The Province has awarded $110,000 to the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resource Society to help restore grasslands and forests in the East Kootenay and Columbia Valley.

The Province is providing $250,000 to the Kootenay Livestock Association over the next three years for projects administered under the Grassland and Rangeland Enhancement Program (GREP), Bill Bennett, MLA for Kootenay East, announced on behalf of Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson.

The B.C. government has launched a multi-ministry study to determine how best to enforce violation tickets issued to out-of-province visitors who ride off-road vehicles (ORVs) on B.C. Crown land.

Canadian Rockies International Airport in Cranbrook will receive $60,000 in funding from the B.C. Air Access Program this year for apron safety upgrades.

Students in the Southeast Kootenay School District will benefit from $939,199 in provincial funding for school upgrade projects and classroom supplies, MLA Bill Bennett announced on behalf of Education Minister Mike Bernier.

Skilled trades students in the Southeast Kootenay School District will benefit from a three-year, $15-million investment by the B.C. government to support youth trades programs with the purchase of new trades-training equipment.

The B.C. government is investing more than $600,000 in provincial tourism sector associations to support tourism marketing activities in the Kootenay Rockies, announced Shirley Bond, Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Minister Responsible for Labour.

The East Kootenay Regional District will receive $1,000,000 in BikeBC funding this year for The Westside Legacy Trail, Segments 1-4, announced Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett on behalf of Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Todd Stone.

Building on the economic benefits and jobs created by getting to yes on major projects and provincial investments in infrastructure, Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett announced immediate investments and a long-term action plan outlined in B.C.’s rural economic development strategy that will create jobs and economic opportunities in the Kootenays.