The purpose of this report is to set out clear options for the future of heritage services provided by the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) for the entire Kootenay Boundary region.
Consideration of those options takes into account both the nature of the heritage to be managed, and the funding levels and mechanisms that would be required for the delivery of the heritage service.
Background for considering service options is provided in the form of a brief history of the region (Section 3: Historical Context of the RDKB). The main stories of the region that have shaped the nature of present-day communities are mining, agriculture, and the pursuit of outdoor recreation.
Much of the region was settled and its landscape altered in pursuit of the mineral wealth. The major transportation routes into and within the region have their genesis in the rush to access and export that mineral wealth, and effectively administer the rather inaccessible region so near the American frontier. The two other central stories of the region are the development of lands for agriculture (and the immigrant communities that came to farm), and outdoor recreational activities.
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