministry closed trestle KV-061, about seven kilometres north of Tulameen, after an independent engineering firm found “broken and decaying support structures,” and said the trestle would be removed.04 Then, in November 2021, the atmospheric river took out trestles, retaining walls and culverts along the whole corridor. By May 2022 the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen was telling the public that the trail was “closed to all users between Tulameen and Princeton,” and closed again from the north end of Otter Lake to the Coquihalla Highway.05

A gravel rail trail runs straight onto a steel through-truss bridge with an arched portal, and beyond it the dark mouth of a rock tunnel, framed by yellow autumn aspens and a dry hillside.
The Kettle Valley Rail Trail at the Tulameen River bridge and tunnel near Princeton, photographed on 8 October 2010 by Kiwibirdman and shared on Wikimedia Commons under CC BY 3.0.31

The Province’s decision came four years and three months after the flood, in an information bulletin issued in the name of the ministry and nobody else.01

Exhibit 01Information Bulletin, Ministry of Environment and Parks, Princeton, Friday 6 February 2026, 9:45 AM · “Decommissioning damaged section of Kettle Valley Rail Trail near Princeton” · the bulletin in full, as servedGov release
The full text of the 6 February 2026 government information bulletin. The summary says a section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, closed since 2021 due to extensive damage caused by heavy rain and flooding, will be decommissioned starting in spring 2026; that repairing the damage and maintaining existing infrastructure along the 67-kilometre section between Princeton and the Coquihalla Highway would cost approximately 60 million dollars; and that an alternative route is available. The body says the section will soon be decommissioned to ensure public safety, describes trestles, retaining walls and major culverts compromised in November 2021 and the river now flowing where the trail once was, and says decommissioning will begin in spring 2026 and take two to three years. The bulletin goes on to describe the alternative route, the Province's spending on rail trails since 2017, the $20 million decommissioning estimate with most of the cost covered by federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements funding, and quick facts on the 475 km of rail trails managed by Recreation Sites and Trails BC.
“Will soon be decommissioned to ensure public safety.” Repair and maintenance: about $60 million. Decommissioning: two to three years, starting in spring 2026. Further down the same bulletin puts the cost of decommissioning at $20 million, “with most of the cost covered by federal funding through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program,” and describes the section as having had “relatively low use compared to other segments.” No minister is quoted anywhere in it.0132

Four and a half months later the ministry narrowed the plan. A second bulletin, on 18 June, said the Province had agreed to consider three of four repairs the regional district had asked for: the bridge west of Princeton, access to Parr Tunnel and access to Whitesands Beach. It made all three conditional on Ottawa approving a revised business case, and on the regional district agreeing to pay for their maintenance. Decommissioning would start that summer on 17 kilometres from near Coquihalla Lakes to near Brookmere, with the tender to be posted on BC Bid the following day.02

Exhibit 02Information Bulletin, Ministry of Environment and Parks, Princeton, Thursday 18 June 2026, 11:15 AM · “Decommissioning one section of damaged Kettle Valley Rail Trail” · the bulletin in full, as servedGov release
The full text of the 18 June 2026 government information bulletin. The Province says it is working with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, the town of Princeton and the Trans Canada Trail organization to explore targeted repairs; that the regional district asked for four high-priority segments and the Province agreed to consider three, the bridge west of Princeton and access to Parr Tunnel and Whitesands Beach; that final decisions depend on approval of B.C.'s revised business case for federal funding and confirmation that long-term maintenance costs will be covered by the regional district, with a board decision expected at the end of 2026; and that decommissioning along a 17-kilometre segment from near Coquihalla Lakes to near Brookmere will begin in summer 2026, take as long as a year, and be tendered on BC Bid on 19 June 2026. It goes on to list what the decommissioning will focus on, the 5.1 million dollar cost to repair the severely damaged section, the November 2021 damage, the 60 million and 20 million dollar estimates, and the Province's openness to Trans Canada Trail reroute proposals.
Three repairs “being considered,” each depending on “approval of B.C.’s revised business case for federal funding” and on the regional district covering long-term maintenance, with a board decision expected at the end of 2026. Meanwhile, 17 kilometres from near Coquihalla Lakes to near Brookmere go first. The same bulletin says the railbed “will not be removed entirely,” and puts the cost to repair “the severely damaged section” at $5.1 million, which is not among the sections being considered for repair. The bulletin does not say which section that figure belongs to.02

The closed section, Princeton to the Coquihalla, and what the June plan does to it

A schematic of the closed 67-kilometre section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, drawn as a line from Princeton in the south-east through Coalmont, Tulameen, Otter Lake and Brookmere to Brodie Siding near the Coquihalla Highway. The engineering report divides it into five drainage areas: Princeton to Coalmont, Coalmont to Tulameen, Otter, Spearing, and Brookmere to Coldwater. The three repairs the Province agreed in June 2026 to consider are all at the Princeton end. The 17 kilometres scheduled for decommissioning first run from near Coquihalla Lakes to near Brookmere, at the far end. Princeton, Coalmont and Tulameen are in Boundary-Similkameen; Brookmere and Merritt are in Fraser-Nicola. The drawing is not to scale. KETTLE VALLEY RAIL TRAIL · THE CLOSED SECTION Coquihalla Brookmere Tulameen Coalmont Princeton Otter 17 KM GO FIRST Three repairs considered bridge west of Princeton, Parr Tunnel, Whitesands FRASER-NICOLA Brookmere, Merritt BOUNDARY-SIMILKAMEEN Tulameen, Coalmont, Princeton Schematic, west at left. Not to scale.

The section runs about 67 km from Princeton to Brodie Siding near the Coquihalla Highway. The engineering report divides it into five drainage areas: Princeton–Coalmont, Coalmont–Tulameen, Otter, Spearing and Brookmere–Coldwater. Elections BC places Princeton, Coalmont and Tulameen in Boundary-Similkameen and Brookmere and Merritt in Fraser-Nicola; the point where the riding line crosses the trail is not marked here.020326

Section 02The Province’s own engineers priced restoring the flood damage at $37.1 million in December 2023, and the decision took two more years.

The figures in both bulletins rest on a report the ministry commissioned from McElhanney Ltd. after the flood. It is dated 12 December 2023, it was prepared for what was then the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy under the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements, and it is posted, with about sixty site reports, on the ministry’s own Kettle Valley page.03 Its engineers assessed 61 sites in the spring of 2023 and found 50 directly damaged by the flood. Its first table prices everything.

