Grow money from trees. Investing in outdoor recreation addresses budget committee priorities

Image: Ben Haggar.

For many years after the lumber mill closed, Valemount looked like it would become just another abandoned resource town in rural B.C. Forestry was the main employer in the town just off Highway 16 near the Alberta border. The loss of the 120 well-paying jobs in 2006, and the dozens of more in support, left Valemount gutted and the main street boarded up. It’s a story that has been repeated over and over again across the province; at least a dozen lumber mills have closed just in the last five years.  

But Valemount shows there is a future for these places. In 2015, the Valemount and Area Recreation Development Association (VARDA), a non-profit organization, started building  a mountain bike trail network on the hillside above town. Grants from the provincial government and regional and economic trusts funded a steady expansion, which attracted more and more mountain bike tourists, filling local accommodation and campgrounds, and pumping money into the local economy from May to October. New businesses opened to serve them. Two bike shops have opened. A local resident bought a van and trailer to offer a shuttle service to the top of the trail network. 

Instead of fading away, Valemount is now growing. The population increased three percent between the 2016 and 2021, six times the provincial average for rural towns. Its reputation as a mountain biking destination continues to grow and, with skiing and snowmobiling in the winter, the town is now a thriving, year round tourism destination.

Places like Valemount and other recreation-rich towns like Smithers, Cumberland and Revelstoke are a case study of the power of investing in outdoor recreation to achieve many of the provincial government’s health, livability, economic development and rural revitalization goals. 

Yet the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services barely mentioned outdoor recreation when it made its recommendations for the 2026 provincial budget. The omission misses a huge opportunity and ignores its own priorities and public input.

The Report on the Budget 2026 Consultation is the summary of 350 presentations and 406 written submissions by British Columbians–their “ideas, opinions and concerns”, as the report puts it. The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC and many of our member clubs and associations were among the presenters at the 16 public meetings. 

We, along with many others, told the committee that the demand for safe, inclusive, and sustainable outdoor experiences is rising, while money for infrastructure, operations and resources hasn’t kept pace. All those boots on the ground have an impact and a lot of the workload lands on the many volunteer groups, like VARDA, who maintain campgrounds, groom snowmobile trails and build trail networks across the province. 

We also pointed out that investing in outdoor recreation helps with other provincial challenges. It is a powerful economic driver that is immune to tariffs and artificial intelligence. Off-road vehicle trail networks in Logan Lake and snowmobiling in Trout Lake attract thousands of visitors every year and show that outdoor recreation is the backbone of the province’s $15-billion adventure tourism industry. And spending time in nature benefits physical and mental health at a fraction of the cost of more traditional investments in the healthcare system. 

We were heard. In the report’s executive summary, the budget committee said it advocates “for investments that protect coastal areas, parks, and natural spaces for outdoor recreation, tourism, and future generations”. 

However, of the committee’s 86 recommendations only two were specific to outdoor recreation. 

We applaud the recommendations to increase access to rural BC Parks by expanding their operating season and a review of hunting and fishing surcharges. Both should improve access to recreation opportunities. 

Done right, two other recommendations could be beneficial. 

First, expanding funding for destination events, including sporting events, will support local economies. We’ve seen it in Cumberland, where the development of a world-class trail network attracts several races and events that bring thousands of people to town every year. Their dollars are reinvested into the trails and contribute to a vibrant outdoor recreation economy growing up around them.

Second, when it comes to encouraging high-demand professionals, including family doctors and teachers, to move or stay in rural areas, investing in rural outdoor recreation opportunities should be part of the plan. Our research shows more than half of B.C. residents say access to trails and outdoor recreation influenced where they live and that’s particularly true for households with a combined income over $100,000. 

It’s why places with easy access to beaches, picnic sites and campgrounds, like Powell River, Nelson and Smithers, are attractive to remote workers. It can also keep towns alive. The investment in a trail network near Houston was part of a strategy to encourage pharmacists, doctors and teachers to move back to town.

But the budget committee overlooked even more powerful opportunities that could provide exponential benefits to the province. We call on Brenda Bailey,  the Minister of Finance, to address the discrepancy between what British Columbians say they want and what this report recommends by adding these even more valuable recommendations to Budget 2026:

• Increase operational funding for BC Parks and Recreation Sites & Trails BC.

• Streamline and support recreation planning, particularly in partnerships with First Nations.

• Invest in rural road and bridge maintenance to keep recreation access open and safe.

• Expand support for accessible and active transportation projects to improve equal access to community pathways and recreation connections.

• Increase funding to the Outdoor Recreation Fund of BC, which funds community-based projects. Only 15% of eligible applicants receiving funding during the past two grant intakes.

Making these improvements won’t solve all the province’s challenges. But, as we saw in Valemount, it takes vision to look beyond today’s challenges to see opportunities right outside our window. As she works on Budget 2026, we hope the Minister looks across her riding to Vancouver’s North Shore or out her office in Victoria to the Inner Harbour.  We hope she notices the power of outdoor recreation in action and has the vision to see that–in British Columbia anyway–money can grow on trees.