The Regional Parks and Trails Service provides a mechanism to protect valued natural areas and complements the existing community and provincial parks network. As our region continues to grow, it will be important for us to work together to protect regionally significant natural areas, provide opportunities for people to connect to nature through nature-based recreation, and to create trails to connect our core communities.
In November of 2024, a Regional Parks and Trails Strategic Plan was adopted to guide the delivery of the recently established Regional Parks and Trails Service over the next 20 years.
Land Acquisition Strategy
Following the adoption of the Regional Parks and Trails Strategic Plan, staff began work on the Land Acquisition Strategy. The Land Acquisition Strategy can be viewed here: Land Acquisition Strategy
The development of the strategy will involve a three-phase process:
- Phase 1 – Develop a Candidate Sites List (Completed)
- Phase 2 – Evaluate Key Candidate Sites (Underway)
- Phase 3 – Develop the Land Acquisition Strategy Document and provide acquisition recommendations
The strategy is anticipated to take a year to develop (with an anticipated conclusion in the summer of 2026), with candidate site selection guided by the areas-of-interest mapping exercise and feedback heard through the strategic planning process. The refinement of candidate sites and the development of acquisition recommendations will be based on further input from K’ómoks First Nation, the Regional Parks and Trails working group, regional partners, and the Regional Parks and Trails Committee.