Exhibit 03McElhanney Ltd., Summary Report on Flood Damage to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, Sites #1 to 56, 12 December 2023, DFAA Event # OIC-241 · “DFAA Sites Cost Summary – Totals,” printed page iv in fullReport PDF
Printed page iv of the McElhanney report in full. A Class D cost estimate table from the McElhanney report, DFAA Sites Cost Summary Totals, by drainage area. Columns are response amounts, recovery amounts, DFAA-eligible deactivation costs, DFAA non-eligible deactivation costs, and non-eligible repairs. Recovery amounts: Princeton to Coalmont 12,909,364 dollars; Coalmont to Tulameen 5,402,339; Otter 2,398,051; Spearing 1,770,315; Brookmere to Coldwater 4,704,796. Totals including contingency and GST: response 2,457,819; recovery 37,107,341; eligible deactivation 10,384,921; non-eligible deactivation 4,015,078; non-eligible repairs 8,932,312. Notes say the estimate is in 2023 dollars. Below it, a second table gives non-eligible replacements of 4,199,368 dollars for bridge KV-060, capital replacement costs of 51,540,718 dollars, annualized operation and maintenance costs of 433,737 dollars as of 2026 and annualized backlog costs of 476,573 dollars, followed by the start of the required permitting list.
Recovery, which the report defines as “the estimated cost of restoring the KVRT to its pre-event condition and functionality”: $37,107,341. Deactivation, split between what may be eligible for federal disaster funding and what is not: $10,384,921 and $4,015,078. Repairs that were owed before the flood: $8,932,312. All in 2023 dollars, with contingency and GST.03

Two numbers on that page matter more than the rest. Restoring every flood-damaged site to the condition it was in before November 2021 was estimated at $37.1 million. The report puts a further $8.9 million on repairs that were already outstanding before the flood, and $4.2 million on bridge KV-060, which it says was “flagged for replacement prior to the November 2021 event.”03 Those three add to about $50 million, which is close to the figure Global News later reported for a rebuild.20 The same page carries annual maintenance of about $0.43 million and $51.5 million in capital replacement over 50 years; neither bulletin says which of these, if any, make up the remaining $10 million.03 The bulletins’ $60 million is described as covering repair and maintenance, and neither of them shows how the figure was put together.01

Restore it or remove it, by drainage area, in the report’s own figures

Paired bars for each of five drainage areas, in millions of 2023 dollars before contingency and tax. Princeton to Coalmont: restore 12.9, deactivate 3.4. Coalmont to Tulameen: restore 5.4, deactivate 0.5. Otter: restore 2.4, deactivate 5.3. Spearing: restore 1.8, deactivate 0.7. Brookmere to Coldwater: restore 4.7, deactivate 0.6. In Otter, removing the trail was estimated to cost more than restoring it. $ MILLIONS, 2023, BEFORE CONTINGENCY AND GST Restore to pre-flood Deactivate Princeton–Coalmont 12.9 3.4 Coalmont–Tulameen 5.4 0.5 Otter 2.4 5.3 Spearing 1.8 0.7 Brookmere–Coldwater 4.7 0.6 Bars drawn to one scale. Source: McElhanney, page iv.

Subtotals from the report’s cost summary, before the 30% contingency and GST: restore $27.18M in all, deactivate $10.55M. In Otter, deactivation was estimated at $5.34M against $2.40M to restore the flood damage, although Otter also carries most of the pre-flood repair backlog and the KV-060 bridge. The report’s own deactivation summary on page vii gives $1.17M rather than $0.60M for Brookmere–Coldwater; the chart uses page iv throughout.03

What “deactivation” means is written down too, and the standard it borrows comes from the forests ministry.03

Exhibit 04McElhanney Ltd., Summary Report on Flood Damage to the KVRT, 12 December 2023 · “KVRT Deactivation” and the deactivation cost summary, printed page vii in fullReport PDF
Printed page vii of the McElhanney report in full, opening with the two road re-routing options and their savings. Page vii of the McElhanney report. Under the heading KVRT Deactivation, it says deactivation of the KVRT from Princeton to Brodie Siding necessitates placing the trail in a self-maintaining state, as per the Ministry of Forests Engineering Manual; that where the costs to deactivate fall below the costs to repair a section, the deactivation costs may be eligible for DFAA funding; that a business case addressing Emergency Management and Climate Readiness requirements will need to be developed; and that where costs are not DFAA eligible, coverage may be available under the Ministry of Forests' liability programs. A table follows: deactivation costs by drainage area totalling 15,167,334 dollars including GST, and temporary construction access improvements totalling 5,416,320 dollars, in 2023 dollars.
A “self-maintaining state, as per the Ministry of Forests Engineering Manual.” Federal money follows only where it is cheaper to remove than to repair: “Where the costs to deactivate the trail falls below the costs to repair that particular section of trail, the deactivation costs may be eligible for DFAA funding.” Deactivation $15,167,334, plus $5,416,320 to build temporary access just to reach the infrastructure being removed: about $20.6 million, the nearest figure in the report to the $20 million in the bulletins.03

The body of the report spells out what that standard involves: removing every culvert, cutting cross-ditches, re-contouring slopes, and the “removal of all bridge structures and re-contouring of the channels.” It also warns that sending off-road vehicles around the damage on public roads “may not be possible” under the Motor Vehicle Act, and that “a solution which does not accommodate ORV’s may be unacceptable to the communities in the region.” Neither of the bulletins mentions the warning.030102

The report’s schedule assumed a decision quickly. Its repair timeline begins with “February 2024 – confirmation received that the KVRT is to be repaired,” and ends with the trail reopened in August 2028.03 The public heard nothing until February 2026. A user group that had been asking for the findings since 2022 says it was told in that time that “no decisions would be made until findings were complete and shared.”14

Where the money comes from. The bulletins say most of the $20 million is “covered by federal funding” under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements, and give no provincial figure.01 The engineering report is more specific: federal money pays for deactivation only where it is cheaper than repair, and on that test it puts $4.0 million of the deactivation, all of it in the Otter drainage, outside federal eligibility, to be covered if at all by “MoF’s liability programs.”03 For scale, Davidson told the House in April 2025 that the government had “invested over $45 million in expanding campgrounds,” and that Recreation Sites and Trails, which runs this trail, had “$3.34 million in maintenance.”35

Our view. The trail should be restored. On the Province’s own engineering, putting every flood-damaged site back would cost $37.1 million, which is $16.5 million more than the $20.6 million it would take to build access and take the bridges and culverts out, and in the Otter drainage removal costs more than repair. For that difference, Princeton, Coalmont, Tulameen and Brookmere keep a continuous section of the Trans Canada Trail, the winter access route the Merritt Snowmobile Club calls one of the only manageable ones, and the trail Brookmere has evacuated along three times, as section 03 sets out. The report puts routine upkeep after restoration at about $0.43 million a year, plus about $0.48 million a year for fifteen years to clear the repairs that were already owed before the flood.031316

The record, in order

  1. 24 Jul 2020

    Trestle KV-061, north of Tulameen, is declared unsafe and closed, to be removed.04

  2. Nov 2021

    The atmospheric river damages 50 sites on the 67-kilometre section.03

  3. 20 May 2022

    The regional district posts the trail closed from Tulameen to Princeton and from Otter Lake to the highway.05

  4. 5 Apr 2023

    The Quad Riders ATV Association of BC has its last meeting with the trails office about the assessment.14

  5. 12 Dec 2023

    McElhanney prices repair at $37.1 million, and deactivation at $15.2 million plus $5.4 million for access.03

  6. 21 Jul 2025

    In an op-ed, Donegal Wilson writes that “there is still no serious effort to rebuild it.”09

  7. 4–6 Feb 2026

    The ministry tells user groups by letter on 4 February, and tells the public on 6 February.0801

  8. 10–23 Feb 2026

    Clubs from Tulameen, Merritt and across the province write in objection, and a petition opens.131525

  9. 23–24 Feb 2026

    Wilson raises the trail twice on the floor of the House.0607

  10. 16 Apr 2026

    The regional district board resolves to plan for maintaining the trail near Princeton.24

  11. 18 Jun 2026

    The ministry narrows the plan: three repairs considered, 17 kilometres decommissioned first.02

  12. 24 Oct 2026

    Provincial election day. The regional district’s maintenance decision is expected at the end of the year.2602

Section 03Princeton, Tulameen and Merritt lose a trail, a winter access route and, at Brookmere, an evacuation road.

