The proposed land for the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve is located in the South Okanagan and Similkameen valleys in southern British Columbia, currently comprising five areas provincial protections. These areas include the 4,700-hectare Mt. Kobau site located on high ground between the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys; the 1,850-hectare Chopaka East site located on Black Mountain, between Richter Pass and the international border; the 470-hectare Chopaka West site located between Mount Richter and the international border; the 2,350 hectare Kilpoola site located north and south of Highway 3, including the south-eastern slopes of Mount Kobau, Blue Lake and Mount Kruger to the international border; and the 25,889-hectare snow protected area located among the Lower Similkameen Indian Reservation. These areas, with the exception of the Snow Protected Area, make up the South Okanagan Grasslands Protected Area. Potential future additions of Crown and private lands would likely see large tracts of land north and south of Mount Kobau along with tracts north and east of the existing boundaries of the Snowy Protected Area. The Okanagan and Similkameen valleys have been extensively settled centered around the nearby towns of Keremeos, Oliver and Osoyoos. The Okanagan-Similkameen region's 2006 census population was 79,475((1))) people, has the fastest population growth rate of any river valley in Canada and has seen a population increase of 137% over the last 30 years. years. Some of the boundaries of the proposed area touch existing private land used in agricultural and ranching activities. The South Okanagan-Similkameen is located on the Arid Interior Plateau. One of Canada's 12 natural regions does not have an important role as both a nature conservation destination and a recreation and tourism destination (e.g. Runte 1997; Mels 1999; Boyd & Butler 2000; Rytteri & Puhakka 2009). Dual designation means that ecological priorities are addressed alongside stakeholders' rights to benefit from the land. This dualism has become an integral part of the Finns as regional development is increasingly mentioned in park plans. 5 (The idea that national parks should be integrated more deeply into the regional tourism economy, while keeping conservation objectives consistent with EU regulations and other international agreements (Saarinen 2007) has helped arbitrate stakeholder discourse. While the development of national parks as an entrenched part of the surrounding regions, there has still been a conflict between the perceived and actual power attributed to community-based stakeholders.