Land Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather and recreate is the traditional territory of the Ktunaxa, the Syilx, and the Sinixt peoples, and is home to the Métis and many diverse Aboriginal persons. We honour their connection to the land and rivers and respect the importance of the environment to our strength as a community.

---

Mission Statement

The Valley Backcountry Society advocates for non-commercial, ecologically responsible, community access to Crown Lands to preserve the current and future user experience of the backcountry, while mitigating the cumulative effect of commercial recreation.

---

The Valley Backcountry Society was formed in 2021 as a response to commercial recreation tenures increasingly encroaching on areas of high public use and value in BC. We are a legal society registered in BC with an elected board made up of backcountry users from the Kootenays.

The society is intended to highlight governments failure to protect the public good and to advocate for public access to public lands free of commercial adventure tourism.

We do not intend to publicize recreation areas or attract more users to recreation areas. We intend to advocate for what little is left for public recreation not encumbered by commercial recreation tenures.

We are not anti commercial or anti guide. We acknowledge some make a living on public lands. We contend more make a living at jobs away from public lands and use those lands for recreation. Something needs to be left for them. With all land use increasing, it’s vitally important we act now. Tenure applications are filed every day and most are approved.