The ministry calls this section lightly used, and it has not published a count. No study of what the trail is worth to Princeton, Tulameen or Merritt in particular turned up in the public record either. What the record does hold is the people who depend on the trail, saying so in writing.0128

The Trans Canada Trail organization said the permanent loss of the section without a viable alternative “is not an acceptable outcome for the Trail or for the communities that rely on it.” The Narwhal reported that it would be the first permanent break in the national trail since it was declared connected coast to coast.17 In Tulameen, the owners of Reichert Sales & Service told the Narwhal they had shut down an off-road rental program they estimate brought in around $30,000 a year before the floods.21 Princeton’s mayor told Global News that visitors arrive looking to continue the trail, “but they can’t. They get back in their cars and go somewhere else.”20 Princeton’s visitor centre counted 28,282 visitors in 2025, up from 12,183 in 2021. The town’s economic development director counted the trail among the draws, though it counts centre visitors, not trail users.22

A loaded touring cyclist rides a gravel rail grade between a red rock cliff behind a chain-link catch fence and the Tulameen River.
A cyclist on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail between Coalmont and Princeton, in the drainage area the engineering report prices highest to restore. Photo by Clayoquot, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.31

Merritt is in a different riding and the trail’s far end, and its snowmobile club wrote the plainest letter in the file.13

Exhibit 05Merritt Snowmobile Club to Daniel Scott, A/Director, Trails and Trail Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment and Parks, 11 February 2026 · the letter in full, three pages · as published in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen board correspondenceLetter PDF
Page 1 of 3Page 1 of the Merritt Snowmobile Club letter of 11 February 2026 to Daniel Scott: the club formally objects to the decommissioning and the lack of meaningful consultation, describes the corridor as one of the only predictable and manageable access routes into the winter recreation areas around Merritt, describes snowmobiling's role in the local economy, and says decommissioning means permanent removal of bridges, infrastructure and reliable access.
Page 2 of 3Page 2: the club questions the financial rationale, lists groups it says were not sufficiently consulted, requests an immediate pause on decommissioning near Merritt and a structured consultation, and is signed by the club president and vice-president, followed by the start of the copy list of ministers, MLAs, the MP, mayors and regional district officials.
Page 3 of 3Page 3: the remainder of the copy list, including tourism bodies, trail and recreation organisations and news outlets. One private individual's personal email address is covered by a grey bar.
The Merritt Snowmobile Club “formally objects to the decommissioning of this corridor and to the lack of meaningful consultation.” For families, seniors and novice riders, the club says, it is “one of the only predictable and manageable access routes into the winter recreation areas surrounding Merritt.” It asked for “an immediate pause” and copied two ministers, the minister of state for rural communities, both MLAs whose ridings the corridor crosses, the MP, Merritt’s mayor and the regional district. One private individual’s personal contact details are obscured.13

Tulameen’s own snowmobile club, the Timberline Cruisers, wrote the day before, calling the corridor “safe access” and “senior-friendly riding.”15 The BC Snowmobile Federation, to be fair to the ministry’s side of it, said this section “is not primarily used for snowmobiling,” and warned that “once infrastructure is removed, re-establishing the corridor would require significant new capital investment.”18

Brookmere’s case is different in kind. The Brookmere Property Owners Association wrote that the eight kilometres of trail between Brookmere and Coalmont Road serve as “the only alternate evacuation route from the Brookmere Rd,” and that the trail has carried evacuating residents to Coalmont Road in three separate wildfires. Brookmere is at the end of the 17 kilometres the ministry has scheduled first.1602

No one has published a count of who used this trail. Brookmere has evacuated along it three times.

Section 04User groups say they were told nothing would be decided until the findings were shared, and then the decision arrived by letter.

On 4 February 2026 the ministry wrote to user groups and local offices to tell them the decision had been made. Two days later the public was told, and on 17 February the Quad Riders ATV Association of BC sent its answer to the ministry in writing.080114

Exhibit 06Quad Riders ATV Association of BC to Daniel Scott, A/Director, Trails and Trail Infrastructure, 17 February 2026 · the letter in full, five pages · as published in the regional district’s board correspondenceLetter PDF
Page 1 of 5Page 1 of the Quad Riders ATV Association of BC letter of 17 February 2026: it responds to the February 4 stakeholder notification, says ATVBC was advised that no decisions would be made until findings were complete and shared, says no reports have been provided since its last meeting on April 5, 2023, and requests the engineering, environmental, cost-benefit, risk and consultation records.
Page 2 of 5Page 2 of the ATVBC letter: it quotes the ministry's notice that the decision followed deep engagement with First Nations and other stakeholders and asks which stakeholders were consulted, says ATVBC and local trail organizations were not included in any engagement, and says it shares the concerns raised by MLA Donegal Wilson about transparency and regional impacts.
Page 3 of 5Page 3 of the ATVBC letter, on the economic contribution of motorized recreation and on whether deactivation fits the Province's own approach to managing rail trails.
Page 4 of 5Page 4 of the ATVBC letter: it asks that technical studies be released, affected stakeholders engaged and alternatives such as phased restoration evaluated, requests a meeting, and is signed by its executive director, followed by the start of its copy list.
Page 5 of 5Page 5 of the ATVBC letter: the copy list of ministers, MLAs, the MP, local officials and organisations. Two private individuals' personal email addresses are covered by grey bars.
“We were advised that technical assessments were in progress and that no decisions would be made until findings were complete and shared.” Then: “Since our last meeting on April 5, 2023, no reports, findings, or updates have been provided to ATVBC.” The same letter quotes the ministry’s notice as saying the decision followed “deep engagement with First Nations and other stakeholders,” and asks the ministry to say who those stakeholders were. Two private individuals’ personal email addresses are covered by grey bars.14

The engineering reports are public now, on the ministry’s Kettle Valley page, which records its last update as 20 February 2026, two weeks after the announcement.03 The same objection runs through every letter the regional district published that month. The Back Country Horsemen of BC objected to “the lack of transparent process and meaningful community consultation.” The Trails Society of BC asked for deferral. The Nicola Valley ATV Club, from Merritt, asked the Province to halt any plans. The BC Powersports Dealers Association and the Christina Lake Trail Alliance wrote as well.15 The petition addressed to the Minister of Environment and Parks, asking her to “pause the decommissioning process,” carried 13,191 signatures on 10 October 2026.25

Section 05Donegal Wilson took the Kettle Valley Rail Trail to the ministry and to the floor of the House, and the plan has changed only in part.

