The Similkameen Valley Planning Society is a unique collaboration between all the local governments within the Similkameen Valley
Mayor Manfred Bauer, who is the chair of the group, said it can be a challenge to get everybody to see the importance of thinking regionally.
At the present time, the SVPS is working on two major projects that affect the whole valley.
The Similkameen Valley Watershed Study
Water, being the valley’s top priority and its most precious resource, tops the list.
Quantity, quality and how the environment and human activity impact the Similkameen valley watershed are some of the answers being sought in the non-regulatory water plan. Phase 1 of data collection is almost completed and will be made available to the public soon.
Valley wide tourism strategy
The second project is a valley-wide regional tourism strategy. Getting all the businesses and organizations to buy in has been a challenge. A tourism advisory committee was formed with the goal to make the Similkameen Valley a world-renowned tourism destination. The Thompson Okanagan Tours Association has been a major partner in this endeavour and a website developed for the whole valley is now number one on Google.
The website address is:
http://similkameenvalley.com