Provincial Trails Advisory Body

The Trails Strategy for British Columbia provides BC with a vision for the development and maintenance of a world-class, sustainable network of trails. A key recommendation of the strategy was to establish a Provincial Trail Advisory Body (PTAB) to provide advice on the implementation of the trails strategy.

Launched by the provincial government in 2015, the Provincial Trails Advisory Body (PTAB) is a working group that is made up of 15 members, including two co-chairs, eight individuals representing public outdoor recreation, four provincial government agencies and a regional government representative.

The PTAB’s primary role is to:

  • provide advice to government on implementation strategies consistent with the intent of the trails strategy.

  • lead a periodic, formal review of the Trails Strategy.

  • provide a collaborative forum for the many trails organizations and interests to help ensure that the Trails Strategy continues to meet the needs of all trail users.

The Outdoor Recreation Council provides the secretariat and houses public information related to the PTAB on its website. Please get in touch with ORCBC with any enquiries regarding the PTAB.

 
 

BC Parks photo

Recent News

In 2020, the PTAB began researching how to establish a reliable and diverse funding model to maintain the viability of BC trails. Historically, the trail management and maintenance sector has been largely volunteer powered and community-based, however funding for materials, machinery, travel and other related costs have always been piecemeal and inconsistent. The PTAB and ORCBC have been working with the outdoor recreation and trail sector in making recommendations to develop sustainable funding options that will support BC trails and trail volunteers. In May 2023, the Province of BC provided a one-time grant of $10 million to ORCBC to establish a new endowment fund that will improve and enhance outdoor recreation for people in B.C.

 
 
 

Working in a good way Publication

With the support of the PTAB, the Outdoor Recreation Council of British Columbia has released a publication titled ‘Working in a Good Way’, authored by Patrick Lucas, the founder of the Indigenous Youth Mountain Bike Project. This publication provides guidelines for the many outdoor recreation groups who are seeking assistance and guidance on how to engage and collaborate with Indigenous peoples and communities with a goal of creating sustainable trails and recreation, supporting reconciliation, and working to ensure we are not perpetuating the practices and actions that can harm or undermine the rights of Indigenous peoples. You can download the publication here.

 

Trails Strategy Review

The PTAB in partnership with Recreation Sites and Trails BC has undertaken a formal review of the Provincial Trails Strategy for BC as part of its mandate to ensure the continued relevance and importance of the Trails Strategy to recreationists, communities, First Nations, tourism proponents and the province as a whole. The review included targeted stakeholder interviews, research on the importance and value of trails, identified trends in trail usage including challenges and benefits and determined the status of implementation of the Trails Strategy’s 22 Action Items. British Columbians had an opportunity to help inform changes to the Trails Strategy for BC by providing feedback through an online questionnaire and the results of the public survey are available in this “What We Heard” report. The PTAB made its recommendations to government in May 2021. Stay tuned for updates!