Of the nine ministers and candidates named in this file, one has a public record on this trail, and it is Donegal Wilson, the member for Boundary-Similkameen from 2024 to dissolution and the Conservative candidate there on 24 October. Princeton, Coalmont and Tulameen are all part of her riding.2627

Donegal Wilson, Conservative candidate for Boundary-Similkameen: a campaign headshot against a blue ground with the legislature building behind her.
Conservative Party of BC Donegal Wilson Boundary-Similkameen · MLA 2024 to dissolution · Conservative candidate, 2026
Before the decision
Op-ed, 21 July 2025: “still no serious effort to rebuild it”
Letter to the ministry
5 February 2026, with five sets of questions
In the House
Budget debate, 23 February; member’s statement, 24 February
Proposal
Make the trail “the province’s first lineal provincial park”
Petition
Said she would present it; no petition on the trail appears in the House transcripts to 28 May 2026
2026 campaign
Her October candidate profiles do not mention the trail
Portrait · Conservative Party of BC candidate page

She was on the issue before the decision. In an op-ed on her MLA site in July 2025, about the Columbia & Western Rail Trail, she pointed to Princeton: “Look at Princeton to Tulameen: The section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail washed out by the 2021 floods. Four years later, there is still no serious effort to rebuild it.”09

On 5 February 2026, the day after the ministry’s notice and the day before the public bulletin, she wrote back to the official whose letter had announced it. “I want to be clear that I am deeply disappointed by this decision,” the letter begins, and “Tourism is not a ‘nice-to-have’ for these communities.” Its second page is a list of questions, and we found no public answer to them.0810

Exhibit 07Donegal Wilson, MLA Boundary-Similkameen, to Daniel Scott, A/Director of Trails and Trail Infrastructure, 5 February 2026, “Re: Long Term Management Decision KVR Trail” · the letter in full, three pages · as published on her MLA site, 25 February 2026MLA site
Page 1 of 3Page 1 of Donegal Wilson's letter of 5 February 2026 on Legislative Assembly letterhead to Daniel Scott, responding to the ministry's letter of 4 February: she is deeply disappointed by the decision, says tourism is not a nice-to-have for Tulameen, Coalmont and Princeton, and says the decision appears short-sighted on existing infrastructure and flood mitigation.
Page 2 of 3Page 2 of the letter on Legislative Assembly letterhead, requesting clarity on five points. Flood mitigation and infrastructure protection: what steps will ensure flood protection functions of the rail grade are not compromised, and will new dikes be erected. Cost and financial accountability: the total projected cost of deactivation, how much is being spent to rebuild access to remove infrastructure, and what studies estimated these costs and can they be shared. Comparative analysis: what analysis compared restoration or partial restoration with full deactivation, and was the economic value of tourism factored in. Rerouting and connectivity: has a reroute been proposed to maintain the Trans Canada Trail, and if not, why. Community engagement: how were directly affected communities meaningfully involved before the decision was finalized.
Page 3 of 3Page 3 of the letter: she asks for a detailed response and a meeting with ministry staff, and signs as MLA for Boundary-Similkameen.
Five sets of questions: flood protection, cost, “what analysis was undertaken comparing the cost of restoration or partial restoration against the cost of full deactivation,” rerouting, and “how were the directly affected communities meaningfully involved.” She asked how much was being spent “to rebuild access to get equipment in to remove infrastructure.” The engineering report’s answer, $5.4 million, was already in the ministry’s hands.0803

On 23 February, in the budget debate, she put the trail beside the province’s interest bill: “We could repair the Kettle Valley Rail Trail in Princeton.” The province, she said, “has approved $20 million to deactivate the trail and lose that economic driver for the community of Princeton and Tulameen.”06 She came back to it the next morning with her member’s statement.07

“The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a provincial treasure. It was entrusted to the province as a recreational asset for the people of British Columbia. With two sections in my riding now being abandoned, this asset is gradually losing its full potential.”

“Recreational infrastructure like the Kettle Valley Rail Trail is worth protecting.”

Conservative Party of BCDonegal Wilson · member’s statement, “Kettle Valley Rail Trail” · Hansard, Issue 123, 24 February 2026

Her proposal was to make the whole trail “the province’s first lineal provincial park,” giving local groups a way to “undertake work, raise funds and collect user fees that can be reinvested directly back into the trail.” On her own site the next day she named the two sections: the one near Princeton, abandoned after the 2021 floods, and the Columbia & Western between Christina Lake and Castlegar. She added that a park designation “does not automatically mean non-motorized access only.”0708 A member’s statement does not oblige a minister to reply, and no minister replied in the House on either day.0607

In early March she asked constituents to redirect their emails to the minister, and wrote: “I will be presenting this petition in the Legislature once signature collection is complete.”11 The House sat until 28 May. No petition on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail appears in its transcripts. The online petition was still open in October.1225

Then the plan changed, in part. The June bulletin’s three possible repairs are all at the Princeton end of her riding. The bulletin credits work with the regional district, the town and the Trans Canada Trail organization, and it names no MLA.02 Read fairly, her record is the only sustained public one from any elected provincial official, and it has not yet produced a commitment: every repair is still conditional, and the trail does not appear in either of her October candidate profiles.28

Wilson left the Conservative caucus on 2 September 2026 to sit as an Independent, joined Peter Milobar’s new party on 14 September, and rejoined the Conservatives after Kerry-Lynne Findlay resigned as leader on 20 September. She is the Conservative Party candidate on 24 October. Her record on Rady Creek is also set out in a separate piece, Rady Creek isn’t in Donegal Wilson’s riding.27

Section 06Every office with a hand in this decision is named below, and most of them have said nothing in public.

The decision is the Ministry of Environment and Parks’, through Recreation Sites and Trails BC, and its minister is Tamara Davidson. She told the House in March 2025 that her duty as minister is “to administer the province’s parks, protected areas, recreation sites and trails,” and in April 2025 that Recreation Sites and Trails had been “moved from the Ministry of Forests into the Ministry of Environment and Parks.” No record we found shows her signing this decision herself; the bulletins speak only for her ministry.33 The federal money moves through a business case to Emergency Management and Climate Readiness and then to Ottawa. The repairs now depend on the regional district. Six people are asking to represent the two ridings the trail crosses. Every one of them is named in the table below, with what each has said or done in public.26

