Funding & Execution
In preparation for seeking funding to support the above priority action and location recommendations a three-year budget was developed.
XploreSMART Communications & Signage Program |
$ 127,000 |
AmbassadorWILD Program |
$ 241,500 |
Silver Springs Projects |
$ 65,000 |
Elk River Access Improvements Projects |
$ 365,000 |
Heiko’ s & Hartley Lake Road Projects |
$ 57,000 |
Coal Creek Drainage – Ammonite, Trailheads Projects |
$ 11,500 |
TOTAL 3-Year Budget: $ 867,000 |
Prior to finalizing the official three-year budget and during the project engagement process a new one-time tourism funding opportunity became available through the Targeted Regional Tourism Development Initiative( TRTDI) from the Government of British Columbia under the B. C. Economic Recovery Plan. A regional focused project to improve access on the Elk River was submitted and received $ 300,000 with a funding agreement signed in June 2021. This funding was critical to support and leverage the additional funding needs of the Sustainable Tourism Strategy.
DRAFT
In preparation for( and in finalizing the details) the RDEK’ s 2022 budget and planning process in fall 2021 further partners were identified to support the project financially based on the three-year budget totalling over $ 850,000. In February 2022, $ 99,000 was confirmed from TECK, in March $ 75,000 was confirmed from Columbia Basin Trust, $ 50,000 was also confirmed from Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC and by May 2022 over $ 10,000 was confirmed from Canada Summer Jobs. Along with the support from various smaller partners including Tourism Fernie, the $ 867,000 budget was 67 % covered by other organizations thereby minimizing RDEK’ s funding into the project to 33 %.
In the RDEK Five Year Financial Plan in early 2022, the project was confirmed to receive $ 287,500 between 2022- 2024. All funding had been secured by May 2022 and execution was the next priority.
Led by Tourism Fernie and in partnership with multiple organizations including RDEK, Fernie Trails Alliance, Elk River Alliance, Coal Creek Heritage Society, Rec Sites & Trails BC, Ministry of Transportation, BC Parks, Ministry of Forests, Ministry of Environment, BC Hydro, TC Energy, College of the Rockies, Ktunaxa Nation and others, projects began to move ahead in spring 2022 including the launch of year 1 of the AmbassadorWILD Program, the installation of a composting toilet at Silver Springs, working with RDEK and TC Energy on parking solutions at Morrissey boat launch and dust control on Hartley Lake Road, working with McElhanney on designing boat launch and parking enhancements on the Elk River and much more.
Check out these highlights on the following pages.
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