The BC Parks Foundation recently announced the acquisition of private land including a private portion of the road leading up to Mount Kobau near Oliver. 

The land was acquire from Shawn Baenziger of HB Land Company Ltd. and covers over 80 hectares (over 200 acres) in the upper Fairview area of Oliver. 

The road access will now be under the stewardship of the foundation, where previously it was Baenziger, Fortis and the BC Forest Service that managed access. 

Baenziger had worked with the others to install a gate to pro-actively reduce the risk of wildfires and protect a stand of old-growth trees.

"I hope that the new owners will find effective ways to manage access to the area while ensuring its pristine condition is maintained for future generations," said Baenziger. 

Initially, Baenziger had placed concrete blocks to barricade the access in 2020 after the area continued to be inundated with quads, motorbikes and pick-up trucks.

Within days of it going up, the blockade was vandalized, dismantled and removed by unknown individuals before it was later replaced with the gate. 

The area is within the working boundaries for the proposed national park, but is closed from public access during fire season due to the risks of starting a wildfire. 

In 2024, the BC Parks Foundation completed the purchase of 11.4 hectares of formerly private waterfront property north of Summerland in partnership with the provincial government with the potential of adding it to the neighbouring Okanagan Lake Provincial Park.