WhoRole in this decisionWhat they have said or done in public
Tamara DavidsonMinister of Environment and ParksBC NDP
The accountable minister. Her ministry runs Recreation Sites and Trails BC and issued both bulletins.33
We found no public statement on the trail. Castanet reported in February that Princeton’s mayor and the town’s chief administrator had met the minister.1028
Kelly GreeneMinister of Emergency Management and Climate ReadinessBC NDP
The disaster-funding business case is written to her ministry’s requirements.
We found no public statement on the trail.0328
Anne KangMinister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and SportBC NDP
The club letters were copied to her, as the minister responsible for tourism.
We found no public statement on the trail.1328
Recreation Sites and Trails BCTrails and Trail Infrastructure
Manages the trail. Its acting director, Daniel Scott, sent the 4 February notice and receives correspondence at KVR.Trail@gov.bc.ca.
Has published the engineering reports. The bulletins’ explanations are the only public reasons given.0308
Donegal WilsonBoundary-Similkameen · MLA to dissolution, candidateConservative Party of BC
She represented Princeton, Coalmont and Tulameen until the Legislature was dissolved.
She wrote to the ministry, raised the trail twice in the House and proposed making it a provincial park. She said she would present the petition; none was presented before the House rose on 28 May 2026.06070812
Roly RussellBoundary-Similkameen · candidate; MLA 2020–2024BC NDP
He held the seat during the 2021 flood.
We found no public statement on the trail.28
Keith PomeroyBoundary-Similkameen · candidateOneBC
Seeking the seat.
We found no public statement on the trail.28
Tony LuckFraser-Nicola · MLA to dissolution, candidateConservative Party of BC
Represented Brookmere and Merritt until dissolution, and was copied on the Merritt Snowmobile Club’s letter.
We found no public statement on the trail.1328
Jason LeboeFraser-Nicola · candidateBC NDP
Seeking the seat.
We found no public statement on the trail.28
Patrick MichellFraser-Nicola · candidateBC Greens
Seeking the seat.
We found no public statement on the trail.28
Helena KonanzMP, Similkameen–South Okanagan–West KootenayConservative Party of Canada
Federal disaster funding covers most of the decommissioning, and Ottawa must approve the revised business case for the repairs.
Wrote that the Province “needs to come back to the table with a plan to save these beautiful trails.”30
Regional District of Okanagan-SimilkameenBoard chair Mark Pendergraft; Area H director Bob Coyne
Asked for four repairs, and must decide by the end of 2026 whether to carry the maintenance on three.
Resolved in April to prepare a five-year maintenance plan covering the trail near Princeton. A director called the decision “shortsighted.”242302
Town of PrincetonMayor Spencer Coyne
Negotiating with the ministry on the repairs.
Launched the petition. “There’s cultural, there’s recreational and there’s economical impact.”1910
Thompson-Nicola Regional DistrictArea N director Herb Graham
Brookmere is in Area N.
The Merritt Herald credits him with lobbying the Province to halt the decommissioning. He is not running in the 17 October local election.29
City of MerrittMayor Mike Goetz
The mayor was copied on the Merritt Snowmobile Club’s letter of 11 February.
We found no public statement on the trail.1328

Ottawa has a hand too, because the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements pay for most of the decommissioning and must approve the revised business case for the repairs.02

Where we looked for the people marked “no public statement.” The candidates’ party and campaign pages and their October 2026 profiles in the Similkameen Spotlight, Keremeos Review, Agassiz-Harrison Observer and Merritt Herald; all 188 House transcripts of the 43rd Parliament, including the Environment and Parks estimates of 21 April 2026; the provincial news archive; the ministers’ published releases; and name-plus-trail web searches. For the mayors and regional directors, we also read the Town of Princeton, City of Merritt, RDOS and TNRD sites, the regional district’s board correspondence through Internet Archive captures, and the Merritt Herald, Similkameen Spotlight and Castanet. Facebook, Instagram and X require a sign-in, so none of them was searched.

Section 07Conservation groups filed 76 lobbying reports naming Tamara Davidson, and the people who use this trail filed none.

British Columbia requires paid lobbyists to report every contact with a public office holder, and the Registrar of Lobbyists publishes those reports as open data. From 18 November 2024, when Davidson was sworn in, to 31 August 2026, the last activity date in the export, 307 reports name her among the office holders lobbied. Sorted by who filed them, they fall like this.34

Who lobbied Tamara Davidson, by sector, 18 Nov 2024 to 31 Aug 2026

Registered lobbying reports naming Tamara Davidson, by the sector of the client: industry, labour, health and all other clients 212; conservation and environmental groups 76; commercial recreation and tenure holders 17; hunting and angling 2; trail and access groups 0. REPORTS NAMING THE MINISTER · 307 IN ALL Industry, labour, health, other 212 Conservation and environmental groups 76 Commercial recreation and tenures 17 Hunting and angling 2 Trail and access groups 0

Bars drawn to one scale. Each bar counts registered lobbying activity reports that list Davidson among the office holders lobbied; a report counts once however many officials it names. Sectors are assigned by the registered client name, and every assignment is listed in the method note.34

The most frequent filers naming Davidson, as registered
Client, as registeredSectorReports
Trigon Pacific Terminals Limited (Trigon)Industry19
WildsightConservation12
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, British ColumbiaConservation8
The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals (The Fur-Bearers)Conservation8
MakeWay Charitable SocietyConservation6
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative FoundationConservation5
Commercial Bear Viewing AssociationCommercial recreation5
Guide Outfitters Association of British ColumbiaCommercial recreation4
Wilderness Tourism Association of BCCommercial recreation4
Trans Canada Trail, BC Snowmobile Federation, Quad Riders ATV Association of BC, Trails Society of BC, Merritt Snowmobile ClubTrail and access0

Across her ministry as a whole, counting reports that name its staff as well as the minister, the picture is the same: 624 reports, of which 119 came from conservation and environmental groups and 89 from commercial recreation operators led by the Commercial Bear Viewing Association and HeliCat Canada. The trail and access groups that wrote to her ministry about this trail in February, from the Merritt Snowmobile Club to the Trans Canada Trail, filed no lobbying reports at all in that period of almost two years.341315

This is a pattern on the record, not proof of influence. A report shows that a registered lobbyist sought contact on a stated subject, not that the minister agreed or acted, and volunteer clubs may fall below the threshold at which lobbying must be registered. They made their case by letter instead, and the record since then shows a narrower plan, announced in June, with no minister’s name on it. How the same registry looks across the whole cabinet is set out in who gets the minister’s ear, our piece on lobbying across the government.3402

Section 08Rady Creek and the Kettle Valley Rail Trail are different routes under different ministries, and the same questions apply to both.

The comparison has limits, so start with them. Rady Creek is a forest service road deactivated by the Ministry of Forests’ Selkirk district. The Kettle Valley Rail Trail is a recreation trail run by the Ministry of Environment and Parks, and much of it was destroyed by a flood rather than posted for removal. The ministry has also moved here, which it has not done at Rady: three possible repairs are now on the table.02

What carries over is the method. The trail is to be placed in the same “self-maintaining state, as per the Ministry of Forests Engineering Manual” that ends a forest road, bridges and all.03 The decision reached the people who use the route as a letter announcing it, not a draft asking for comment.1413 What a published prescription for a Selkirk deactivation looks like is set out in the Rady Creek prescription, and the same district’s plan for Sitkum Creek follows that pattern as well.

Section 09Ask the minister and the six candidates these questions before 24 October.

Ministers stay in office through an election; MLAs do not. So the questions go to the minister who owns the decision, the office that wrote the notice, and every candidate in both ridings. The letter page sends the questions to every one of them at once.

Who made the decision, and when?Two bulletins and a letter from an acting director, and no minister’s name on any of them. Publish the decision record.

What would Ottawa have paid to restore the trail?Your engineers priced restoration at $37.1 million in a 2023 report for the federal disaster program. Publish the business case and the revised one.

How was $60 million built up?The report’s restoration, backlog and bridge figures come to about $50 million. Show the maintenance assumptions that make up the rest.

Who was in the “deep engagement”?One user group says it heard nothing between April 2023 and February 2026. Name the stakeholders consulted.

Will Brookmere keep its evacuation route?Brookmere says the trail to Coalmont Road is its only alternate way out. Has wildfire or emergency planning signed off on removing it?

Will you pause the decommissioning until the regional district decides?Candidates should answer yes or no, in writing, before asking anyone for a vote.

If you live in Princeton, Coalmont, Tulameen, Brookmere or Merritt, or ride, walk or run a business on this trail, the record is still incomplete. Send anything you hold to contact@backcountry.cx: replies you have received from the ministry or a candidate, meeting notes, freedom-of-information releases, photographs of the damage or of the work, user counts, or what the closure has cost you. Documents outweigh accounts of them.

Restoring the trail costs $16.5 million more than removing it, and that choice sits with Tamara Davidson’s ministry.

Share this story

Six images that tell the story on their own, from the closure to the questions. They are made to be posted.

Suggested caption

Tamara Davidson’s ministry will spend $20 million to dismantle the Kettle Valley Rail Trail at Princeton.

Sixty-seven kilometres of the Trans Canada Trail between Princeton and the Coquihalla have been closed since the November 2021 flood. On 6 February 2026 the Ministry of Environment and Parks said it would decommission the section for about $20 million, mostly federal disaster money. In June it narrowed the plan: three repairs near Princeton are being considered, and 17 kilometres near Brookmere go first.

The Province’s own engineers priced restoring the trail to its pre-flood condition at $37.1 million in December 2023, which is $16.5 million more than the $20.6 million it would cost to remove it. The decision came two years later, and neither bulletin quotes a minister. In our view, the trail should be restored.

Merritt’s snowmobile club calls the corridor one of the only manageable winter access routes. Brookmere says it is the community’s only alternate evacuation route.

Of three ministers and six candidates in Boundary-Similkameen and Fraser-Nicola, one has a public record on the trail: Donegal Wilson, who wrote to the ministry, raised it in the House and proposed a linear provincial park. The plan has changed only in part.

Who has her ear: the provincial lobbyists registry records 307 lobbying reports naming Davidson from 18 November 2024 to 31 August 2026. Conservation and environmental groups filed 76 of them, commercial recreation operators 17, and trail and access groups none.

Ask the minister and every candidate who made the decision, what Ottawa would have paid to restore the trail, and whether they will pause the work before 24 October. The letter is ready to send.

Live near the trail or use it? Send records to contact@backcountry.cx.

Backcountry Coalition is independent. This article is not authorized by any party or candidate.

backcountry.cx/editorials/kettle-valley-rail-trail/

#BCpoli #Princeton #Similkameen #Merritt #KVR #TransCanadaTrail

Sources

  1. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ Ministry of Environment and Parks, Information Bulletin, “Decommissioning damaged section of Kettle Valley Rail Trail near Princeton,” Princeton, 6 February 2026, 9:45 AM — release 2026ENV0005-000120, read 10 October 2026. The 67-kilometre section “between Princeton and the Coquihalla Highway”; repair and maintenance “an estimated $60 million”; decommissioning to “begin in spring 2026” and take “two to three years”; the section had “relatively low use compared to other segments of rail trails”; an alternative route uses “a local road”; and “The cost of decommissioning the damaged Princeton section is estimated at $20 million, with most of the cost covered by federal funding through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program.” No minister or official is quoted; the media contact is the ministry’s media relations office. Link
  2. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ Ministry of Environment and Parks, Information Bulletin, “Decommissioning one section of damaged Kettle Valley Rail Trail,” Princeton, 18 June 2026, 11:15 AM — release 2026ENV0029-000723, read 10 October 2026. Three of four requested repairs to be considered (“the bridge west of Princeton and access to both Parr Tunnel and Whitesands Beach”); final decisions dependent on “approval of B.C.’s revised business case for federal funding” and maintenance by the regional district, with “A board decision … expected at the end of 2026”; decommissioning of a 17-km segment from near Coquihalla Lakes to near Brookmere from summer 2026, tender on BC Bid on 19 June 2026; “The railbed will not be removed entirely”; “The cost to repair the severely damaged section is an estimated $5.1 million.” No minister is quoted. Link
  3. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ McElhanney Ltd., Summary Report on Flood Damage to the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, Sites #1 to 56, 12 December 2023, project 2900413, DFAA Event # OIC-241, submitted to the Trails Manager, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy; 91 pages, downloaded from the ministry’s “KVR Trail reports” page (which records its last update as 20 February 2026) and read in full on 10 October 2026. Used for: scope from Princeton to Brodie Siding Road, 61 sites assessed in spring 2023 and 50 directly impacted (page ii); the cost summary (page iv, Exhibit 03); the repair schedule beginning “February 2024 – confirmation received that the KVRT is to be repaired” (page v); the Motor Vehicle Act warning and the deactivation summary (page vii, Exhibit 04); and the deactivation method, including “Removal of all bridge structures and re-contouring of the channels” (page 39). The $50 million and $20.6 million totals in this article are sums of the report’s own lines. Report PDF · Reports page
  4. ↩↩ Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Information Bulletin, “Kettle Valley trestle to be removed for safety reasons,” Princeton, 24 July 2020 — trestle KV-061, “about seven kilometres north of Tulameen,” found by an independent engineering firm to have “broken and decaying support structures”; the trail closed and the trestle to be removed, with an eight-kilometre detour. Link
  5. ↩↩ Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, “KVR Trail closures in Electoral Area H (Rural Princeton),” 20 May 2022 — the trail “closed to all users between Tulameen and Princeton” and “from the north end of Otter Lake (Tulameen) and the Coquihalla Highway,” open between Tulameen and the north end of Otter Lake except to equestrians. The regional district’s site refused connections in October 2026, so the page was read in the Internet Archive’s capture of 19 May 2026. Link
  6. ↩↩↩↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 122, afternoon sitting of Monday 23 February 2026, budget debate — Donegal Wilson: “We could repair the Kettle Valley Rail Trail in Princeton. It has recently been announced that we are losing the section between Princeton and Brookmere, and the province has approved $20 million to deactivate the trail and lose that economic driver for the community of Princeton and Tulameen.” Link
  7. ↩↩↩↩↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, Issue 123, morning sitting of Tuesday 24 February 2026, Members’ Statements, “Kettle Valley Rail Trail,” about 10:15 a.m. — Donegal Wilson’s statement in full, including “With two sections in my riding now being abandoned,” the proposal that the trail become “the province’s first lineal provincial park,” and “Recreational infrastructure like the Kettle Valley Rail Trail is worth protecting.” Link
  8. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ Donegal Wilson, MLA Boundary-Similkameen, letter to Daniel Scott, A/Director of Trails and Trail Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment and Parks, 5 February 2026, “Re: Long Term Management Decision KVR Trail,” three pages, which opens “I am writing in response to your letter of February 4, 2026, advising my office of the Ministry’s decision to permanently deactivate the flood-damaged section”; and her MLA-site post “Standing up for the Kettle Valley Rail Trail,” 25 February 2026, which publishes the letter and names the two abandoned sections as the one near Princeton and the Columbia & Western between Christina Lake and Castlegar. Page 2 of the letter is Exhibit 07. Link
  9. ↩↩ Donegal Wilson, “Don’t let the TransCanada Trail slip away – it’s time for BC to step up,” MLA site, 21 July 2025 — an op-ed chiefly about the Columbia & Western Rail Trail, including the passage on Princeton to Tulameen quoted here. Link
  10. ↩↩↩ Castanet, Casey Richardson, “Boundary-Similkameen MLA expresses deep disappointment with KVR Trail permanent closure,” 7 February 2026, quoting Wilson’s open letter; and Castanet, Casey Richardson, “Boundary-Similkameen MLA speaks in legislature about the importance of KVR,” 26 February 2026, reporting that Mayor Spencer Coyne and the town’s chief administrative officer had met the Minister of Environment and left “cautiously optimistic.” Castanet blocks automated readers, so both were read in Internet Archive captures. 7 Feb · 26 Feb
  11. ↩ Merritt Herald, “Fight to save portion of Kettle Valley Rail Trail ongoing,” 5 March 2026 — Wilson’s social-media post: “I have been actively raising this issue in the Legislature and directly with the [Ministry of Environment],” her request that constituents redirect their emails to the minister, and “I will be presenting this petition in the Legislature once signature collection is complete.” Link
  12. ↩↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, Second Session, all House transcripts from 6 February to 28 May 2026, searched for “Kettle Valley,” “KVR,” “rail trail,” “Princeton,” “Tulameen” and “Brookmere,” and every Petitions item read. Wilson tabled a petition on South Okanagan drinking water on 23 February 2026; no petition on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail was presented by any member in that period.
  13. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ Merritt Snowmobile Club to Daniel Scott, A/Director, Trails and Trail Infrastructure, 11 February 2026, two pages, signed by the club’s president and vice-president and copied to the ministers of Tourism and of Environment and Parks, the minister of state for rural communities, MLA Donegal Wilson, MLA Tony Luck, MP Helena Konanz, the mayors of Princeton and Merritt, the regional district and others. Published in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen’s board correspondence; read in the Internet Archive’s capture of 1 August 2026. Link
  14. ↩↩↩↩↩ Quad Riders ATV Association of BC to Daniel Scott, A/Director, Trails and Trail Infrastructure, 17 February 2026, “Re: Decision to Deactivate 67 km of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail (Princeton to Coldwater River)” — responding to “the February 4, 2026 stakeholder notification”; the passages on assessments since 2022 and the last meeting of 5 April 2023; the request for the engineering, cost-benefit and consultation records; and the ministry’s phrase “deep engagement with First Nations and other stakeholders.” Published in the regional district’s board correspondence; read in the Internet Archive’s capture of 1 August 2026. Link
  15. ↩↩↩↩ The other letters in the regional district’s February 2026 board correspondence, all addressed to the ministry: Timberline Cruisers Snowmobile Club, Tulameen, 10 February (“It is safe access. It is family recreation. It is senior-friendly riding.”); Back Country Horsemen of BC, 16 February; BC Powersports Dealers Association, 19 February; Christina Lake Trail Alliance, 19 February; Nicola Valley ATV Club, Merritt, 20 February; and the Trails Society of BC, 23 February. Read in Internet Archive captures of 1 August 2026. Timberline · BCHBC · Nicola Valley ATV · Trails BC
  16. ↩↩ Brookmere Property Owners Association, letter to the editor, Merritt Herald, 1 April 2026 — “The community of Brookmere exists because of the Kettle Valley Railway”; the eight-kilometre stretch to Coalmont Road as “the only alternate evacuation route from the Brookmere Rd”; its use for evacuation in three wildfires. Link
  17. ↩ Trans Canada Trail, statement on the decommissioning of a 67-km section of the Kettle Valley Rail Trail, 6 February 2026; and The Narwhal, Cameron Fenton, 11 May 2026, on the decommissioning as the first permanent break in the national trail. TCT · Narwhal
  18. ↩ BC Snowmobile Federation, Nicole Matei, “BCSF engages Province on Kettle Valley Rail Trail deactivation,” 20 February 2026. Link
  19. ↩ CBC News, “Princeton mayor blindsided by province’s decommissioning of Kettle Valley Railway Trail section,” 7 February 2026 — Mayor Spencer Coyne: “There’s cultural, there’s recreational and there’s economical impact.” The petition launched by the mayor is described by Castanet and the Merritt Herald (sources 10 and 11). Link
  20. ↩↩ Global News, Cohan Sassaman, “Once a tourism lifeline, the KVR Trail remains washed out and waiting for answers,” 22 June 2026 — Mayor Coyne: “People arrive in Princeton or Tulameen looking to continue that stretch, but they can’t. They get back in their cars and go somewhere else”; and the report of about $20 million to decommission against an estimated $50 million to rebuild. Link
  21. ↩ The Narwhal, Cameron Fenton, “The Trans Canada Trail connected the country coast to coast. Not anymore,” 11 May 2026 — Reichert Sales & Service in Tulameen and its closed off-road rental program; and the ministry’s statement that the decision “exemplifies the harsh realities of climate-impacted management.” Link
  22. ↩ West K News / Black Press, John Arendt, “Princeton sees increase in visitor centre traffic,” 20 February 2026 — 12,183 visitors in 2021 and 28,282 in 2025, reported to council on 18 February 2026. Link
  23. ↩ Penticton Herald, Keith Lacey, 23 February 2026 — RDOS Director Erin Trainer called the decision “shortsighted” and said “I think it’s a very poor decision.” Link
  24. ↩↩ Penticton Western News, Brennan Phillips, “Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen stepping up efforts to protect KVR Trail,” 20 April 2026 — board resolutions of 16 April 2026, including a five-year Regional Trails Operations and Maintenance Plan covering the Kettle Valley Rail Trail near Princeton and support for supplemental funding requests for the damaged sections. Link
  25. ↩↩↩ Change.org, “Save the KVR,” addressed to the Minister of Environment and Parks, asking her to “pause the decommissioning process and undertake meaningful consultation”; 13,191 signatures when read on 10 October 2026. Link
  26. ↩↩↩↩ Elections BC — the 2023 redistribution location index, which places Princeton, Coalmont and Tulameen in Boundary-Similkameen and Brookmere and Merritt in Fraser-Nicola; and the 2026 provincial general election candidate list (CSV), read 10 October 2026: Keith Pomeroy (OneBC), Roly Russell (BC NDP) and Donegal Wilson (Conservative Party) in Boundary-Similkameen; Jason Leboe (BC NDP), Tony Luck (Conservative Party) and Patrick Michell (BC Green Party) in Fraser-Nicola. General voting day is 24 October 2026. Index · Candidates
  27. ↩↩ Wilson’s party moves in 2026 — her statement of 2 September 2026 leaving the Conservative caucus to sit as an Independent; her post of 14 September 2026 joining the new party formed by Peter Milobar and five other MLAs, bringing it to seven seats; Global News on Kerry-Lynne Findlay’s resignation as leader on 20 September 2026; the Grand Forks Gazette, Logan Lockhart, 3 October 2026, reporting that Wilson “returned to the party”; and the Elections BC candidate list, which shows her as the Conservative Party candidate in Boundary-Similkameen. Her portrait is from her Conservative Party of BC candidate page. 2 Sep · 14 Sep · Global · Gazette · Elections BC · Candidate page
  28. ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩ Where we looked, and what was not there. For each minister and candidate marked “no public statement”: their party, campaign and ministry pages; the provincial news archive; all 188 House transcripts of the 43rd Parliament to 28 May 2026, including the Ministry of Environment and Parks estimates of 21 April 2026, in which the trail was not raised; the Similkameen Spotlight, Keremeos Review, Agassiz-Harrison Observer and Merritt Herald candidate profiles of October 2026; Castanet, CBC, Global, iNFOnews, the Penticton Herald and Western News; and name-plus-trail web searches, to 10 October 2026. No user count for the section and no economic study specific to Princeton, Tulameen or Merritt was found. For the mayors and regional directors: the Town of Princeton, City of Merritt, RDOS and TNRD websites, the RDOS board correspondence of February 2026 (through Internet Archive captures, since the RDOS site refused connections), and the Merritt Herald, Similkameen Spotlight and Castanet. Facebook, Instagram and X require a sign-in and were not searched. Portraits and marks: Tamara Davidson from her BC NDP candidate page; Kelly Greene and Anne Kang from the Legislative Assembly member pages; Roly Russell and Jason Leboe from their BC NDP campaign pages; Keith Pomeroy from OneBC’s candidates page; Tony Luck from his Conservative Party of BC candidate page; Patrick Michell from his BC Greens candidate page; Helena Konanz from her official House of Commons portrait, with the Conservative Party of Canada’s mark from its website; Mayor Mike Goetz from the City of Merritt council page; Herb Graham from the TNRD’s Electoral Area N page (Internet Archive capture); the Town of Princeton crest from the town’s website; the RDOS logo from its website (Internet Archive capture); and the Government of British Columbia mark from gov.bc.ca, standing for Recreation Sites and Trails BC.
  29. ↩ Merritt Herald, “Everything comes to an end: Herb Graham retiring after two decades with TNRD,” 19 August 2026 — the paper’s description of his work, including “lobbying the Provincial government to halt the decommissioning of the historic Kettle Valley Rail (KVR) Trail.” Link
  30. ↩ iNFOnews, Jesse Tomas, “Movement to save the KVR Trail near Coquihalla picking up speed,” 21 March 2026 — MP Helena Konanz’s social-media post, as quoted. Link
  31. ↩↩ Photographs. “Tulameen Bridge and Tunnel,” by Kiwibirdman, 8 October 2010, CC BY 3.0; and “Kettle valley 1,” a cyclist between Coalmont and Princeton, by Clayoquot, CC BY-SA 3.0; both from Wikimedia Commons, cropped. Bridge · Cyclist
  32. ↩ How the exhibits were made. Exhibits 01 and 02 are the government news pages as served on 10 October 2026, captured in full from the headline to the end of the bulletin, without the site’s navigation footer. Exhibits 03 and 04 are printed pages iv and vii of the 91-page McElhanney report, each rendered in full from the published PDF; the whole report is linked. Exhibits 05 and 06 are every page of the two letters, rendered from the PDFs the regional district published. Exhibit 07 is every page of the letter images Wilson published on her MLA site. The only alterations are grey bars over three personal email addresses of private individuals in the copy lists of Exhibits 05 and 06.
  33. ↩↩↩ Who answers for the decision. Tamara Davidson is listed as Minister of Environment and Parks on the Province’s cabinet page (last updated 8 September 2026, read 10 October 2026). In the House on 6 March 2025 (Hansard, Issue 19), she said: “My duty as the Environment Minister … is to administer the province’s parks, protected areas, recreation sites and trails.” In the House on 9 April 2025 (Issue 38) she said “Rec Sites and Trails were moved from the Ministry of Forests into the Ministry of Environment and Parks.” Both KVR bulletins were issued by that ministry (sources 1 and 2). Neither bulletin, nor any record we found, shows her personally signing the decision; the stakeholder notice of 4 February 2026 came from the acting director of Trails and Trail Infrastructure. Her portrait on the card is her Legislative Assembly member photograph. Cabinet · Issue 19 · Issue 38
  34. ↩↩↩↩ BC Registrar of Lobbyists, open data, Lobbying Activity Reports export dated 20 September 2026 (tables LAR_Primary, LAR_SPOH and LAR_SubjectMatterDetails). Method: we kept every report whose activity date falls between 18 November 2024, when the cabinet was sworn in, and 22 September 2026, when the Legislature was dissolved (the latest activity date in the export is 31 August 2026), dropped reports superseded by a later version, and counted a report once if it lists Tamara (Laanas) Davidson among the office holders lobbied: 307 reports from 124 registered clients. The ministry-wide count adds reports listing any office holder whose agency is recorded as Environment and Parks: 624 reports. Sectors are assigned by the registered client name: conservation and environmental groups (for example Wildsight, CPAWS-BC, The Fur-Bearers, MakeWay, Yellowstone to Yukon, the David Suzuki Institute, Sierra Club of BC, West Coast Environmental Law, Dogwood, Surfrider, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, the Wilderness Committee, Ecojustice, Greenpeace); commercial recreation and tenure holders (Commercial Bear Viewing Association, Guide Outfitters Association of BC, Wilderness Tourism Association of BC, HeliCat Canada Association, Adventure Tourism Coalition of BC); hunting and angling (The B.C. Wildlife Federation); trail and access groups (none registered in the period: a search of every client name for Trans Canada Trail, snowmobile, ATV, quad, trails society and outdoor recreation council returns no report in the window); everyone else. Reports record contact sought on a stated subject, not outcomes. Examples: Trigon, LAR-54263; Wildsight, LAR-45461; CPAWS-BC, LAR-54330; The Fur-Bearers, LAR-53923; MakeWay, LAR-47548; Y2Y, LAR-50587; Commercial Bear Viewing Association, LAR-50093; Guide Outfitters, LAR-42022; Wilderness Tourism Association, LAR-48084. Registrar
  35. ↩ Hansard, 43rd Parliament, First Session, Issue 38, 9 April 2025 — Hon. Laanas / Tamara Davidson: “this government has invested over $45 million in expanding campgrounds … There has been $21.59 million invested over five years for the recreation site strategy, as well as $23.8 million in base capital, $1.2 million for accessibility, $7.1 million in maintenance and $3.34 million in maintenance for Rec Sites and Trails.” Link